LIBRARY     OF 


1685- IQSe 


PRELIMINARY  REPORT 


CNITED  STATES  GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY 


WYOMING 


PORTIONS  OF  CONTIGUOUS  TERRITORIES, 

(BELN'G  A  SECOXD  AXXIjAL  KEPORT  OF  PROGRESS,) 


COXDL'CTED 


UNDER  THE  AUTHORITY  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THE  INTERIOR, 


F.    V.    HA  YD  EN, 

UNITED   STATES  GEOLOGIST. 


WASHII^GTON: 
GOVERNMENT     PRINTING     OFFICE. 

187L^ 


LETTER  TO  THE  SECRETARY. 


WASHmGTON,  January  1,  1871. 

Sir:  In  accordance  with  your  iustructious  elated  July  15,  1870,  I 
have  the  lionor  to  present  the*  second  annual  report  of  progress  of  the 
United  States  geological  survey  of  the  Territories,  conducted  under 
your  direction  during  the  present  season. 

In  the  field  work  I  have  been  guided  by  the  following  directions,  con- 
tained in  your  letter  of  instructions  : 

"The  area  of  your  exploration  must  necessarily  be  discretionary  to 
some  extent ;  but  owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season  and  the  limited 
time  for  field-work,  it  is  thought  advisable  by  this  Department  that  the 
field  of  your  labor  be  confined  principally  to  Wyoming  and  such  portions 
of  contiguous  territories  as  may  be  deemed  desirable.  You  will  be  re- 
quired to  secure  as  full  material  as  possible  for  the  illustration  of  your 
final  report,  such  as  sketches,  photographs,  &c.  It  is  desirable  that 
your  collections  in  all  departments  should  be  as  complete  as  possible, 
and  you  will  forward  them  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  to  be  classified 
and  arranged  according  to  law.  You  will  be  expected  to  prepare  a  pre- 
liminary report  of  your  labors,  which  will  be  ready  for  publication  by 
January  1,  1871.  You  are  referred  to  your  instructions  of  last  season  for 
the  details  of  your  duties  in  the  field." 

The  bill  making  the  appropriation  for  the  survey  was  not  signed  by 
the  President  until  the  15th  of  July,  and  immediately  thereafter  I  pro- 
ceeded to  Cheyenne,  Wyoming  Territory,  in  accordance  with  the  above 
instructions. 

My  party  was  organized  as  follows : 

James  Stevenson,  managing  director ;  Henry  W.  Elliott,  artist ;  Prof 
Cyrus  Thomas,  agriculturist ;  Wm.  H.  Jackson,  photographer ;  John  H. 
Beamau,  meteorologist ;  Charles  S.  Turnbull,  secretary ;  Arthur  L. 
Ford,  mineralogist;  C.  P.  Carrington,  zoologist;  Henry  D,  Schmidt, 
naturalist ;  L.  A.  Bartlett,  general  assistant.  Mr.  S.  E.  Gififord,  land- 
scape artist,  of  New  York  City,  accompanied  the  party  as  guest  from 
Cheyenne  to  Fort  Bridger.  My  emjjloyes  were,  one  wagon-master,  four 
teamsters,  and  three  cooks  and  laborers.  At  Fort  Fettermau  I  employed 
an  old  mountaineer  as  guide  and  interpreter,  through  that  portion  of 
the  countr^^  supposed  to  be  infested  with  hostile  Indians. 

*  This  is  really  a  fourth  annual  report  of  progress  of  tbe  United  States  geological 
survey  of  the  Territories.  The  first  and  second  annual  reports  will  be  found  incor- 
porated in  the  reports  of  the  Commissioner  of  the  General  Laud  Office  for  the  years 
18G7  and  1868.  The  th  vd  is  the  report  of  the  survey  of  Colorado  and  New  Mexico, 
published  last  winter. 


4         GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 

The  greater  part  of  our  outfit  was  obtained  at  Cheyenne.  Through  the 
generous  kindness  of  the  depot  quartermaster  at  Fort  Eussell,  Colonel  C. 
A.  Eeynolds,  we  were  enabled  to  start  on  our  journey,  fully  equipped, 
August  6th.  The  previous  year  our  course  had  been  southward  from 
this  point,  along  the  eastern  base  of  the  mountains  to  Santa  Fe,  in 
order  to  study  the  fine  exposures  of  the  rocks  of  different  ages,  as  they 
were  lifted  up  by  the  elevation  of  the  mountain  chains.  In  order  that 
the  labors  of  the  two  seasons  might  be  connected  together,  it  seemed  best 
to  proceed  northward  along  the  eastern  base  of  the  Laramie  range,  by 
way  of  Chugwater  Creek,  Laramie  Peak,  North  Platte,  Sweetwater,  and 
South  Pass.  The  country  along  the  immediate  line  of  our  route  was 
examined  with  as  much  care  as  possible,  and  frequent  excursions  were 
made  up  the  valleys  of  the  little  streams  to  their  sources  in  the  mount- 
ains, thus  obtaining  cross-sections  from  the  central  nucleus  of  the  mount- 
ain ranges  extending  into  the  plains.  In  this  way  we  explored  the 
North  Platte  and  its  numerous  branches  to  the  Eed  Buttes ;  thence  we 
struck  across  the  divide  to  the  valley  of  the  Sweetwater ;  thence  up 
that  stream  to  its  source  in  the  Wind  Eiver  Mountains.  The  geological 
structure  of  the  Sweetwater  Valley,  although  simi^le,  was  very  interest- 
ing, and  afforded  ample  scope  for  the  imagination  in  reconstructing  the 
numerous  phases  which  it  has  assumed  in  past  ages.  We  gave  a  hasty 
glance  at  the  Sweetwater  mines  and  the  southern  portion  of  the  Wind 
Eiver  Mountains,  and  passed  down  the  Big  aud  Little  Sandy  Creeks  to 
Green  Eiver,  and  thence  by  way  of  Church  Buttes  to  Fort  Bridger. 
Here  we  established  a  permanent  camp  for  about  twenty  days,  made 
numerous  side  excursions  up  the  Bear  Eiver,  Muddy  Creek,  Black's  Fork, 
and  Smith's  Fork,  thus  exploring,  with  considerable  care,  the  northern 
slope  of  the  Uinta  Mountains.  This  range  is  one  of  wonderful  beauty, 
a  unique  creation,  without  a  parallel  in  the  West,  so  far  as  I  have  yet  seen. 
From  Fort  Bridger  we  proceeded  southward  to  Henry's  Fork,  explored 
that  stream  to  its  source  in  the  axis  "of  the  Uintas,  then  descended  its 
valley  to  Green  Eiver,  explored  the  latter  stream  to  Brown's  Hole, 
and  then  returned  uj)  the  river  to  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad.  The 
scenery  and  geology  of  this  region  are  grand  and  instructive  in  the 
highest  degree.  From  Green  Eiver  Station  we  followed  the  old  stage 
road  up  Bitter  Creek,  via  Bridger's  Pass,  Medicine  Bow  Mountains, 
across  the  Laramie  Plains,  through  the  Laramie  range,  by  way  of  Chey- 
enne Pass,  to  our  -point  of  departure,  where  we  arrived  about  the  1st  of 
November.  Here  the  party  was  broken  up,  most  of  its  members  returning 
to  their  homes.  A  portion  of  the  month  of  November  was  occupied  in 
studying  the  more  interesting  geological  features  along  the  line  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Eailroad  from  Cheyenne  to  Salt  Lake  Valley.  Mr.  Elliott 
constructed  an  excellent  pictorial  section  of  the  entire  road,  bringing 
out  all  the  surface  features  with  remarkable  clearness  and  beauty.  In 
addition  to  hundreds  of  local  sketches  and  sections,  Mr.  Elliott  has  de- 
lineated three  continuous  pictorial  sections  across  the  territory  of  Wyo- 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  5 

ming  which,  if  properly  engraved,  will  form  a  new  era  in  the  exhibition 
of  stractaral  geology.  The  collections  in  geology  and  natural  history 
were  very  large,  and  many  new  forms,  recent  as  well  as  fossil,  were  added 
to  science.  Some  idea  of  the  extent  of  the  collections  may  be  obtained 
from  the  catalogues  which  are  appended  to  this  report.  I  take  pleasure 
in  acknowledging  the  great  fidelity  of  all  my  assistants  to  the  interests 
of  the  survey,  and  their  efficient  aid  throughout  the  entire  trip.  My 
principal  assistant,  and  associate  for  many  years  on  the  plains,  Mr. 
James  Stevenson,  rendered  me  the  same  faithful  and  indispensable  ser- 
vices that  have  characterized  his  labors  in  previous  expeditions.  Mr. 
Elliott,  the  artist,  worked  with  untiring  zeal,  and  his  sketches  and  sec- 
tions have  never  been  surpassed  for  beauty  or  clearness  in  any  country. 

The  valuable  report  of  Prof.  Thomas  will  furnish  ample  proof  of  his 
constant  fidelity  to  his  duties.  I  regard  his  report  as  of  great  practi- 
cal interest  to  the  country.   • 

Mr.  William  H.  Jackson  performed  his  duties  throughout  the  entire 
trip  with  a  true  enthusiasm  for  his  art,  and  the  result  is  about  400  nega- 
tives that  have  hardly  been  surpassed  for  beauty  or  perfection.  These 
l^ictures  throw  great  light  ou  the  singular  geographical  and  geological 
features  of  the  West,  and  are,  in  my  opinion,  a  real  contribution  to 
science  as  well  as  to  landscape  photography. 

Mr.  Gifford,  although  accompanying  the  party  by  invitation  for  the 
purpose  of  studying  the  grand  scenery  of  the  Eocky  Mountains  in  an 
artistic  sense,  rendered  us  most  efficient  aid,  and  by  his  genial  nature 
endeared  himself  to  all. 

To  Mr.  Beaman  was  assigned  the  duty  of  meteorologist,  and  his  report 
on  the  subject,  herewith  appended,  will  show  his  zeal  in  the  work.  The 
elevations,  though  only  approximately  true,  must  be  regarded  as  of  great 
value,  extending  as  they  do  over  a  country  in  which  very  few  observations 
had  previously  been  made.  For  a  large  part  of  the  season  we  followed  the 
old  routes  of  Fremont  and  Stansbury,  and  in  our  examinations  we  found 
their  reports  of  great  service.  So  far  as  the  general  geographical 
features  of  the  country  are  concerned,  and  the  leading  facts  useful  to 
the  emigrant,  we  found  them  to  be  remarkably  accurate,  and  I  take 
pleasure  in  bearing  my  hearty  testimony  to  the  zeal  and  ability  of  these 
eminent  explorers.  So  far,  however,  as  the  geological  structure  of 
the  country  is  concerned,  but  little  of  a  definite  character  can  be  found 
in  their  rejjorts. 

In  my  report  of  last  year  I  spoke  of  the  great  value  of  the  assistance 
rendered  me  by  the  military  authorities  of  the  West.  I  take  pleasure  in 
again  thanking  them  for  still  more  valuable  kindnesses  the  present  sea- 
son. Before  leaving  Washington  I  called  upon  the  honorable  Secretary 
of  War,  General  Belknap,  with  a  letter  from  the  Secretary  of  the  In- 
terior, requesting  such  assistance  from  the  military  authorities  of  the 
West  as  could  be  afibrded  me  without  detriment  to  the  service.  The 
Secretary  of  War  at  once  issued  orders  in  accordance  with  this  request, 


6  GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TEREITORIES. 

which  were  distributed  to  the  different  military  posts  of  the  West. 
These  orders  were  indorsed  by  General  Meigs  and  General  Eaton  at 
Washington,  by  General  Sheridan  at  Chicago,  and  by  General  George  D. 
Euggles,  in  the  absence  of  General  Augur,  at  Omaha. 

My  outfit  was  obtained  of  Colonel  C.  A.  Eeynolds,  depot  quartermas- 
ter, stationed  at  Fort  Eussell,  and  most  cordially  do  I  thank  him  for  the 
friendly  interest  he  took  in  our  welfare.  The  outfit  we  obtained  here 
could  not  have  been  purchased  in  the  country,  however  large  our  appro- 
priation ;  and  besides  the  great  saving  to  the  appropriation,  the  real 
interest  that  both  he  and  his  subordinates  manifested  in  providing 
everything  for  our  comfort  and  success,  called  forth  the  gratitude  of 
the  whole  party.  At  every  military  post  we  visited  we  were  received 
with  great  attention,  and  the  numerous  favors,  so  indispensable  in 
the  performance  of  our  duties,  were  granted  us  everywhere.  In  this 
connection,  in  addition  to  those  already  referred  to,  I  may  more  especially 
mention  Colonel  Chambers,  in  command  of  Fort  Fetterman,  and  Lieu- 
tenant O'Brien,  quartermaster.  Captain  Gordon  and  Lieutenant  Gregg, 
of  Camp  Stambaugh,  Lieutenant  Shepard,  of  Fort  Bridger,  Colonel 
Bradley,  of  Fort  Steele,  and  Lieutenant  Bubb,  of  Fort  Sanders. 

Although  the  appropriation  for  the  exploration  of  the  year  1870  was 
very  liberal  compared  with  those  of  former  years,  I  did  not  feel  war- 
ranted in  employing  a  topographer,  and  therefore  was  able  to  contribute 
little  of  importance  toward  the  improvement  of  our  maps.  The  maps 
already  constructed  by  the  Engineer  Bureau  of  the  Army  are  undoubt- 
edly the  best  of  any  published  in  America,  but  in  attempting  to  express 
the  geology  of  the  mountain  districts  of  the  West  upon  them,  they  are 
found  to  be  quite  inadequate.  It  has  already  been  shown  by  the  ablest 
geographers  in  the  Old  World,  that  any  topographical  map  that  is  not 
constructed  in  accordance  with  well-established  laws  of  geological  struc- 
•  ture,  must  be  of  approximate  value  only.  It  is  proposed  to  prepare  a 
map  of  the  districts  explored,  on  a  scale  of  two  miles  to  the  inch,  not 
only  to  express  the  details  of  the  geology  with  suitable  colors,  but  also 
to  show,  for  the  benefit  of  our  legislators,  the  amount  of  land  that  can 
be  redeemed  by  irrigation,  timber  land,  bottom  land,  »&c.  Such  a  map 
would  be  of  great  importance  in  determining  the  value  of  land  grants 
to  railroads  and  other  corporations,  and  would  save  to  our  Government 
many  times  the  cost  of  the  entire  survey. 

My  explorations  of  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  began  in  the 
spring  of  1853,  prior  to  the  organization  of  Kansas  and  Nebraska  as 
Territories,  and  I  have  watched  the  growth  of  this  portion  of  the  West 
year  by  year,  from  the  first  rude  cabin  of  the  squatter  to  the  beautiful 
villages  and  cities  which  we  now  see  scattered  so  thickly  over  that 
country.  We  have  beheld,  within  the  past  fifteen  years,  a  rapidity  of 
growth  and  development  in  the  Northwest  which  is  without  a  parallel  in 
the  history  of  the  globe.  Never  has  my  faith  in  the  grand  future  that 
awaits  the  entire  West  been  so  strong  as  it  is  at  the  present  time,  and 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.  7 

it  is  my  earnest  desire  to  devote  tbe  remainder  of  the  working  days  of 
ray  life  to  tlie  development  of  its  scientific  and  material  interests,  nntil 
I  shall  see  every  Territory,  which  is  now  organized,  a  State  in  the  Union. 
Out  of  the  portions  of  the  continent  which  lie  to  the  northward  and 
southward  of  the  great  central  mass,  other  Territories  will,  in  the  mean 
time,  be  carved,  until  we  shall  embrace  within  our  limits  the  entire 
country  from  the  Arctic  Circle  to  the  Isthmus  of  Darien. 

It  will  not  be  possible  for  me  in  this  report  to  give  full  credit  to  all 
for  the  numerous  favors  and  courtesies  which  have  been  extended  to 
my  party,  not  only  during  the  present  season,  but  for  the  many  years 
of  the  past  that  I  have  been  exploring  the  West.  Manj-  of  them  were 
indispensable  to  my  success,  and  a  great  source  of  saving  in  the  expendi- 
ture of  my  limited  appropriations.  I  take  this  occasion  to  state  that 
every  favor  extended  to  myself  or  my  i)arty  by  the  citizens  of  the  coun- 
try, by  the  military  authorities,  or  by  railroad  corporations,  has  been  in 
the  past  and  will  be  in  the  future  credited  to  the  cause  which  I  have 
endeavored  to  advance.  Every  dollar  that  could  be  saved  I  have  regarded 
as  so  much  power  given  me  to  place  before  the  world  in  a  i)roper  light 
the  magnificent  resources,  scientific  and  practical,  of  our  vast  domain 
in  the  West. 

To  Hon.  Leland  Stanford,  C.  P.  Huntington,  and  Charles  Crocker, 
of  the  Central  Pacific  Eailroad;  to  Hon.  John  D.  Perry  and  Gen- 
eral A.  Anderson,  of  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railway;  and  to  Gen- 
eral John  Pierce  and  Colonel  Fisher,  of  the  Denver  Pacific  Eailroad,  I 
would  tender  my  grateful  thanks  for  the  generous  manner  in  which 
most  important  favors  were  extended  to  me  and  to  my  party,  thereby 
saving  hundreds  of  dollars  to  the  Government. 

To  the  ofticers  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  in  years  past,  I  have  been 
greatly  indebted  for  free  transportation  and  other  courtesies.  From 
General  G.  M.  Dodge,  of  Council  Bluffs,  to  whom  the  West  is  indebted 
for  its  material  advancement  as  much  as  to  any  one  living  man,  I  have 
always  received  the  warmest  sym^jathy  and  aid.  I  have  also  to  thank 
Dr.  T.  C.  Durant  and  Webster  Snyder,  former  superintendent  of  the 
road,  for  marked  courtesies  in  the  line  of  my  scientific  investigations. 
Scientific  men  who  are  truly  devoted  to  their  calling  cannot  be  specu- 
lators or  ardently  given  to  pecuniary  gains.  Citizens  of  the  country 
and  great  corporations  must  ever  be  largely  the  recipients  of  the  mate- 
rial benefits  of  these  labors.  Generosity  on  the  part  of  such  corpora- 
tions toward  men  who  are  devoted  to  the  advancement  of  knowledge  or 
the  good  of  the  world,  may  be  regarded  as  the  index  of  their  tone  and 
character.  I  am  glad  to  say  that,  with  comparatively  few  exceptions, 
I  have  received  from  the  railroad  men  of  the  West  every  mark  of  ap- 
preciation I  could  desire.  In  former  reports  I  have  frequently  men- 
tioned the  cordial  sympathy  of  the  citizens  of  the  Territories  in  my 
labors.  I  am  obliged  to  speak  the  truth  as  I  read  it  in  the  great  book 
of  nature,  whether  it  is  in  accordance  with  the  preconceived  notions  of 


8  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

the  iiilinl)it;iiits  ol"  a  district  or  not,  aud  I  cannot  depart  from  this  inex- 
orable law  for  fear  or  favor.  It  is  my  earnest  wish  at  all  times  to  report 
that  which  will  be  most  pleasing  to  the  people  of  the  West,  providing 
there  is  any  foundation  for  it  in  nature.  When  I  cannot  do  so,  I  shall 
wait  for  time  to  place  me  right  in  their  estimation. 

To  Dr.  G.  L.  Miller,  editor  of  the  Omaha  Herald,  and  Captain  William 
Wilcox  and  William  Stephens,  of  the  firm  of  Stephens  &  Wilcox,  Omaha, 
Colonel  I.  W.  French,  of  Cheyenne,  and  Miers  Fisher,  of  Denver,  Colo- 
rado, my  entire  party  have  been  indebted,  from  time  to  time,  for  material 
favors  of  great  value.  My  thanks  are  also  due  to  Hon.  S.  F.  Nuckolls,  of 
Cheyenne,  Dr.  Hiram  Latham,  of  Laramie  City,  J.  W.  Watson,  of 
Georgetown,  D.  C.  Collier,  of  Central  City,  aud  J.  M.  Marshall,  of 
Black  Hawk,  Colorado.  The  gentlemen  connected  with  the  press  of 
the  whole  West,  with  very  few  exceptions,  have  always  given  me  the 
most  hearty  sympathy  and  assistance  in  all  my  labors,  and  to  them  I 
extend  my  cordial  thanks. 

I  have  thought  it  best  to  make  these  preliminary  reports  the  vehicle 
of  much  detailed  matter  which  T  believe  to  be  useful,  upon  which  I  shall 
hereafter  base  many  generalizations,  but  which  cannot  be  repeated  in  a 
more  elaborate  final  report.  The  object  of  these  reports  seems  to  me 
to  be  to  bring  before  the  people  at  as  early  a  date  as  possible  immediate 
practical  results.  I  have  also  endeavored  to  render  them  as  free  from 
technical  language  as  possible  consistent  with  scientific  accuracy.  By  the 
hundreds  of  thoughtful  minds  all  over  our  country  the  essays  of  Leidy, 
Cope,  Lesquereux,  Hodge,  and  Newberry  will  be  read  with  deep  interest. 
If  this  report  is  not  as  complete  as  could  be  desired,  I  would  respect- 
fully direct  your  attention  to  the  fact  that  the  entire  exploration  has 
been  made  and  the  report  submitted  to  you  in  a  little  less  than  six 
months  from  the  date  of  the  passage  of  the  bill  authorizing  it.  It  is  my 
hope  to  be  able  to  continue  these  reports  from  year  to  year,  and  to  make 
them  more  complete  and  more  useful  to  science  and  to  the  country. 
Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

F.  V.  HAYDEN, 

United  States  Geologist. 

Hon.  Columbus  Delano, 

Secretary  of  the  Interior. 


I>^RT    I. 


REPORT  OF  F.  V.  HAYDEN. 


Chapter— 

I.  FROM  CHEYENNE  TO  FORT  FETTERMAN. 
IT.  FROM  FORT  FETTER:MAN  TO  SOUTH  PASS. 
III.*  FROM  SOUTH  PASS  TO  FORT  BRIDGER. 
IV.  FORT  BRIDGER  AND  THE  UINTA  MOUNTAINS. 

V.  FROM  FORT  BRIDGER  TO  UINTA  MOUNTAINS,  HENRY'S  FORK,  GREEN 
.     RIVER,  AND  BROWN'S  HOLE  TO  GREEN  RIVER  STATION  ON  THE 
UNION  PACIFIC  RAILROAD. 
VI.  FROM  GREEN  RIVER  STATION,  ^^.v  BRIDGER'S  PASS,  TO  CHEYENNE, 
WYOMING  TERRITORY. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 


CHAPTER  I. 
FROM  CHEYENNE  TO  FOET  FETTEEMAN. 

Duriug  the  summer  of  1869  my  explorations  were  •directed  southward 
from  Fort  D.  A.  Eussell,  near  Cheyenne,  Wyoming  Territory,  along  the 
eastern  base  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  through  Colorado  into  New  Mex- 
ico, as  fiir  as  the  Placier  Mountains.  In  order  that  I  might  trace  the 
different  geological  formations  northward  in  their  geograi)hical  exten- 
sion and  connect  the  results  of  the  two  seasons' examinations,  I  thought 
it  best  to  commence  the  labors  of  the  present  year  at  the  same  point  and 
proceed  northward,  by  way  of  Laramie  Peak  and  South  Pass. 

Fort  D.  A.  Russell  is  located  on  the  north  bank  of  Crow  Creek,  a  small 
tributary  of  the  South  Platte.  The  rocks  which  underlie  the  country  in 
every  direction  are  evidently  of  modern  date,  and  belong  to  the  upper 
tertiary.  They  are  cut  through  by  the  little  streams,  and  we  find  ex- 
posed a  moderately  thick  deposit  of  gravel  and  boulders  resting  upon  an 
irregular  surface  of  the  indurated  marls,  sands,  and  clays  of  the  lake 
sediments.  This  is  the  case  in  the  valley  of  Crow  Creek  near  the  fort, 
where  the  vertical  bluffs  are  formed  of  aluminous  marl,  with  a  greater 
or  less  admixture  of  sand.  There  are  also  layers  of  fine  indurated  sand- 
stone, with  small  cavities  filled  with  clay  and  irregular  seams  of  whitish 
silicious  material  scattered  through  all  the  beds.  Near  the  base  of  the 
mountains  are  small  fragments  of  feldspar.  Resting  upon  what  ap- 
pear to  be  true  tertiary  strata  are  beds  of  greater  or  less  thickness, 
composed  of  sand,  gravel,  and  water- worn  boulders,  passing  up  into  two 
to  four  feet  of  unstratified  marl,  with  a  foot  or  so  of  soil.  Our  course 
from  Cheyenne  was  directly  north  along  the  military  wagon-road  to  Fort 
Laramie,  and  our  first  camp  was  on  Lodge  Pole  Creek.  The  surface  of 
the  country  is  beautifully  undulating,  consisting  of  rounded  hills,  ridges, 
and  valleys;  but  not  a  tree  or  bush  is  to  be  seen.  The  same  formations 
occur  on  Lodge  Pole  Creek  that  are  noted  above  on  Crow  Creek.  The 
strata  are  the  same  on  all  the  branches  from  the  foot  of  the  mountains  to 
the  North  Platte.  Horse  Creek  and  its  branches  are  nearly  desti- 
tute of  trees  of  any  kind,  and  the  water  is  so  low  that  it  can  hardly 
be  called  a  running  stream;  still  the  soil  is  good,  the  bottoms  quite 
broad,  and  grass  fine.  For  pastoral  j)urposes  this  valley  is  very  de- 
sirable. In  order  that  we  may  study  the  geological  structure  of  the 
country  with  success  we  must  travel  along  the  base  of  the  mountains, 
where  the  different  strata  are  exposed  by  the  elevation  of  the  mountain 
ranges.  To  ex^jlore  the  more  mountainous  portions,  we  must  travel  on 
horseback,  and  make  the  road  in  the  jilains,  which  our  wagons  must 
adhere  to,  our  base  of  operations.  We  can  thus  make  side  trips  with 
pack  animals  to  any  portion  of  the  countrj^,  however  rugged  the  surface, 
if  it  presents  any  objects  of  interest. 

August  7. — This  morning  tiie  train  proceeded  across  the  plains  north- 
ward to  the  Chugwater,  a  distance  of  about  thirty-five  miles.  With 
Mr.  Gifford  and  four  or  five  assistants  I  followed  the  valley  of  Lodge 
Pole  Creek  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  about  sixteen  miles  distant. 
The  surface  of  the  country  was  undulating  and  covered  with  a  fair  growth 


12        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

of  grass ;  here  and  there  in  tlie  Valley  of  the  creek,  or  some  side  ravine, 
the  rocks  are  exposed,  revealing  their  age  to  be  upper  tertiary.  Cream-col- 
ored marls  and  sometimes  deep,  ferruginous  sands  are  seen,  but  the  pre- 
vailing color  of  the  rock  material  is  light  drab-yellow.  The  valley  of  the 
Lodge  Pole  Creek  will  average  about  six  miles  in  width  from  bluff  to 
blufi".  The  surface  of  the  highlands  is  covered  to  a  greater  or  less  ex- 
tent with  gravel  and  stray  boulders  of  moderate  size,  varying  from  that 
of  a  pin's  head  to  a  foot  in  diameter.  Masses  of  carboniferous  lime- 
stone are  very  abundant,  showing  that  these  beds  were  very  accessible 
to  the  waters  during  the  later  drift  period.  Some  of  these  limestone 
masses  are  quite  full  of  fossils,  as  crinoidal  stems,  Athyris  siihtilita, 
Orthis,  and  Chonefes.  A  careful  examination  of  the  stray  boulders  scat- 
tered upon  the  plains  will  enable  one  to  determine  with  a  great  degree 
of  certainty  what  formations  are  revealed  along  the  flanks  of  the  moun- 
tains. I  take  the  position  that  these  superficial  deposits  are  the  result  of 
forces  acting  from  the  mountains  toward  the  plains,  and  that  in  sweep- 
ing down  from  the  flanks  across  the  uijturned  edges  of  the  beds  of 
dilferent  geological  periods,  as  there  exposed,  they  carry  portions  of  each 
formation  with  them,  and  strew  them  over  the  plains.  Wherever  a  form- 
ation is  well  developed  and  exi)osed,  there  the  more  fragments  of  it  will 
predominate.  When  the  red  sandstones  are  largelj^  exposed,  then  the 
drift  will  be  filled  with  fragments  of  red  sandstone,  and  the  same  is  in- 
variably the  case  with  the  carboniferous  strata. 

The  Laramie  Mountains,  or  Black  Hills,  as  they  are  usually  called, 
form  one  of  the  shore  lines  of  a  great  fresh-water  lake,  which  covered 
an  enormous  area  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Eocky  Mountains  during 
the  middle  and  upper  tertiary  epoch.  When  the  waters  were  drained 
away  from  this  lake  basin,  a  vast  thickness  of  clays,  marls,  sands,  and 
sandstones  was  left  high  on  the  sides  of  the  mountains,  sometimes 
reaching  nearly  to  the  crest  or  divide.  In  many  localities  thebeds  have 
not  been  subjected  to  as  much  denudation  as  in  others,  and  in  that  case 
they  jut  up  against  the  mountain  sides  so  as  to  conceal  all  the  older  un- 
changed strata,  and  not  unfrequently  concealing  the  metamorphic  rocks 
over  large  areas. 

Along  the  immediate  line  of  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad,  the  tertiary 
beds  form  a  sort  of  bench,  which  rises  gradually  from  Cheyenne  nearly 
to  Granite  Station.  The  tertiary  beds  are  stripped  off  only  to  a  moderate 
extent,  revealing  a  bed  or  two  of  carboniferous  limestone.  A  vertical 
section  would  show  the  upper  tertiary  deposits  resting  directly,  though 
unconformably,  on  the  carboniferous  limestones,  and  the  latter  lying 
on  the  granites.  But  on  either  side,  north  or  south,  not  only  the  car- 
boniferous rocks  are  exj^osed,  but  the  red  beds  and,  perhaps,  the  triassic 
or  cretaceous.  All  along  the  flanks  of  the  mountains,  from  Granite  Canon 
Station  northward  to  the  northern  boundary  of  this  lake  basin,  we  know 
thatformatiousof  the  age  of  carboniferous,  triassic,  Jurassic,  cretaceous, 
and  perhaps  lignite  tertiary,  exist,  whether  exposed  by  the  denudation  of 
the  White  River  tertiary  beds  or  not.  It  is  proper,  therefore,  to  color  all 
these  formations  on  a  geological  map  by  bands  or  zones  along  the  sides 
of  mountain  ranges.  Though  if  a  map  were  constructed  on  a  large  scale 
and  the  geologj^  colored  in  detail  upon  it,  these  bands  would  be  some- 
what interrupted  here  and  there  by  the  concealment  of  one  or  more  of 
the  formations,  by  modern  tertiary,  or  drift  deposits.  The  valleys  of 
the  little  streams,  as  they  extend  down  into  the  plains  from  the  moun- 
tains, are  usually  quite  rugged  at  first,  but  become  less  so  until  the  sides 
are  rounded  and  grass-covered.  But  along  the  immediate  base  of  the 
mountains  there  is  often  a  valley  at  right  angles  to  the  /alleys  of  the 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        13 

streams  and  parallel  with  the  mouutaiu  rauges,  and  evidently  scooped 
out  by  forces  acting  from  them.  From  the  head  of  Crow  Creek  to  the 
Clmgwater,  there  is  a  well-marked  illustration  of  this  type  of  valley. 
It  averages  from  five  to  ten  miles  in  width,  and  the  surlace  is  gently 
rolling,  and  usually  covered  with  grass.  The  little  streams  as  they  pass 
across  it  do  not  cut  deep  channels.  The  eastern  side  is  a  high,  abrupt, 
irregular  wall  of  White  Eiver  tertiary  beds,  oftentimes  so  eroded  as 
to  present  iu  some  degree  the  architectural  appearance  of  the  "  bad  lands." 
Through  tbis  wall  the  little  streams  have  cut  their  channels,  and  flow 
down  through  the  plains  in  valleys  with  more  or  less  blufit'like  hills  on 
either  side,  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  feet  in  height. 
Where  these  parallel  valleys  occur  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  the 
changed  as  well  as  unchanged  rocks  have  suffered  great  erosion.  Here 
and  there  they  are  omitted  for  some  reason,  and  again  appear  in  their 
full  proportions.  Immediately  north  of  Horse  Creek  there  is  a  remnant 
of  the  main  "  hog-back,"  or  ridge  remaining,  composed  of  the  triassic  and 
carboniferous  beds,  extending  for  about  five  miles,  which  is  divided  into 
three  parts  by  the  channels  of  streams  flowing  through  it  at  right  angles 
from  the  mountains.  Its  trend  is  nearly  north  and  south,  and  its  dip 
east;  and  immediately  west  the  granites  an<l  gneiss  rise  gradually 
toward  the  crest  of  the  range.  This  fragment  of  the  main  ridge  shows 
that  but  for  erosion  it  would  have  been  continuous  all  along  the  flanks 
of  the  mountains. 

An  interesting  question  arises  as  to  the  manner  in  which  these  parallel 
valleys  have  been  scooped  out.  That  it  must  have  occurred  after  the 
deposition  of  the  latest  tertiary  beds  is  evident,  from  the  fact  that  the 
streams  which  form  the  outlets  have  cut  their  way  through  them.  As 
I  have  before  stated,  the  mountains  formed  the  western  shore  of  the 
great  fresh-water  lakes  of  the  middle  and  upper  tertiary  periods.  As 
the  mountains  were  slowly  elevated,  so  that  the  vraters  receded,  there 
was  a  depression  at  tlie  immediate  base  of  the  mountains,  of  greater  or 
less  depth,  that  received  the  drainage.  The  water-course  would  be 
gradually  formed  for  the  principal  streams  and  their  branches.  The 
waters  iu  the  parallel  valleys  formed  a  sort  of  lake-like  expansion  of 
the  little  streams,  and  the  waters  of  the  lake  performed  their  work  of 
erosion  at  the  same  time  that  the  streams  wore  their  channels  through 
the  plains.  It  is  probable  that  since  the  close  of  the  tertiary  period, 
and  the  commencement  of  the  present  era,  the  climate  of  the  west  has 
been  much  colder;  that  ice  and  snow  accumulated  on  the  mountain 
ranges  in  vast  quantities ;  and  that  the  quantit}^  of  water  to  produce 
the  results  which  we  find  indicated  by  erosion  and  in  the  drift  was  far 
greater  than  at  present.  It  may  be  that  ice  was  not  the  most  important 
agency,  and  though  the  evidence  is  clear  that  it  performed  an  active 
part,  yet  water  was  the  princij^al  agent,  and  the  present  existence  of  an 
occasional  moderate-sized  boulder  in  the  plains,  too  large  to  be  trans- 
ported by  water  alone,  indicates  that  an  iceberg  was  now  and  then 
drifted  out  on  the  waters  to  the  plains.  The  grooves,  scratches,  and 
smooth  sides  of  the  mountain  valleys  in  Colorado  and  other  portions  of 
the  Kocky  Mountains  point  to  the  same  conclusion. 

From  Horse  Creek  we  proceeded  northward  to  the  ChugNYater,  nine 
miles  distant.  The  road  is  a  perfectly  smooth  one  for  wagons.  On  our 
right  are  continuous  walls  of  White  Eiver  tertiary,  pierced  here  and  there 
by  some  little  branch.  On  the  left  the  granite  rocks  ar^  seen  in  long, 
irregular  ranges,  rising  very  gradually  nearly  to  the  summit.  The  un- 
changed beds  seem  to  have  been  worn  away  to  the  level  of  the  valley  and 
the  edges  covered  with  a  deposit  of  drift.    Here  and  there,  however,  they 


14  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF    THE    TEREITORIES. 

are  exposed  from  beneath  the  White  Eiver  beds  and  the  cretaceous 
strata,  with  the  usual  ferruginous  concretionary  masses,  which  have 
fallen  in  pieces;  and  from  these  latter  have  fallen  out  very  good  speci- 
mens of  Baculites  ovatus  and  Inoceramus. 

Near  the  sources  of  the  Chugwater  are  some  very  rich  iron  mines, 
which  may  prove  of  great  value  to  the  country  in  the  future.  The  fact 
of  their  existence  has  been  known  for  some  years,  but  no  definite 
knowledge  of  them  has  been  given  to  the  world.  In  Stansbury's  Eeport, 
page  266,  there  is  the  following  paragraph:  "In  the  bed  of  the  Chug- 
water,  and  on  the  sides  of  the  adjacent  hills,  were  found  immense  num- 
bers of  rounded  black  nodules  of  magnetic  iron  ore,  which  seemed  of 
unusual  richness."  In  the  winter  of  1859-'60,  while  attached  to  the 
exploring  expedition  of  General  W.  F.  Eaynolds,  I  made  a  trij)  to  the 
sources  of  the  Chugwater,  and  found  great  numbers  of  these  worn  masses 
of  iron  ore;  but  not  until  a  comparatively  recent  period  were  they 
traced  to  their  source  in  the  mountains.  During  the  construction  of 
the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  some  of  the  engineers  visited  the  mines 
and  spoke  of  their  future  value.  In  the  summer  of  1868  I  had  an  op- 
portunity of  examining  this  region  in  company  with  Dr.  Latham  and 
Judge  Whitehead,  of  Wyoming,  and  found  the  mines  much  richer  and 
more  extensive  than  had  previously  been  supposed.  We  commenced  our 
examinations  in  the  valleys  of  the  smaller  branches  of  the  "Chug"  as 
they  emerge  from  the  mountains,  and  found  that  the  stray  masses  of 
iron  ore  were  confined  to  one  of  them.  Following  the  branch  up  into 
the  range  we  soon  came  to  the  ore  beds  themselves,  which  we  found  to 
be  interstratified  among  the  red  feldspathic  granites  which  comjjose 
the  nucleus  of  the  range.  The  ore  beds  incline  in  the  same  dire(;tion 
with  the  granites,  and  have  the  same  joints  and  cleavage,  and  the  ex- 
amples of  slicken-sides  are  numerous.  They  are  not  continuous,  and 
are  confined  to  a  restricted  area,  yet  Mr.  Whitehead  traced  one  of  the 
beds  a  distance  of  over  one  and  a  half  miles.  The  ore  is  located  much 
like  that  in  the  Lake  Superior  region,  and  is  i)robably  of  the  age  of 
the  Laurentian  rocks  of  Canada.  The  quantity  of  ore  in  this  locality 
appears  to  be  unlimited.  Thousands  of  tons  have  been  washed  down 
into  the  valley  of  the  "Chug"  and  distributed  among  the  superficial 
drift.  As  we  leave  the  ore  beds  themselves  these  stray  masses  are 
larger  and  more  angular,  and  as  we  pass  down  the  "Chug"  they  dwindle 
to  minute  pebbles  and  disappear.  Mr.  J.  P.  Carson,  of  New  York,  an 
assistant  in  the  survey  of  1868,  made  the  following  analysis  of  this 
ore,  at  the  school  of  mines,  Columbia  College : 

Sesquioxide  of  iron 45.03 

Protoxide 17.96 

Silica 0.76 

Titanic  acid 23.49 

Alumina 3.98 

Sesquioxide  of  chromium 2.45 

Sesquioxide  of  manganese 1.53 

Lime 1.11 

Oxide  of  zinc 0.47 

Magnesia 1.56 

Sulphur , 1.44 

Phosphorus a  trace 

Fe 45.49     99.78 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  15 

It  will  be  seen  by  this  analysis  that  the  ore  is  very  rich  in  metallic 
iron,  but  it  is  supposed  that  it  will  be  reduced  with  some  difficulty. 
Professor  Siilimau  is  of  the  opinion  that  the  brown  ore  or  limonite  can 
be  employed  with  it,  as  a  flux,  with  favorable  results.  Should  the  time 
ever  arrive  when  this  ore  is  absolutly  demanded  by  the  country  it  will 
be  easily  accessible  from  numerous  jjoints. 

It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  branch  railroad  from  Cheyenne  to 
Montana  will  create  a  demand  for  these  mines,  and  then  the  ore  can  be 
taken  down  the  valley  of  the  Chugwater  with  ease.  The  Chugwater 
Creek  has  its  origin  high  up  in  the  crest  or  divide  of  the  range,  and  flows 
for  several  miles  along  a  rift  or  valley  of  upheaval.  It  then  cuts  through 
a  high  ridge  of  sandstone  of  lower  cretaceous  age,  and  then  wears  its 
channel  through  horizoutal  strata  of  White  Eiver  tertiary  to  its  junc- 
tion with  the  North  Platte. 

From  Cache  a  la  Poudre  to  the  Chugwater,  the  Laramie  Mountains  pre- 
serve a  remarkable  degree  of  regularity.  The  line  of  fracture  seems  to 
have  been  pretty  nearly  north  and  south.  The  singular  parallel  valley, 
previously  described,  ends  with  the  "Chug,"  and  on  the  north  side,  ex- 
tending for  four  or  five  miles,  arelofty  ridges  of  carboniferous  and  triassic 
rocks,  trending  nearly  northeast  aud  southwest,  and  dipping  at  a  high 
angle  to  the  southward.  From  the  "Chug"  nearly  to  the  Laramie  River, 
these  ridges  are  enormously  developed,  having  almost  entirely  escaped 
erosion,  and  the  entire  series  of  sedimentary  beds  to  the  summit  of  the 
cretaceous  can  be  studied  with  ease.  The  most  conspicuous  feature 
which  we  notice  in  descending  the  valley  is  the  high  wall  of  lower  cre- 
taceous sandstone,  which  stretches  away  toward  the  northeast  like  a 
huge  wall,  and  the  jointage  is  so  regular  that  it  jn^sents  the  appear- 
ance of  a  massive  mason- work  gradually  falling  to  decay.  These  lower 
cretaceous  rocks,  or  No.  1,  are  composed  of  two  beds  of  sandstone,  in- 
closing thin  layers  of  clay  and  sand,  with  seams  of  vegetable  matter  or 
impure  coal.  Just  outside  of  this  w^all  is  a  remnant  of  yellow,  chalky, 
calcareous  shale,  of  No.  3  cretaceous,  which  escaped  erosion  when  the 
valley  between  it  and  the  tertiary  wall  w^as  scooped  out.  After  the 
Chugwater  emerges  from  this  ridge,  the  valley  becomes  purely  one  of 
erosion,  iiassing  through  walls  of  whitish  sandstone  and  marly  clays, 
the  layers  of  sandstone  projecting  from  the  sides  of  the  bluffs  like  shelves. 
From  this  point  to  the  entrance  into  the  Laramie  River,  the  "  Chug  "flows 
through  the  same  tertiary  beds,  and  they  vary  here  aud  there  in  their 
lithological  composition.  Near  the  crossing  of  the  "  Chug,"  where  troops 
are  stationed,  a  hill  of  brown  sandstone  appears  on  the  summit  of  the 
bluff's,  which  has  ijrotected  the  underlying  softer  marls  and  sands. 
The  sides  of  these  sandstone  walls  are  forty  to  sixty  feet  perpendicular, 
sometimes  overhanging,  and  large  masses  have  broken  off"  and  fallen 
to  the  base.  The  most  striking  feature,  however,  is  the  tendency  to 
weather  into  the  most  picturesque  castellated  forms.  One  isolated  hill 
is  circular,  and  the  perfectly  flat  summit  suggested  for  it  the  name  of 
"  The  Round  Table." 

Another  isolated  ijortion  of  yellow  marl,  still  lower  down,  stands  out 
so  conspicuously  to  the  view  of  the  traveler  that  it  has  received  the 
name  of  "  The  Pulj^it."  The  marly  layers  indicate  rather  quiet  waters 
for  their  deposition,  but  the  sandstones  show  currents  of  greater  or  less 
velocity ;  sometimes  they  are  quite  fine  and  easilj'  decomposed,  so  that  the 
surface  of  the  plains  in  the  vicinity  is  very  sandy ;  then  they  are  quite 
coarse,  forming  a  conglomerate,  or  pudding  stone,  mostly  of  small  water- 
worn  pebbles,  with  now  aud  then  a  mass  six  inches  in  diameter.  They 
also  lie  irregularly  on  the  arenaceous  marls  below,  as  if  the  surface 'had 


16         GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 

been  mucli  denudecl  i^rior  to  tlie  deposition  of  the  sandstone.  1  tliink, 
liowever,  there  has  been  no  want  of  continuity  in  the  beds,  and  that  the 
irregularity  is  caused  by  the  change  from  quiet  to  turbulent  waters. 
Sometimes  there  is  a  sudden  jog,  so  that  the  sandstone  projects  down 
two  to  four  feet,  into  the  underlyiug  bed  of  marl,  or  it  will  thin  out 
into  indurated  marl,  to  a  great  extent.  For  about  ten  miles  these  rocks 
are  worn  by  atmospheric  influences  into  the  singular  formation  de- 
scribed, and  then  the  cap  of  sandstone  disappears,  and  the  surface  is 
more  rounded  and  covered  with  grass.  The  texture  of  the  rocks  deter- 
mines everywhere  the  surface  outlines  of  the  country.  In  the  walls 
of  sandstone  and  marl  are  deep  vertical  fissures,  much  like  those  in  the 
metamorphic  rocks.  Sometimes  they  pass  up  through  the  sandstone 
cap,  and  at  others  are  checked  by  it.  They  are  often  filled  with  par- 
tially crystallized  material,  or  charged  with  fine  arenaceous  sediment 
from  above.  The  direction  of  these  fissures,  or  shrinkage-cracks,  is 
northwest  and  southeast.  The  plains  everywhere  present  the  appear- 
ance of  remarkable  table-lands,  as  if  the  surface  had  originally  been 
planed  off  with  great  regularity,  and  the  valleys  have  been  grad- 
ually worn  out  by  water.  The  mountains  immediately  north  of  the , 
"Chug"  present  a  fine  illustration  of  the  style  of  flexure  which  is  not  un- 
common throughout  the  Rocky  Mountain  district.  The  ridges  of  un- 
changed formations  seem  to  have  suifered  scarcely  any  erosion  for  a 
distance  often  or  fifteen  miles  north  of  the  "Chug,"  and  die  out  in  the 
Ijlains,  with  a  trend  northeast  and  southwest.  This  causes  a  jog  of  about 
ten  miles  to  the  eastward.  The  j)ivotal  point  seems  to  be  Laramie  Peak. 
Long  lines  of  ridges  may  be  seen  running  out  from  the  main  axis,  nearly 
to  the  head  of  Bitter  Cottonwood ;  and  the  trend  of  the  axis  extends 
northwest.  These  flexures  in  most  cases  afford  the  best  opportunities 
for  studying  the  unchanged  rocks  of  different  ages,  in  their  order  of  se- 
quence, from  the  granites  to  the  most  recent  tertiary. 

In  all  my  examinations,  however,  1  have  not  detected  the  lignite  ter- 
tiary along  the  base  of  the  mountains  north  of  Cheyenne,  until  it  makes 
its  appearance  from  beneath  the  White  Eiver  beds,  about  three  miles 
south  of  Fort  Fetterman. 

The  Chugwater  has  a  valley  about  one  hundred  miles  long. '  It  has 
been  for  many  years  a  favorite  locality  for  wintering  stock,  not  only  on 
account  of  the  excellence  of  the  grass  and  water,  but  also  from  the  fact 
that  the  climate  is  mild  throughout  the  winter.  Cattle  and  horses  thrive 
well  all  winter  without  hay  or  shelter. 

The  high  walls  or  bluffs  which  inclose  the  rather  broad  valley  protect 
it  from  the  strong  cold  winds.  The  soil  is  everywhere  fertile,  and,  where 
the  surface  can  be  irrigated,  good  crops  of  all  kinds  of  cereals  and 
hardy  vegetables  can  be  raised  v\'ithout  difficulty.  From  the  Chugwater 
we  cross  the  table-like  plains  for  ten  miles,  and  descend  to  the  beautiful 
valley  of  the  Laramie.  From  the  plains  the  Laramie  range  comes  out 
in  full  view,  with  the  Laramie  Peak  near  the  center,  towering  far  above 
all  the  other  ranges.  The  main  range,  with  the  numerous  minor  ranges, 
trend  about  northwest  and  southeast.  The  tertiary  rocks  on  the  Lara- 
mie, near  the  crossing,  have  weathered  into  quite  remarkable  architec- 
tural forms,  much  like  those  on  White  River.  The  texture  is  similar, 
also,  with  marls  and  calcareous  concretions  passing  tip  into  fine  sand- 
stones, which  decompose  so  readily,  that  the  valleys  and  the  hills  are 
covered  with  loose  sand.  In  the  harder  layers  of  sandstone  are  singular 
whitish,  concretion-like  sticks  and  twigs.  A  few  fossil  remains  were 
found — as  the  teeth  of  Oreodon  culbertsonii  and  Testudo  nehrascensis. 
Oth%r  bones  were  collected,  which  have  not  been  determined.    There  are 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        17 

also  masses  of  sandstone  vrhicb  appear  like  mud-rock,  and  layers  like 
impure  white  limestone,  probably  composed  largely  of  sulphate  of  lime 
and  magnesia.  From  our  camp  on  the  Laramie  we  enjoyed  one  of  the 
beautiful  sunsets  which  are  not  uncommon  in  this  western  country. 
But  this  was  a  rare  occasion,  for  the  sun  ])assed  down  directly  behind 
the  summit  of  Laramie  Peak.  Tlie  whole  range  was  gilded  with  a 
golden  light,  and  the  haziness  of  the  atmosphere  gave  to  the  whole 
scene  a  deeper  beauty.  Such  a  scene  as  this  could  occur  but  once  in  a 
lifetime.  From  Laramie  Eiver  to  the  Bitter  Cottonwood  our  road 
extends  over  broad,  grassy  plains,  entirely  underlaid  by  the  recent  ter- 
tiary beds.  Upon  our  left  the  mountains  are  in  full  view,  and  the  grassy 
l^lains  seem  to  extend  to  the  granite  foot-hills.  As  the  Bitter  Cottonwood 
Creek  seemed  to  be  the  nearest  point  to  the  Laramie  Peak,  we  camped 
here  two  days  to  make  an  examination  of  that  region.  On  the  morning 
of  August  12th  I  started  for  Laramie  Peak  with  Messrs.  Giftbrd,  Jack- 
son, Elliot,  Turnbull,  and  Ford;  passed  up  the  valley  of  the  Cottonwood 
to  the  foot-hills  of  the  mountains.  Mr.  Jackson  made  a  large  number 
of  excellent  photographic  views,  which  will  prove  of  interest  not  only 
to  science  but  also  to  all  lovers  of  "the  picturesque  in  nature."  The- 
scenery  in  this  region  is  very  attractive  as  well  as  instructive.  The 
valley  of  the  Bitter  Cottonwood,  as  well  as  the  numerous  little  ravines 
that  flow  into  it,  are  inclosed  by  rather  high  bluff-like  banks,  which 
show  no  rocks  older  than  the  White  Eiver  tertiary,  until  we  reach  the 
base  of  the  mountains.  Still  there  is  a  great  thickness  of  what  we  have 
called  "local  drift,"  which  increases  to  the  base  of  the  mountains, 
and  to  a  great  extent  conceals  all  other  rocks.  This  superficial  drift 
becomes  coarser  and  the  stray  rocks  less  worn  the  higher  we  ascend. 
The  difference  in  elevation  between  our  camp  on  the  Cottonwood,  and 
the  base  of  Laramie  Peak — a  distance  of  tw^enty-flve  miles — is  about 
one  thousand  eight  hundred  feet.  I  have  previously  noticed  the  enor- 
mous development  of  the  sedimentary  ridges  north  of  the  Chugwater,. 
and  the  flexure  of  the  mountains  around  to  the  north  and  northwest ; 
also,  the  dying  out  of  the  ridges  in  the  plains  one  after  the  other  in  the 
usual  en  echelon  manner.  Between  Laramie  Canon  and  Horseshoe  Creek 
these  ridges  are  not  seen  at  all,  rising  above  the  surrounding  country, 
and  they  are  exposed  only  in  one  locality,  to  a  limited  extent,  by  one  of 
the  branches  of  the  Cottonwood,  cutting  a  deep  valley  through  the 
superficial  drift  and  tertiary  beds,  just  at  the  base  of  the  mountains. 
The  red  beds  and  carboniferous  limestones  only,  are  seen  on  each  side  of 
the  road  which  leads  from  Fort  Laramie  to  Laramie  Peak.  Here  are  two 
small  rounded  hills  capped  with  carboniferous  limestones.  Still,  for  the 
most  part,  the  drift  and  tertiary  beds  jut  up  against  the  granite  foot-hills, 
and  the  long,  table-like  benches  extend  down  for  miles  with  a  gradual 
but  rather  rapid  descent,  giving  a  far-extended  but  beautiful  and  pic- 
turesque appearance  to  the  scene. 

Between  the  Chugwater  and  the  Laramie  Eiver  the  surface  seems  to 
have  escaped  erosion  to  a  great  extent,  while  between  Laramie  Eiver 
and  the  Bitter  Cottonwood  Creek  the  erosion  has  been  tremendous. 
All  the  ridges,  which  must  have  been  from  five  hundred  to  one  thousand 
feet  in  height,  have  been  smoothed  down  and  concealed,  and  the  gneiss 
and  granites  which  form  the  foot-hills  or  lower  ranges  have  been  worn 
away  so  that  they  project  but  little  above  the  surface.  We  have  there- 
fore a  belt  of  country  underlaid  by  metamorphic  rocks,  five  to  ten 
miles  in  width,  covered  with  most  excellent  grass,  as  level  as  the  plains, 
and  very  desirable  for  settlement ;  which,  but  for  erosion,  would  have 
been  as  rugged  as  any  portion  of  the  mountainous  district.  As  we 
2g 


18        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

approach  tlie  mountains,  we  pass  over  many  beds  of  quartz,  black  g-neiss, 
seams  of  feldspar,  with  now  and  then  a  bed  of  massive  feldspathic 
granite.  These  rocks  are  nearly  vertical  in  position,  and  in  most  cases 
project  above  the  superficial  drift  so  as  to  be  barely  visible,  with  a 
strike  nearly  north  and  south.  The  intercalated  beds  of  massive  un- 
stratified  feldspathic  granites  are  thin  at  first,  while  the  gneissic  beds 
are  the  most  prominent ;  but  as  we  approach  the  base  of  the  mountains 
the  red  feldspathic  granites  rise  in  thick  picturesque  ridges,  fifty  to  one 
hundred  feet  high,  like  ruined  walls,  lending-  a  peculiar  as  well  as  pictur- 
esque appearance  to  the  landscape.  These  granites  afford  most  excel- 
lent rock  studies  of  their  kind.  The  tendency  to  weather  into  rounded 
forms  by  exfoliation  and  the  jointing  are  shown  very  finely.  The 
principal  lines  of  fracture  are  most  continuous,  and  have  a  strike  east 
and  west,  and  southeast  and  northwest,  while  the  other  set  trend  nearly 
north  and  south,  or  northeast  and  southwest.  The  tendency  to  exfolia- 
tion by  the  stripping  off  of  thin  concentric  layers  has  enlarged  the 
openings  sometimes  several  feet.  The  granites  are  thus  divided  into 
rather  regular  rhomboidal  masses,  many  of  which  have  fallen  down  at 
the  foot  of  the  ridges,  and  by  exfoliation  have  been  so  rounded  that  they 
appear  like  immense  transported  boulders.  The  texture  of  the  rock  is 
really  an  aggregate  of  large  crystals  of  reddish  feldspar,  with  quartz 
and  mica ;  the  feldspar  so  predominating  that  it  gives  the  character  to 
the  rock.  The  mica  usually  occurs  in  small  masses  and  in  limited  quan- 
tities. The  gneissic  rocks  are  divided  by  the  jointing  into  more  regular 
cuboidal  blocks,  and  have  suffered  comparatively  little  from  exfoliation. 
The  gneissic  strata  diminish  while  the  massive  granites  increase  as  we 
approach  the  main  range,  which  is  composed  aluiost  entirely  of  the 
latter.  The  examples  of  anticlinals  and  synclinals  in  the  metamorphic 
rocks  are  nowhere  better  shown  than  around  Laramie  Peak.  It  would 
require  a  detailed  geographical  as  well  as  geological  survey,  with  maps 
and  sections  constructed  on  a  large  scale,  to  show  the  various  axes  of 
upheaval. 

The  valley  of  the  Cottonwood  Creek,  which  extends  along  the  east 
base  of  Laramie  Peak  and  rises  about  five  miles  south  of  it  in  the  maui 
crest,  is  a  beautiful  synclinal.  A  series  of  short  parallel  ridges  rise  to 
the  very  summit  of  Laramie  Peak,  on  the  east  ^ide,  inclining  eastward, 
while  on  the  opposite  side  is  a  similar  series  of  ridges,  although  much 
lower,  dipping  to  the  westward.  These  anticlinal  and  synclinal  open- 
ings give  passage  to  the  little  streams  and  ravines  or  form  the  open 
grassy  plains  which  are  so  pleasant  to  the  Indian.  Sometimes  these 
valleys  exj)and  out  into  beautiful  oval,  park-like  areas,  which  at  the  pres- 
ent time  are  the  favorite  resorts  of  the  wild  game,  and,  if  the  country 
were  ever  settled,  would  attract  a  pastoral  people.  Emigrants  from  the 
mountainous  districts  of  the  Old  World  would  find  here  a  scenery  not  un- 
like that  of  their  own  country,  with  pure  air  and  water  and  a  mild  and 
extremely  healthy  climate.  Cereals  and  roots  of  all  kinds  could  be  raised 
sufficient  to  supply  the  wants  of  such  people,  while  the  raising  of  stock 
would  be  a  source  of  wealth  both  to  them  and  to  the  country.  It  is 
somewhat  strange  that  the  Laramie  range  should  give  origin  to  no  im- 
portant stream.  Both  the  Platte  and  the  Laramie  Elvers  liow  directly 
through  it.  While  the  springs  or  little  streams  are  not  uncommon,  this 
range  cannot  be  regarded  as  well  watered,  and  in  the  autumn  the  water 
supply  is  somewhat  limited.  This  may  be  accounted  for  from  the  fact 
that  the  snows  of  winter  are  very  light  and  the  amount  of  rain  falling 
during  the  year  quite  moderate.  Laramie  Peak,  which  is  the  highest 
point  north  of  Long's  Peak,  is  not  more  than  ten  thousand  feet  high, 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        19 

and  usually  retains  no  snow  on  its  summit  after  May.  One  fact  is  quite 
clearly  shown,  along-  the  immediate  base  of  the  mouDtains  from  the 
Chugwater  to  the  Bitter  Cottonwood,  that  when  a  flexure  in  a  mountain 
range  occurs,  a  portion  of  the  foot-hills  and  ridges  have  suffered  very 
little  erosion,  and  can  be  studied  in  their  full  development.  For  a  dis- 
tance of  fifteen  miles  north  of  the  Chugwater  the  local  erosion  from  the 
mountains  was  very  limited,  while  from  Laramie  Eiver  to  the  Bitter  Cot- 
tonwood, about  fifteen  to  twenty  miles,  the  erosion  has  been  tremendous. 
This  difference  can  be  accounted  for,  perhaps,  from  the  fact  that  the 
passage  of  the  waters  from  the  mountains  was  through  the  anticlinal 
and  synclinal  valleys  which  extend  nearly  north,  and  swept  over  the 
l^laius  between  the  Cottonwood  and  the  Laramie  Eivers.  Long  parallel 
benches,  with  remarkably  regular,  table-like  surfiices,  extend  down  from 
the  base  of  the  mountains  between  the  valleys  of  the  streams.  Their  uni- 
formity over  such  large  areas  is  a  striking  feature  in  the  landscape. 
North  of  the  Cottonwood  these  long  benches  have  a  singularly  regular 
series  of  side  furrows,  which  extend  for  miles,  and  give  to  the  surface 
the  appearance  of  the  sea  swept  by  a  gentle  breeze.  We  have  not  before 
observed  this  feature,  so  well  marked,  although  the  parallel  benches  are 
not  uncommon. 

On  the  morning  of  the  14th  we  left  Cottonwood  Creek  for  the  La 
Bonte.  The  wagon-road,  although  several  miles  from  the  Platte  River, 
is  still  ten  to  fifteen  miles  distant  from  the  foot  of  the  mountains.  The 
White  River  tertiary  beds  prevail,  for  the  most  part,  and  here  and  there 
are  high  hills,  or  "  buttes,"  of  marls  and  sandstones,  weathering  into  the 
castellated  forms,  before  described,  but  to  a  limited  extent.  Still,  these 
beds  continue  to  possess  a  thickness  sufficient  to  conceal  the  underlying 
older  formations.  Between  the  Cottonwood  and  Horseshoe  Creeks  these 
deposits  are  overlaid  by  a  heavy  thickness  of  local  drift,  and  jut  up 
against  the  granites  until  we  come  to  the  immediate  valley  of  the 
Horseshoe,  where  it  emerges  from  the  foot-hills.  Here  is  a  singular  val- 
ley of  erosion  on  the  south  side.  A  small  branch  flows  into  the  Horse- 
shoe, uncovering  the  ridges  of  carboniferous  limestones  and  red  beds, 
over  an  area  of  about  a  mile  in  length  and  half  a  mile  in  width ;  still, 
on  the  opposite  or  north  side  of  the  Horseshoe,  the  drift  juts  full  against 
the  granite  sides.  This  examj)le  shows  clearly,  that  even  where  they 
cannot  be  seen  at  the  ijresent  time  these  sedimentary  ridges  exist  in 
gTcater  or  less  force  all  along  the  mountain  flanks.  There  is  no  water 
in  this  little  branch  for  a  great  portion  of  the  year,  yet  all  the  superficial 
drift  or  White  River  sediments  have  been  washed  out,  leaving  the  skele- 
ton-like ridges  of  the  older  rocks.  In  one  place  the  limestones  rest 
directly  on  the  granites.  The  dip  of  the  ridges  is  about  60°,  and  they  are 
two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height  above  the  bed  of 
Horseshoe  Creek.  That  the  Jurassic  and  cretaceous  beds  exist  all  along 
here  we  cannot  doubt,  but  they  are  entirely  concealed.  The  valley  of 
the  Horseshoe  is  about  three  miles  wide  from  bluff  to  bluff.  The  cream- 
colored  marls  lie  close  up  to  the  granite  rocks.  We  have  usually  observed 
that  the  sediments  of  the  later  tertiary  strata  were  coarser  the  nearer 
we  approach  the  base  of  the  mountains ;  but  this  does  not  seem  to  be 
the  rule.  In  some  localities  the  finest  marls  and  sands  rest  directly 
upon  the  metamorphic  rocks  or  fill  up  the  inequalities  in  the  surface  far 
up  among  the  foot-hills  nearly  to  the  crest.  This  range  of  mountains, 
however,  seems  to  have  formed  a  well-defined  shore  line  for  the  lake,  for 
we  can  find  no  evidence  that  the  waters  passed  the  divide  in  the  Laramie 
Plains,  although  they  washed  the  flanks  far  up  toward  the  summit. 

From  the  north  side  of  the  Horseshoe  Creek  we  have  the  most  im- 


20  GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY   OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

posing  view  of  Laramie  Peak,  witli  the  intervening  mountain  ridges. 
They  show  a  trend  about  southeast  and  northwest.  Between  Horseshoe 
and  La  Bonte  the  black  gneiss  beds  must  be  two  thousand  to  three 
thousand  feet  in  thickness,  extending  in  long  lines  across  the  country 
nearly  north  and  south,  just  projecting  above  the  surface,  nearly  vertical. 
For  ten  miles  or  more  the  White  Eiver  tertiary  beds  conceal  the  moun- 
tain flanks ;  but  from  five  to  fifteen  miles  northeast  of  the  range,  toward 
the  Platte  River,  the  older  beds  are  uncovered  over  very  restricted  areas. 
At  the  head  of  a  little  branch  of  La  Bont6  two  ridges  of  reddish  sand- 
stone and  limestone  rise  up  from  beneath  the  tertiary  beds,  inclining  10° 
to  15°  east  of  north.  The  little  dry  branch  has  cut  through  the  rift 
between  the  ridges  caused  by  the  uplift,  showing  one  of  them  to  be  com- 
posed mostly  of  bright  brick-red  sandstone,  with  a  layer  of  light  gray 
sandstone  tinged  with  red,  (triassicj)  while  the  other  ridge  is  made  up 
of  carboniferous  limestones  and  sandstones.  In  the  limestones  are 
seams  of  chalcedony,  from  which  most  of  the  varieties  of  flint  scattered 
through  the  drift  are  doubtless  derived.  Sometimes  these  isolated  hills 
are  elevated  in  such  a  way  that  the  two  sides  incline  in  opposite  direc- 
tions, forming  a  fissure  at  the  summit,  through  which  the  waters  find 
their  way,  thus  wearing  out  a  gorge  or  caiion.  In  the  interval  between 
Horseshoe  and  La  Bonte  Creeks,  and  west  of  the  Platte  Eiver,  the  older 
sedimentary  rocks,  as  carboniferous,  triassic,  Jurassic,  and  cretaceous, 
are  uncovered  in  spots  by  denudation,  always  inclining  from  the  moun- 
tains at  a  high  angle.  The  pine  forests  in  the  mountains  at  the  sources 
of  the  Horseshoe  and  the  La  Bonte  are  more  dense,  and  the  timber 
larger,  than  in  any  other  jjortion  of  the  range  that  we  have  seen.  Great 
abundance  of  ties  for  railroad  purposes  could  be  procured.  Our  camp 
in  the  valley  of  the  La  Bont(§  was  a  pleasant  one ;  a  fine,  luxuriant 
growth  of  grass  covered  the  immediate  bottoms  of  the  creek,  and  our 
animals  found  excellent  grazing  on  the  uplands  also.  The  creek  is  bor- 
dered with  bitter  and  sweet  cottonwood,  box  elder,  and  large  tree  wil- 
lows to  a  considerable  extent.  The  soil  is  certainly  fertile  enough,  and 
where  it  can  be  irrigated,  will  produce  fine  crops  of  all  kinds.  This 
will  prove  one  of  the  best  valleys  along  the  North  Platte,  both  for  agri- 
cultural and  pastoral  purposes. 

On  the  morning  of  the  16th  we  left  La  Bonte  Creek  for  Fort  Fetter- 
man,  which  is  located  near  the  junction  of  La  Prele  with  the  North 
Platte.  The  atmosphere  was  very  smoky,  limiting  our  range  of  vision 
considerably,  so  that  we  could  not  see  the  mountains  distinctly.  Just 
north  of  the  La  Bonte  are  a  series  of  anticlinals  and  synclinals,  which 
are  somewhat  different  from  any  before  observed.  The  road  i^asses 
along  a  synclinal  valley,  with  the  red  sandstones  (triassic)  inclining 
southwest  on  our  left,  and  the  Jurassic,  with  an  outcropping  of  the 
red  beds  at  the  base,  about  a  mile  distant,  on  our  right,  dipping  north- 
east. The  beds  on  our  left  dip  about  30"^,  while  those  on  the  right  not 
more  than  10^  or  15^. 

The  end  of  one  ridge  inclining  southwest  apparently  juts  up  against 
another  inclining  northeast.  These  irregularities  are  local,  and  are  due, 
I)erhaps,  to  the  variableness  of  the  internal  forces  that  produced  the  ele- 
vations and  the  different  degrees  of  strength  of  the  earth's  crust. 

There  is  an  immense  ridge,  or  "hog-back,"  extending  from  the  La 
Bonte  to  the  Eed  Buttes,  which  forms  an  illustration  of  these  apparent 
irregularities  in  the  exhibition  of  the  interior  forces,  on  a  large  scale.  We 
can  express  them  no  better  than  to  call  them  "  i)uffs,"  or  local  risings  of 
the  earth's  surface,  whidi  cause  a  fracture  along  the  central  axis  in 
rather  rcguiar  lines,  and  this  fracture  gives  access  to  atmospheric  iuflu- 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  21 

ences  wliicTi  gradually  wear  out  an  anticlinal  valley.  These  anticliuals 
vary  from  a  few  liuudred  yards  to  many  miles  in  length,  involving  a  few 
beds  or  all  of  them  down  to  the  granite.  We  regard  each  great  range  of 
mountains,  as  the  Laramie  range,  Black  Ilills,  Wind  Eiver  range,  Big 
Horn  range,  &c.,  anticlinals  on  a  grand  scale ;  all  the  ridges,  whether 
composed  of  changed  or  unchanged  rocks,  inclining,  step-like,  from  one 
central  axis. 

In  the  distance,  near  the  North  Platte,  a  bluff-like  wall  can  be  seen, 
composed  of  the  White  Eiver  tertiary  beds,  nearly  horizontal  or  inclin- 
ing at  a  very  small  angle.  This  abrupt  wall  is  more  or  less  continuous 
all  along  the  shore  of  this  ancient  fresh-water  lake,  and  marks  steps  in 
the  progress  after  erosion.  It  shows  that  the  sediments  once  extended 
up  to  the  jflanks  of  the  mountains,  with  a  thickness  of  several  hundred 
feet  more  than  at  present.  Between  this  wall  and  the  sides  of  the 
mountains,  which  vary  in  distance  from  two  to  twenty  miles,  there 
are  always  remnants  more  or  less  continuous,  with  gTeater  or  less  thick- 
ness. It  is  from  underneath  these  beds  that  the  older  rocks  appear,  here 
and  there,  over  an  area  sometimes  of  only  a  few  hundred  feet,  or  extend- 
ing several  miles.  About  five  miles  north  of  La  Bonte,  close  by  the 
traveled  road,  there  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  conical  butte,  composed  of 
fine  gray  sandstones,  portions  of  it  approaching  a  quartzite.  The  butte 
is  about  fifty  feet  high,  with  a  dip  35<^  to  the  northeast,  and  looks  like 
a  mass  of  rocks  that  had  been  transported  from  some  other  locality  and 
lodged  there,  for  there  are  no  others  of  the  kind  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance on  either  side.  The  explanation  appears  to  be,  that  this  is  an 
isolated  portion  left  after  the  erosion  or  denudation  of  this  valley.  About 
half  a  mile  to  our  left  there  is  a  long  parallel  ridge  inclining  northeast 
toward  the  Platte,  with  the  basset  edges  of  the  rocky  layers  on  the 
southwest  side  towards  the  road.  At  the  base  a  small  portion  of  the 
red  beds  is  visible ;  above  them  the  Jurassic  series.  Over  the  red  beds, 
and  forming  a  sort  of  transition  or  bed  of  passage  between  them  and 
the  Jurassic  series  above,  is  a  layer  of  this  same  sandstone,  thirty  to 
fifty  feet  in  thickness.  This  anticlinal  valley  is  about  five  miles  in 
length  and  a  mile  in  width,  and  is  now  occupied  almost  entirely  by  the 
red  beds,  while  the  gray  sandstones,  and  doubtless  the  more  recent 
formations,  Jurassic  and  cretaceous,  extend  over  the  whole  area ;  and 
this  butte,  with  a  few  masses  of  sandstone  on  some  low  elevations  close 
by  it,  is  all  that  is  left  at  the  present  time.  I  call  them  remnants,  mon- 
uments, or  landmarks,  left  after  erosion  to  assist  us  in  reconstructing 
the  ancient  form  of  the  earth's  surface.  We  cannot  say  that,  because  a 
formation  or  series  of  formations  do  not  exist  over  certain  areas  at  the 
present  time,  they  did  not  once  exist  there,  and  that  too  in  their  fall 
development.  How  these  isolated  portions  escaped  the  general  erosion 
it  is  somewhat  difficult  to  determine.  The  currents  of  water,  which  seem 
to  have  come  from  the  direction  of  the  mountain  range,  were  perhaps 
turned  aside  by  some  obstruction  thus  passing  around  them  ;  no  debris  of 
any  kind  has  lodged  on  the  sides  of  the  butte.  The  entire  plain  country 
of  the  West  aftbrds  examples  of  these  buttes,  and  I  have  often  alluded 
to  them  in  former  reports.  Bijoux  Hills,  on  the  Missouri  Eiver,  Turtle 
Hill,  Deers  Ears,  Thunder  Butte,  Church  Buttes,  Pulpit  Eock,  and  many 
others  which  have  been  regarded  as  worthy  of  a  place  on  our  best 
geographical  maps,  are  examples  of  this  kind. 

A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  the  Laramie  Mountains  have  bent 
around  westward  so  as  to  cause  the  upheaved  ridges  to  incline  about  north- 
east, and  as  the  range  continues  to  curve  the  ridges  to  incline  north  and 
even  to  the  northwest,  following  the  bend  of  the  axis  of  elevation.    In  the 


22        GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

red  beds,  between  the  La  Bonte  and  La  Prele,  are  some  layers  of  fine  white 
amorphous  gypsum.  About  ten  miles  from  La  Bonte  we  cross  Spring 
Creek,  a  small  stream  without  wood,  where  travelers  sometimes  halt 
for  lunch  or  rest.  The  most  conspicuous  feature  here  is  the  bluff 
wall  of  tertiary,  which  extends  up  westward  so  as  to  form  the  high  hills 
on  the  north  side  of  the  valley.  The  waters  have  worn  deep  into  the 
cream-colored  marls,  so  that  we  have  over  a  restricted  area  miniature 
"  bad  lands."  The  dome-like  hills  and  the  numberless  furrows  down  the 
sides,  the  harder  layers  projecting  out  like  verandahs,  are  well  shown. 
Three  miles  before  reaching  Fort  Fettermau,  the  lignite  beds  make  their 
appearance  from  beneath  the  more  modern  deposits,  exhibiting  their 
peculiar  lithological  characters  in  a  marked  degree.  The  strata  dip  20^ 
northeast,  and  where  seen  in  apposition,  the  White  Eiver  tertiaries  do 
not  conform.  Seams  of  lignite  and  great  quantities  of  brown  iron  ore 
occur  here.  Some  of  the  iron  ore  is  quite  rich,  but  most  of  it  is  very 
lean.  The  prevailing  constituent  in  all  the  rocks,  sands,  sandstones, 
clays,  &c.,  is  iron,  presenting  every  shade  of  color  that  can  be  derived 
from  that  mineral,  the  yellow  iron-rust  color  predominating.  There  are, 
however,  some  layers  of  quartzite  or  coarse  sandstone,  which  is  very 
compact  and  nearly  black,  and  some  of  it  contains  a  fair  percentage  of 
iron.  As  soon  as  we  come  to  these  beds,  the  entire  surface  of  the  country 
presents  a  somber  hue,  more  rugged  and  less  fertile ;  due  probably  to  the 
greatly  diminished  amount  of  calcareous  matter.  Much  of  the  country 
has  a  burnt  appearance,  due,  probably,  to  the  oxidation  of  the  iron.  Fort 
Fetterman  is  pleasantly  located  on  a  bench-like  point  between  the  La 
Prele  and  the  North  Platte,  near  their  junction.  It  commands  a  fine 
^dew  of  the  country  in  every  direction,  but  more  especially  up  the  Platte 
Yalley,  which  can  be  seen  for  ten  miles  or  more,  with  its  sinuosities  and 
its  pretty  fringe  of  fresh  green  foliage.  All  the  underlying  rocks  on 
both  sides  of  the  Platte,  as  well  as  the  La  Prele,  for  several  miles  around, 
belong  to  the  eocene  or  lignite  tertiary  period.  The  soil  everywhere 
seems  to  be  productive.  Several  of  the  officers  at  Fort  Fetterman  have 
made  experiments  in  raising  vegetables  in  a  small  way  with  success. 
It  is  the  opinion  of  Colonel  Chambers,  the  commander  of  the  post,  that 
with  suitable  irrigation,  all  the  more  important  crops  can  be  raised  with 
ease. 

On  the  morning  of  the  17th  we  made  a  short  side  trip  from  the  fort 
up  the  valley,  to  the  caiiou  of  the  La  Prele.  Lieutenant  O'Brien  and 
Captain  Wells  accompanied  us  to  point  out  the  location  of  a  remarkable 
natural  bridge,  which  was  said  to  rival  the  famous  one  in  Virginia,  with 
which  every  school-boy  is  familiar.  We  found  it  even  more  wonderful 
than  we  had  anticipated,  and  it  is  a  matter  of  surprise  that  so  great 
a  natural  curiosity  should  have  failed  to  attract  the  attention  it  de- 
serves. The  caiiou  is  about  ten  miles  from  the  fort,  and  is  formed 
by  the  passage  of  La  Prele  Creek  through  a  long  ridge  that  extends 
from  the  La  Bonte  to  Bed  Buttes.  The  canon  is  one  of  upheaval  and 
erosion.  The  ridge  is  a  long,  local  anticlinal  or  "puff,"  and  the  strata 
incline  from  each  side  of  the  summit.  The  gorge  is  very  irregular  and 
tortuous,  filled  with  huge  masses  of  rock  that  have  fallen  down,  obstruct- 
ing the  passage.  Where  the  stream  has  cut  through  the  rocks  direct 
we  have  vertical  walls  on  each  side  and  a  narrow  gorge;  but  where 
the  channel  passes  along  a  rift  the  valley  expands  out  several  hun- 
dred feet.  Where  the  La  Prele  emerges  from  the  canon  it  cuts 
through  the  limestones  and  red-beds  at  right  angles,  forming  a  regular 
gorge,  with  walls  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high.  At  the  head 
of  this  gorge  the  stream  has  at  some  time  changed  its  bed,  passing 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        23 

directly  throngli  a  point  of  rocks  that  extends  across  the  channel.  The 
old  bed  is  now  overgrown  with  trees  and  bnshes,  but  is  fifty  feet  higher 
than  the  present  one.  The  little  creek  must  have  changed  its  course 
slightly,  for  some  reason  not  apparent  now,  so  that  its  waters  were 
brought  against  this  point  or  wall  of  rock,  and  finding  a  fissure  or  open- 
ing "through,  it  gradually  wore  its  present  channel.  It  is  certainly  as 
perfect  a  natural  bridge  as  could  be  desired.  The  opening  under  the 
bridge  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  wide  and  Mty  feet  high.  The 
old  bed  is  about  three  hundred  feet  to  the  northwest.  It  is  also  plain 
that  the  water  at  one  time  flowed  over  the  top  of  the  bridge,  which  is 
fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  lower  than  the  top  of  the  gorge,  so  that  we 
have  here  some  of  the  intermediate  steps  which  a  stream  takes  in  the 
process  of  wearing  out  a  gorge  or  channel.  The  rocks  are  mostly  lime- 
stone, quite  pure,  arenaceous  limestone,  and  at  the  base  very  cherty 
limestone.  I  found  a  few  fossils  in  the  caQon  in  a  blue  limestone,  as 
Hemipronites  crassus,  Prodnctus  nodosus  Myalina  perattemiata,  &c.  I 
think  all  the  rocks  are  of  carboniferous  age,  although  some  of  them  may 
be  Silurian.  Whatever  the  age  of  the  rocks  may  be,  there  seems  to  be  a 
great  thickening  of  them  as  we  go  westward.  This  ridge,  which  is 
twelve  hundred  feet  above  the  base,  is  composed  entirely  of  what  I  have 
usually  classified  as  carboniferous  rocks,  and  nowhere  in  the  caiion, 
which  is  at  least  half  a  mile  in  length  in  a  straight  line,  have  the  waters 
worn  through  to  the  granites.  On  the  west  side  of  this  ridge  the  beds 
incline  west,  northwest,  and  southwest,  and  between  it  and  the  main 
mountain  range  there  is  an  interval  of  ten  to  fifteen  miles  in  width, 
with  one  or  two  ridges  of  limestone  and  sandstone  dipping  from  the 
mountains.  This  broad  interval  forms  a  beautiful,  grassy  valley,  whicb 
is  a  great  resort  for  game,  and  will  some  time  afford  fine  pasturage  for 
stock.  The  metamorphic  rocks  soon  make  their  appearance.  On  the 
northeast  side  of  the  ridges  the  White  Eiver  beds  lap  on  the  flanks  in 
many  places,  but  here  and  there  they  are  stripped  off  so  as  to  reveal  the 
red-beds,  Jurassic  marls,  and  the  cretaceous.  Six  miles  of  the  valley 
between  the  caiion  is  covered  with  the  modern  deposits,  and  the  remain- 
der of  the  way  to  the  fort,  with  the  lignite  beds,  which  are  shown  in  high, 
cut  bluffs  of  ferruginous  sands  and  sandstones.  We  were  indebted  to 
the  hospitable  ofl&cers  of  Fort  Fetterman  for  a  very  pleasant  and  instruct- 
ive day. 

We  will  now  notice  briefly  the  geological  character  of  some  of  the  well- 
known  localities  contiguous  to  but  not  immediately  on  the  route.  The 
White  River  group,  which  we  have  had  occasion  to  mention  so  often, 
extends  from  La  Prele  Creek  eastward  nearly  to  the  Missouri  Eiver. 
It  is  therefore  the  prevailing  formation  in  this  region.  Scott's  Bluffs, 
Chimney  Eock,  and  Court-house  Eocks  are  well-known  landmarks  on 
the  North  Platte,  belonging  to  the  White  Eiver  group.  A  few  miles 
north,  or  northwest,  of  Fort  Laramie  is  a  group  of  high  hills  rising 
above  the  tertiary  beds,  exposing  a  considerable  thickness  of  carbonif- 
erous rocks,  with  an  extensive  series  of  gneissic  strata;  and  here  and 
there  a  nucleus  of  feldspathic  granites.  Eaw  Hide  Butte,  which  gives 
origin  to  several  streams,  as  Eaw  Hide  Creek  and  a  branch  of  the  Mo 
brara  Eiver,  rises  above  the  surrounding  country  six  hundred  to  eight 
hundred  feet,  and  exposes  a  nucleus  of  reddish  feldspathic  granite,  with 
gneissic  strata  inclining  from  its  sides,  with  carboniferous  limestones 
reposing  uncouformably  upon  the  upturned  edges.  In  some  cases  the 
limestones  are  elevated  to  the  summits  of  the  hills  in  a  nearly  horizontal 
position.  All  these  isolated  mountains  seem  to  have  been  islands  in  this 
great  tertiary  lake.  There  is  no  doubt  that  all  the  formations  that  suc- 
ofed  the  carboniferous  period,  as  triassic,  Jurassic,  cretaceous  and  lower 


24  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

tertiary,  once  covered  tliem  in  tbeir  full  thickness,  but  tliey  liave  all 
been  swept  away.  Now  the  more  modern  tertiary  beds  jut  up  against 
their  sides  or  are  deposited  high  up  in  the  ravines,  indicating  by  their 
position  that  this  lake  existed  here  after  the  mountains  had  attained 
nearly  their  present  elevation.  There  is  also  an  anticlinal  valley  more 
or  less  distinct,  extending  across  the  intervening  country,  connecting 
those  elevations  with  the  Black  Hills  and  the  Laramie  Eange.  The  fact 
that  nearly  all  of  the  ranges,  however  small  they  may  be  or  distinct 
from  each  other,  are  connected  together  by  some  link  however  obscure, 
illustrates-  the  unity  and  simplicity  of  the  Eocky  Mountain  system. 


CHAPTER  II. 

FROM  FORT  FETTERMAN  TO  SOUTH  PASS. 

On  the  morning  of  the  20th  we  left  Fort  Fetterraan  for  the  South  Pass 
by  way  of  the  Sweetwater.  Our  first  camp  was  on  Box  Elder 
Creek,  twelve  and  one-third  miles  up  the  valley  of  the  North  Platte. 
The  lignite  tertiary  beds  are  the  only  rocks  exposed,  and  they  incline 
north  and  northwest  5°  to  15^.  They  are  comi^osed  of  rusty  sands  and 
sandstones,  arenaceous  clays,  with  some  seams  of  impure  lignite.  Some 
of  the  sandstones  are  largely  concretionary,  and  break  in  i)ieces  readily 
on  exposure.  The  high  ridge  to  the  west  of  us  trends  about  north- 
east and  southwest.  Along  the  base  of  the  ridge  are  some  terrace-like 
benches,  perhaps  broken  fragments  of  higher  levels  not  swept  away. 
They  extend  at  intervals  as  far  as  Fort  Casper.  In  some  instances 
they  jut  up  closely  and  even  lap  on  to  the  flanks  of  the  ridge 
They  are  remnants  of  the  White  River  group,  whick  once  extended  un- 
interruptedly over  the  whole  valley  close  up  to  the  ridge,  but  which  has 
been  washed  away,  except  these  fragments.  They  now  seem  to  give 
that  beautiful  bench-like  aspect  to  the  surface,  which,  contrasting  with 
the  rugged  features  of  the  ridge,  adds  interest  to  the  scenery.  They 
nowhere  incline  more  than  5°,  and  in  most  instances  are  horizontal, 
never  conforming  with  the  older  formations.  It  is  most  interesting,  by 
means  of  these  remnants,  to  trace  the  old  shore-line  of  the  lake,  which 
can  be  done  as  perfectly  and  as  clearly  as  that  of  any  of  the  northern 
lakes  of  the  present  time.  This  hog-back  or  ridge  seems  to  have  formed 
an  effectual  barrier  to  these  waters  on  the  north  side  of  the  Laramie 
Mountains. 

The  Box  Elder  Caiion  aflbrds  a  good  section  through  the  ridge.  It  is 
a  much  more  regular  gorge  than  the  caiion  of  the  La  Prele,  and  is  purely 
one  of  erosion,  and  is  six  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet  in  depth.  It  is 
so  narrow  that  it  is  difficult  to  pass  through  it  on  foot,  and  the  sides  are 
perpendicular,  and  sometimes  overhanging.  The  predominating  rocks 
are  sandstones,  or  calcareous  sandstones,  with  some  layers  of  quite  fine 
limestones,  but  there  is  a  great  variety  of  texture.  Some  of  the  layers 
indicate  very  quiet  deposition  for  forty  or  fifty  feet,  but  the  greater  i)or- 
tion  of  the  sandstones  is  full  of  irregular  layers,  showing  clearly  the 
nature  of  the  waters  at  the  time.  The  prevailing  color  is  light  yellow, 
varying  to  a  deep  rusty  hue,  but  there  is  often  a  tinge  of  brick  red  which 
is  marked  at  some  localities.  The  sandstones  are  full  of  beautiful  sili- 
ceous geodes.  The  ci'j^stals  of  quartz  are  mostly  small,  but  very  clear, 
and  are  set  in  a  layer  of  amorphous  silica  or  chalcedony  as  a  paste.  In 
the  cherty  limestones  are  very  distinct  fossils,  as  Athyris,  OrtJwceras, 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITOEIES.  25 

and  others.  Near  the  summit  of  the  ridges  the  gorge  becomes  very  deep 
aud  narrow,  and  the  granite  rocks  are  well  exposed,  with  the  unchanged 
beds  directly  in  contact.  In  the  valley  of  a  small  stream  about  four  miles 
above,  the  unchanged  beds  extend  only  up  to  the  foot-hills,  while  their 
relation  to  the  metamorphic  rocks  is  perfectly  clear.  Eestiug  directly 
upon  the  granite  rocks  is  a  bed  of  reddish  sandstone  and  quartzite, 
sometimes  so  coarse  as  to  be  called  a  pudding-stone,  which  I  have  no 
doubt  is  Lower  Silurian,  (Potsdam.)  No  fossils  could  be  found,  but  the 
character  and  position  of  the  rock  render  it  most  probable  that  it  is  of 
that  age.  Above  it,  without  any  apparent  unconformability,  are  beds 
of  limestone  and  sandstone,  which  I  have  regarded  as  carboniferous, ' 
though  a  portion  may  be  of  older  date.  Eeceding  from  the  foot-hills 
is  a  series  of  low  ridges,  of  Jurassic,  cretaceous,  and  lignite  strata,  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  reach — far  across  the  Platte.  The  red  beds  are  not  cjearly 
shown,  but  there  are  remnants  of  them  on  the  flanks  to  show  they  once 
existed  here.  The  White  Eiver  beds  which  jut  up  against  the  sides  of 
the  ridge  are  largely  made  up  of  reddish,  indurated  sand,  no  doubt  de- 
rived from  the  ground-up  materials  of  the  red  beds.  Among  the  cai*- 
boniferous  rocks  of  this  region  are  beds  that  could  be  made  useful  for 
economical  purposes.  The  yellow,  rather  chalky  limestone  near  the 
summit  of  the  ridge  is  rather  magnesian,  and  could  easily  be  wrought 
into  fine  building  materials.  It  somewhat  resembles  the  magnesian 
limestone  so  much  in  use  near  Junction  City,  Kansas,  but  it  is  more 
chalky.  It  contains  a  few  small  cavities  filled  with  quartz  crystals,  but 
not  to  such  an  extent  as  to  prove  an  injury.  The  surface  exix)sed  to  the 
atmosphere  is  covered  with  beautiful,  basin-like  depressions,  in  which 
the  rain-water  accumulates,  showing  that  it  is  acted  ui)on  readily  by  the 
atmosphere.  The  mountain  ridge  which  we  have  been  examining  runs 
out  in  the  valley  of  Deer  Creek,  about  fifteen  miles  above  the  Box  Elder, 
producing  a  jog.  A  second  ridge  comes  in  about  five  miles  back  of 
this,  which  fronts  the  Platte  for  ten  miles,  where  the  Casper  Eidge 
juts  in  abruptly  and  ends  with  the  Eed  Buttes.  This  jog  occui^ies  an 
area  about  five  miles  wide  and  ten  miles  long,  and  has  been  so  smoothed 
by  denudation  that  it  is  very  beautiful  to  the  eye,  and  always  has  been 
an  attractive  place  for  herdsmen. 

Eleven  years  ago  I  passed  a  portion  of  the  winter  in  this  valley,  con- 
nected as  an  assistant  with  an  exploring  party  under  the  command  of 
Captain  W.  F.  Eaynolds,  United  States  Engineers.  Our  stock,  which 
amounted  to  nearly  two  hundred  mules  and  horses,  was  wintered  very 
nicely  in  the  valley  of  Deer  Creek  near  this  jog,  without  a  i^article  of 
hay  or  grain,  with  only  the  grass  which  they  gathered  from  day  to  day. 
The  climate  was  mild  and  the  snow  never  deep,  so  that  the  ground  was 
always  exposed  to  some  extent.  The  present  season  the  hay  for  winter 
use  at  Fort  Fetterman  is  obtained  from  this  valley.  The  geology  of  the 
valley  of  Deer  Creek  is  very  interesting  in  its  details,  and  I  regretted 
that  I  could  not  spend  more  time  at  this  point.  From  its  junction  with 
the  North  Platte  for  five  miles  of  the  valley  the  lignite  beds  are  well 
developed,  revealing  the  usual  sandstones,  indiirated  clays,  &c.  Near  the 
mouth  of  Deer  Creek  a  coal-bed  was  on  fire  in  the  winter  of  1859-'60,  and 
I  was  informed  that  it  is  still  burning.  The  surface  is  heated  and  much  of 
the  earth  baked  a  brick-red  color  for  a  considerable  space.  Five  miles 
up  the  valley  the  black  clays  of  No.  4,  capped  with  a  thin  bed  of  ferru- 
ginous arenaceous  clays.  No.  5,  is  exposed  in  the  bluffs  by  the  creek. 
Underlying  a  long  bench  which  extends  down  from  the  foot  of  the 
upheaved  ridges  are  two  quite  striking  beds  of  sandstone.  The  lower 
one  is  concretionary  entirely;  that  is,  it  is  filled  with  spherical  masses 


26        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

of  sandstone  of  all  sizes  from  a  few  inches  in  diameter  to  several  feet 
which  split  horizontally  into  thin  laminse.  The  indurated  sandy  clay 
in  which  these  concretions  are  inclosed  exhibits  the  same  concretionary 
character  so  that  the  rocks  weather  into  curiously  fantastic  forms.  This 
bed  is  undoubtedly  cretaceous,  and  is  probably  a  bed  of  passage  to  the 
lignite  tertiary.  A  few  fossils  are  found  in  the  harder  masses,  as  Inocer- 
amus,  Baculites,  &c.  Above  this  bed  is  a  thick  group  of  grayish-brown 
sandstones,  with  rusty  brown  concretions,  which  also  weather  into  curi- 
ous architectural  forms.  These  benches  extend  nearly  to  the  foot  of  the 
upheaved  ridge,  with  only  a  slight  inclination,  perhaps  5°.  The  older 
beds  are  exposed  forming  a  very  narrow  belt. 

Our  camp  on  the  night  of  August  21  was  near  the  mouth  of  Muddy 
Creek,  on  the  North  Platte,  thirty-four  and  one-fourth  miles  northeast 
of  Fort  Fetterman.  Muddy  Creek  rises  in  the  Laramie  range,  cuttin«- 
a  remarkable  canon  through  the  eastern  end  of  Casper  Mountain,  one  of 
upheaval  and  erosion  combined.  The  eastern  end  of  this  singular  rido-e 
is  about  fifteen  miles  southwest  of  the  mouth  of  Muddy  Creek,  and  con- 
tinues nearly  parallel  with  the  Platte  for  twenty  miles  or  more  until  it 
ceases  at  the  Eed  Buttes.  About  noon  of  the  22d  we  left  the  Platte  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Muddy  and  struck  across  the  intervening  country  in  a 
southeast  direction,  to  make  an  examination  of  this  interesting  rido-e 
The  scenery  at  the  head  of  the  Muddy  is  very  remarkable,  and,  s'o  far*as 
dynamical  geology  is  concerned,  would  well  repay  a  week  or  two  of  dili- 
gent study.  Casper  Eidge  seems  to  trend  nearly  northeast  and  south- 
west, and  the  rocks  which  cap  the  ridge  dip  slightly  southeast.  The 
ridge  is  capped  with  carboniferous  limestones  and  Potsdam  sandstones, 
and  these  form  a  high  wall  abutting  northwest  toward  the  Platte,  as  if 
the  whole  mass  had  been  lifted  up  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand  feet 
above  the  plains  below,  in  a  nearly  horizontal  position,  and  the  edges  had 
been  broken  off  all  round,  and  the  fragments  are  now  found  lying  against 
the  sides  in  a  highly  inclined  position,  or  have  been  washed  away.  The 
eastern  end  has  escaped  erosion,  for  the  ridges  are  here  quite  large.  The 
Muddy  flows  through  a  narrow  valley,  for  a  mile  or  two  over  a  portion'of  the 
red  beds— a  high  ridge  on  the  left,  composed  of  heavy  beds  of  bluish 
limestone,  red  argillaceous  sands  and  sandstones;  immense  beds,  capped 
with  a  massive  bed  of  fine  pudding  stone,  which  I  have  usually  regarded 
as  the  bed  of  passage  between  the  Jurassic  and  cretaceous.  This  is  the 
first  time  I  have  noticed  these  pudding-stone  beds  north  of  Cache  a  la 
Poudre.  They  are  well  developed  and  persistent  through  Colorado  and 
New  Mexico,  but  apparently  disappear,  in  part  or  entirely  north  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Eailroad.  But  here  we  find  them  appearing  quite  suddenly 
in  full  development.  Immense  cubical  masses  have  fallen  from  the 
ridge,  twenty  feet  thick.  This  pudding-stone  is  composed  of  smoothly 
worn  pebbles  cemented  in  a  paste  of  sand,  and  disintegrates  slowly,  and  is 
so  hard  that  a  fracture  passes  through  the  pebbles.  It  would  polish  well, 
and  make  an  excellent  building  rock.  These  tilted  ridges  seem  to  bend 
around  toward  the  south  side  of  the  Casper  Eidge,  and  I  have  no  doubt 
it  may  be  regarded  as  an  oblong  quaquaversal.  The  edges  which  have 
broken  off',  or  bent  down,  incline  from  all  sides  of  the  central  portion. 

The  Muddy  Creek  issues  from  Casper  Eidge  in  two  branches,  cutting 
deep  and  most  picturesque  gorges  through  the  yellow  and  reddish  car- 
boniferous rocks.  The  walls  of  the  caiions  show  on  the  outside  the 
beds  inclining  40°  to  60°,  but  in  the  ridge  the  beds  are  nearly  hori- 
zontal from  base  to  summit,  five  hundred  to  six  hundred  feet.  '  These 
gorges  show  quite  clearly  the  anatomy  of  the  ridges.  Passing  from  the 
.east  end  of  the  ridge  westward,  we  find  that  for  about  a  mile  the  broken 


>.     GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        27 

portions  lap  on  to  the  sides  of  the  ridge  in  regular  order,  then  for 
about  five  miles  they  have  been  entirely  swept  away,  revealing  the 
metamorphic  rocks  in  places  and  the  contact  of  the  unchanged  beds 
with  them.  An  immense  deposit  of  debris  covers  the  lower  lidges  at 
the  base  and  juts  up  against  the  sides  of  the  ridge;  the  nearly  vertical 
edges  of  the  fragmentary  ridges  project  above  the  debris,  as  remnants 
left  after  erosion.  The  debris  or  superficial  drift  is  so  great  that  it  juts 
up  against  the  side  of  the  ridge  at  least  six  hundred  feet  above  the  bed 
of  the  riatte,  concealing,  to  a  great  extent,  the  underlying  forma- 
tions. Still  portions  crop  out  occasionally,  showing  that  they  exist.  The 
ridges  of  cretaceous  and  lignite  tertiary  are  very  distinct  in  the  plains, 
inclining  from  the  mountain  at  a  small  angle.  Near  the  Platte,  about 
ten  miles  above  the  Muddy  Creek,  there  is  a  considerable  area  covered 
with  light-gTay  sandstones,  which  have  weathered  into  most  unique 
forms.  They  resemble  the  ruins  of  some  old  village,  j)ortions  of  the 
stone  walls  with  the  chimneys  remaining.  One  mass  of  rock  we  called 
the  "Blacksmith's  Forge."  The  material  is  a  fine  gray  sandstone,  with 
very  irregular  layers  of  deposition.  No  single  lamina  can  be  traced 
continuously  more  than  a  few  feet.  The  rock  is  also  full  of  rusty,  ferru- 
ginous, hollow  nodules.  It  has  been  weathered  full  of  holes  and  caves, 
which  give  it  a  picturesque  appearance.  These  afford  fine  places 
of  retreat  for  wild  animals.  The  sandstone  is  so  soft  they  have  been 
enabled  to  extend  the  natural  cavities  at  pleasure.  When  exam- 
ined with  a  glass  the  sandstone  shows  small  particles  of  quartz,  with 
a  few  grains  of  feldspar  and  mica,  loosely  held  together.  The  dip  of 
all  the  tertiary  beds  is  northeast  5°  to  20<^.  A  bed  of  lignite  crops  out 
in  many  jjlaces.  Near  old  Fort  Casper  the  long  benches  that  extend 
down  from  the  base  of  the  ridge  toward  the  Platte  form  a  marked  fea- 
ture in  the  surface.  They  are  composed  of  tertiary  and  cretaceous  beds, 
and  the  latter  formation  is  better  shown  here  than  at  any  other  point 
north  of  the  Chugwater.  These  benches  are  really  table-lands,  their 
surface  appearing  even  and  smooth  to  the  eye.  Just  above  the  bridge  are 
some  high  bluffs  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Platte,  composed  of  lower  creta- 
ceous clays.  No.  2.  On  the  summit  of  the  hills',  about  four  miles  east  of 
the  Eed  Buttes,  are  some  quite  prominent  ledges  of  yellow  ferruginous 
sandstone  with  Inoceramus  and  huge  rusty  concretions;  underneath 
them  are  the  black  shaly  clays  of  No.  2,  with  all  the  evidence  of  barren- 
ness w^hich  they  carry  with  them.  There  seems  to  be  an  unusual  ex- 
posure of  the  cretaceous  beds  for  about  fifteen  miles,  and  they  jut  up 
close  to  the  base  of  Casper  Eidge.  The  beds  incline  from  the  ridge  in 
regular  order,  and  follow  its  flexures. 

Our  camp  near  the  lied  Buttes  was  an  interesting  and  instructive  one. 
AYe  were  located  on  a  broad,  grassy  bottom  of  the  Platte,  in  a  sort  of 
amphitheater,  with  the  rocky  beds  rising  to  a  great  elevation  all  around 
us.  The  Eed  Buttes  are  so  called  from  the  high  ridges  or  groups  of  ridges 
which  are  separated  by  the  channel  of  the  Platte.  The  basset  edges  of 
the  beds  bear  eastward  toward  our  camp,  and  a  laj^er  of  the  brick-red 
argillaceous  shales  is  exposed.  As  w^e  approached  them  from  the  east 
in  the  afternoon,  the  rays  of  the  setting  sun  greatly  heightened  their 
color  and  brought  them  out  in  relief,  so  that  we  could  readily  see  why 
they  have  been  such  prominent  landmarks  and  have  so  long  attracted 
the  attention  of  the  traveler.  These  buttes,  taken  together,  may  be 
regarded  as  an  irregular  anticlinal,  with  one  side  formed  of  quite 
lofty  ridges,  and  the  opposite  side  fragments  of  low  ridges,  which  look 
as  though  they  had  broken  off  of  the  edges  of  the  opposite  portion 
during  the  upheaval.    The  red  beds  are  well  exposed,  with  a  thickness 


28        GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.   • 

of  four  himdrecl  feet,  and  aboA^e  tliemare  the  Jurassic  beds,  with  Pec-' 
ten,  Belemnites  densus,  and  a  small  species  of  Ostrea  iu  great  numbers. 
The  summit  is  capped  with  the  thick  layer  of  pudding-stone  described  as 
occurring  near  the  source  of  the  Muddy,  huge  masses  of  which  have  fallen 
on  the  side  and  at  the  base  of  the  ridge,  looking  like  gigantic  boulders.  One 
of  these  masses  is  twenty-eight  feet  in  all  its  dimensions,  and  is  com- 
posed of  water- worn  pebbles,  varying  in  size  from  a  grain  of  quartz  to 
an  inch  in  diameter,  set  in  a  cement  of  sand.  The  large,  amphitheater- 
like area  inclosed  by  the  Eed  Buttes  and  vicinity  might  be  called  an  iin- 
perfect  quaquaversal,  composed  of  a  number  of  anticlinals  and  i)artial 
quaquaversals.  On  the  north  side  of  the  Platte  an  anticlinal  extends 
off  toward  the  northwest,  showing  in  a  small  area  the  upper  portion  of 
the  Jurassic  with  a  full  development  of  the  cretaceous.  The  two  sides 
come  together  iu  a  distance  of  five  or  six  miles  and  finally  die  out  in 
the  plains.  The  Platte  passes  through  this  anticlinal.  On  the  south 
side  of  the  river  the  two  sides  of  the  anticlinal  are  well  shown,  but 
only  the  cretaceous  and  Jurassic  beds  are  exposed.  In  the  former  are 
four  or  five  layers  of  sandstone  with  interpolated  beds  of  indurated  sandy 
clay,  and  separating  the  two  formations  is  a  massive  bed  of  quartzite 
or  sandstone,  of  variable  thickness  as  well  as  texture,  ten  to  thirty  feet. 
On  the  east  side  of  the  Platte  is  quite  a  remarable  gorge  or  canon,  which 
was  first  observed  by  the  zealous  photographer  of  the  expedition,  Mr. 
Jackson  of  Omaha,  and  in  whose  honor  we  called  it  Jackson's  CaGon. 
The  waters  of  a  former  period  (for  the  gorge  is  a  dry  one  at  the  present 
time)  have  cut  directly  down  through  the  limestone,  much  as  they 
have  at  Box  Elder  and  at  the  head  of  the  Muddy.  The  gorge  is  two 
hundred  feet  wide  at  the  top,  and  sixty  to  seventy  feet  at  the  bottom, 
and  three  hundred  and  fifty  feet  to  four  hundred  feet  deep.  From  the 
caSon  the  red  beds  incline  in  a  series  of  ridges  which  form  one-half 
a  circle.  These  red  beds  contain  irregular  seams  of  gypsum.  Par 
to  the  northwest  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  can  be  dimly  seen,  and  the 
intermediate  space  between  them  and  the  Platte  is  slightly  disturbed  by 
lines  extending  across  the  plain  toward  the  range.  These  lines  of  dis- 
turbance, or  anticlinals,  seldom  bring  to  the  surface  rocks  older  than  cre- 
taceous. At  Piney  Butte  the  Jurassic  beds  are  exposed  over  a  very 
small  area.  It  appears  that  at  this  point  the  Laramie  range  breaks  up 
into  several  lines  of  disturbance,  extending  far  across  the  plain  toward 
the  Big  Horn  range.  So  far  as  I  can  ascertain,  the  ranges  are  there 
more  intimately  connected  than  with  any  others  to  the  westward.  They 
both  form  the  outer  or  eastern  border  ranges. 

On  the  morning  of  the  26th  we  left  our  pleasant  camp  near  the  Eed 
Buttes,  and  passed  over  the  high  ground  to  the  westward,  with  the 
Buttes  on  our  left,  and  the  ranges  of  the  Big  Horn  dimly  visible  on  our 
right.  In  looking  back  from  the  west,  eastward,  on  the  ridge  of  which 
the  Eed  Buttes  form  a  part,  we  can  see  that  the  general  dip  is  about 
southeast  or  south,  inclining  gently  down  to  the  plain.  About  four  miles 
west  of  the  Eed  Buttes,  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  are  the  most  re- 
markable semi-quaquaversals,  one  of  which  looks  much  like  a  crater. 
The  northwest  side  forms  a  perfect  rim,  while  the  southeast  is  open, 
with  a  dry  valley  alongside,  into  which  the  materials  within  the  rivL 
have  been  washed,  so  that  it  forms  half  an  amiDhitheater,  with  the  in- 
closed space  smoothed  off  and  grassed  over.  The  southeast  end  of  Piney 
Butte  Eidge  is  separated  by  a  synclinal,  not  more  than  one  hundred 
yards  wide.  The  ridges  form  a  complete  half  circle,  and  they  extend 
across  the  country  far  to  the  northwest.  Between  the  Eed  Buttes  and 
the  Yellow  Springs,  a  distance  of  sixteen  miles,  there  is  a  series  of  low 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        29 

ridges,  forming'  several  anticliuals.  The  long  walls  of  sandstone  extend 
across  tbe  country  northwest  and  southeast,  inclining  30^  to  50'^.  The 
sandstones  arc  mostly  of  the  age  of  tlie  lignite  tertiary,  gray  and  rusty 
brown  color,  with  all  kinds  of  texture  and  modes  of  deposition. 

About  five  miles  west  of  the  buttes  a  new  formation  appears  of  later 
date,  the  latter  dipping  5°  to  10°  in  the  same  direction,  but  not  con- 
forming to  the  older  beds.  Long  ridges  and  benches  extend  down  nearly 
parallel  with  the  course  of  the  Sweetwater,  composed  mostly  of  in- 
durated argillaceous  sands  of  a  lighter  color  and  less  variable  materi- 
als than  the  lignite  beds.  The  high  ridges  around  our  camp  are  capped 
with  a  thick  bed  of  quartzite  sandstones,  sometimes  approaching  a 
pudding-stone.  West  of  Willow  Springs  we  ascend  a  high  hill  covered 
with  a  thick  bed  of  quartzitic  sandstones  in  drift,  and  capped  with  the 
coarse  sandstones.  It  is  quite  probable  that  we  have  been  passing  over 
the  eastern  rim  of  an  ancient  fresh- water  lake,  the  rock  materials  of  whicli 
are  incidental  with  the  trend  of  their  deposits.  Long  high  benches,  com- 
posed of  these  beds,  extend  far  southward  as  the  eye  can  reach,  parallel 
with  the  North  Platte  and  the  Sweetwater.  It  is  plain  that  they  jut  up 
close  against  the  sides  of  the  ridge  that  borders  the  north  side  Of  the 
Platte,  near  the  junction  of  the  Sweetwater.  Here  and  there  the  creta- 
ceous or  lignite  ridges  rise  above  the  more  modern  deposits,  always  in- 
clining at  a  large  angle,  showing  unmistakable  (TIscordancy.  Ascending 
an  elevation  of  about  four  hundred  feet,  west  of  Willow  Springs,  we  de- 
scend a  long  slope,  into  the  valley  of  the  Sweetwater,  which,  in  some 
respects,'  is  one  of  the  most  intere'sting  geological  districts  I  have  ever 
examined  in  the  west.  There  is  ahigh  ridge  or  divide  between  the  drainage 
of  Wind  River,  North  Platte,  and  Sweetwater,  three  hundred  to  four 
hundred  feet  above  the  channels  of  these  streams,  which  is  composed  of 
the  tertiary  beds.  The  Sweetwater  forms  a  distinct  concavity,  with  this 
high  divide  on  the  north  and  east,  and  the  valley  has  been  scooped  out 
so  that  until  we  reach  the  Sweetwater  Canon,  near  the  South  Pass,  only 
the  massive  granite  ridges  rise  up  among  the  modern  tertiary  beds  which 
jut  close  up  against  their  base.  This  is  most  emphatically  a  valley  of 
denudation,  over  a  space  of  at  least  thirty  to  fifty  miles  in  width.  All 
the  unchanged  formations,  from  the  lignite  tertiary  down  to  the  massive 
feldspathic  granites,  have  been  worn  away,  leaving  the  granites  scat- 
tered over  the  valley  in  the  isolated  ridges.  At  that  time  there  was  a 
fresh-water  lake  which  occupied  the  entire  valley,  much  as  Salt  Lake  once 
occupied  the  great  basin,  concealing  most  of  the  granite  ridges,  while 
others  rose  above  the  waters  like  islands.  Then  was  deposited  what 
might  be  called  the  Sweetwater  group,  or  perhaj^s  a  series  of  beds  identical 
with  the  upper  portion  of  the  Wind  River  deposits.  These  were  scooped 
out  again  in  time,  and  the  pliocene  marls  and  sands  were  deposited ;  and 
then  again  there  was  an  other  scooping  out  of  the  valley,  and  finally  a  cov- 
ering the  hills  with  drift.  In  the  pliocene  marls  and  sands  are  q  uite  abund- 
ant remains  of  mammals,  similar  to  those  which  are  found  on  the  Niobrara 
Eiver,  in  Nebraska.  The  Seminole  and  Sweetwater  mountains,  although 
covered  all  about  their  flanks  with  tertiary  beds,  show,  higher  up,  the 
elevated  ridges  of  Potsdam  sandstone  and  carboniferous  limestones.  The 
whole  range  is  comparatively  smooth  and  grassed  over,  as  if  it  had  been 
too  high  above  the  waters  to  have  been  affected  to  any  extent  by  the 
later  forces  that  scooped  out  the  valley ;  so,  too,  the  Sweetwater  Moun- 
tains, or  hills  as  they  should  be  called,  simply  expose  the  Potsdam  sand- 
stone, carboniferous,  red  beds,  with  very  small  areas  of  the  Jurassic,  cre- 
taceous, and  granites.  Indeed,  the  Sweetwater  valley  is  a  sort  of  anticlinal, 
with  the  Seminole  and  Sweetwater  hills  on  the  south  side,  and  the  divide 


30        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 

between  the  Wind  River  and  Sweetwater  on  the  north.  The  northern 
portion  of  the  anticlinal  is  seen  only  for  ten  to  twenty  miles  near  the 
Three  Crossings,  where  the  lower  Silurian  and  carboniferous  beds  are 
shown  over  a  restricted  area.  The  numerous  granite  ridges  which  are 
scattered  all  through  this  valley  are  most  i)robably  remnants  of  a  vast 
mountain  nucleus,  from  which  the  unchanged  rocks  inclined  on  either 
side. 

We  pass  over  a  level  surface  for  the  most  part,  through  the  deep  sands, 
which  are  the  result  of  the  disintegration  of  the  tertiary  sandstones. 
Large  areas  are  covered  with  the  alkali  efflorescence,  so  that  they  are 
white  as  snow.  From  Willow  Springs  we  camped  at  Independence 
Eock,  a  noted  landmark  for  travelers  for  many  years  past.  I  was 
anxious  to  understand  the  geology  of  this  wonderful  spot,  and  on  that 
account  was  delighted  to  find  my  tents  pitched  at  its  base.  The  Sweet- 
water flows  immediately  along  the  southern  end  of  it,  although  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  stream  another  ridge  continues  toward  the  south- 
west, which,  I  have  no  doubt,  was  once  connected  with  it.  Independence 
Eock  is  really  one  of  the  granite  ridges  in  this  valley,  and  is  a  remnant 
of  much  larger  mountains.  It  now  looks  like  an  enormous  boulder  lying 
out  in  the  plain.  It  is  a  vast  but  most  excellent  illustration  of  the  theory 
of  disintegration  by  exfoliation,  for  it  is  rounded  and  resembles  an 
oblong  hay-stack  with  the  layers  of  rock  lapping  over  the  top  and 
sides  of  the  mass  like  the  layers  of  hay  on  a  stack.  Thin  layers  have 
been  broken  off  in  part,  and  huge  masses  are  scattered  all  around  it; 
but  on  some  portions  of  the  sides  they  lap  down  to  the  ground  with 
so  gentle  a  descent  that  I  was  able  to  lead  my  horse  nearly  to  the  sum- 
mit, about  two  hundred  feet.  Two  sets  of  fissures  are  plainly  seen  in 
this  rock,  one  set  east  and  west  and  the  other  north  and  south. 

The  entire  mass,  as  well  as  all  the  granite  ridges  in  the  valley,  may  be 
called  feldspathic ;  that  is,  the  red  and  white  feldspar  predominate,  while 
the  mica  occurs  in  very  small  quantities.  It  is  quite  probable  that  the 
vast  quantities  of  this  alkaline  efflorescence  were  derived  from  the  de- 
composition of  the  feldspars.  Stansbury  gathered  some  of  these  salts, 
which  he  called  "  efflorescence  from  a  saleratus  pond,"  on  Sweetwater 
river.  Dr.  Gale  found  them  "  to  be  composed  of  the  sesquicarbonate  of 
soda,  mixed  with  sulphate  of  soda  and  chloride  of  sodium,  and  is  one  of 
the  salts  called  Trona,  found  in  the  natron  lakes  in  Hungary,  Africa,  and 
other  couu  tries."  These  salts  are  not  perceptible  to  the  taste  in  the  water 
of  the  stream  itself.  The  granite  ridges  south  of  Independence  Eock, 
and  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Sweetwater,  I  estimated  to  be  from  one 
thousand  to  fifteen  hundred  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  stream.  I  ascended 
one  of  the  loftiest  of  the  ranges,  with  great  difficulty,  on  account  of  the 
smoothness  of  the  rocks  and  the  abruptness  of  the  sides.  From  the 
summit  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  in  ever^^  direction  granite  ranges 
could  be  seen,  of  varying  lengths,  from  one  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred 
feet  above  the  surrounding  plains.  Far  away  to  the  southeast,  dimly 
seen  and  overtopping  all  the  rest,  was  a  range  of  mountains  which  I  sup- 
pose were  the  Slediciue  Bow  range.  All  around  the  flanks  of  these 
granite  ranges  the  same  tertiary  beds  jut  up  withont  any  interruption, 
and  are  smooth  and  even,  so  that  the  granite  masses  seem  to  rise  abruptly 
out  of  the  plains.  In  some  of  the  broad  intervals  are  the  most  beautiful 
terraces  or  benches,  sloping  gently  down  from  the  base  of  the  mountains 
to  the  valley.  Not  a  sign  of  water  could  be  seen  in  any  of  these  moun- 
tains at  the  present  time.  A  few  cottonwoods  and  groups  of  quaking 
asps,  in  some  of  the  ravines  on  the  sides,  gave  evidence  that  water  issues 
from  them  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year.    A  few  stunted  pines  struggled 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES.        31 

for  existence  among  the  crevices,  and  some  rare  shrubs  and  ferns  were 
all  the  vegetable  life  observed.  It  seems  as  though  the  Sweetwater 
flowed  through  this  valley  for  fifty  miles  or  more  with  scarcely  a  tribu- 
tary to  add  to  its  volume. 

These  grauite  ridges  present  the  finest  opportunity  for  the  study  of 
rocks.  Huge  fissures,  which  have  been  enlarged  hy  atmospheric  agencies 
so  that  they  vary  in  width  from  a  few  inches  to  several  feet,  seam  and 
farrow  their  sides. 

On  the  summits  vast  masses,  of  one  hundred  tons  weight,  appear  just 
ready  to  topple  down.  Many  of  these  fragments  look  like  gigantic 
boulders,  so  rounded  have  they  become  by  the  process  of  exfoliation,  and 
such  they  would  be  called  if  they  could  be  transported  from  the  tops  of 
these  mountains  by  water  and  ice  to  the  prairies  of  Illinois,  without  any 
farther  change  in  their  form.  Some  of  these  masses  are  now  covered 
with  thin  scales  or  layers,  which  are  ready  to  fall  off,  and  multitudes  of 
fragments  are  scattered  around.  Before  leaving  Independence  Eock  we 
endeavored  to  obtain  an  approximate  idea  of  its  dimensions.  The  cir- 
cumference, measured  with  the  odometer,  is  fifteen  hundred  and  fiftj^ 
two  yards,  and  the  barometer  indicated  the  height  of  the  north  end  to 
be  one  hundred  and  ninety-three  feet,  and  the  south  end  one  hundred 
and  sixty-seven  feet.  The  trend  of  the  mass  is  about  northeast  and 
southwest.  There  is  a  depression  near  the  middle  which  cannot  be 
more  than  sixty  feet  high.  The  huge  fissures  which  pass  through  the 
rock  in  various  directions  seem  to  form  channels  for  water,  and  remiuc 
one  of  a  river  and  its  branches.  Although  there  is  enough  of  red  feld 
spar  to  give  the  whole  a  reddish  tinge,  yet  the  Avhite  or  soda  feldspa. 
occurs  in  great  quantities.  Five  miles  up  the  valley  we  came  to  an 
other  well-known  locality,  the  Devil's  Gate,  a  canon  which  the  Sweet 
water  seems  to  have  worn  through  the  granite  range.  The  road  passes 
throagh  a  depression  in  the  mountain  which  is  about  thirty  feet  highei 
than  the  bed  of  the  stream,  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  Sweet- 
water once  flowed  through  it,  bat  for  some  reason,  not  very  obvious, 
chauged  its  channel.  Perhaps  the  water  found  some  fissure  through 
which  it  began  to  flow,  and  gradually  wore  its  way  through,  as  we 
see  it  at  the  present  time,  or  it  may  have  vibrated  its  way  from  point 
to  point.  Now  the  stream  flows  between  these  lofty  walls  with  a  low, 
gentle  murmur,  which  cannot  be  regarded  as  the  roar  of  a  torrent. 
Indeed,  it  gave  forth  a  soothing  music  not  common  to  mountain  streams. 
The  current  is  not  strong,  and  finds  its  way  among  the  huge  masses 
which  have  fallen  down  from  above  without  difficulty.  The  left  wall  is 
somewhat  higher  than  the  right.  The  caiiou  is  about  northeast  and 
southwest,  as  if  the  waters  had  passed  through  a  sort  of  dike  fissure, 
and  the  northeast  end  shows  the  gate  more  perfectly-,  where  the  walls 
on  either  side  are  nearly  vertical,  and  the  width  of  the  bottom  is  not 
more  than  one  hundred  feet.  The  southeast  end  is  worn  out  to  some 
extent,  and  is  two  hundred  to  three  hundred  feet  wide.  By  the  barom- 
eter Mr.  J.  W.  Beaman  made  the  right  wall  three  hundred  feet  high, 
and  the  opposite  one  to  be  a  few  feet  higher.  In  the  gate  or  caQon  is  a 
wide  dike  or  trap,  whicli  has  a  trend  about  northeast  and  southwest,  in 
which  the  channel  of  the  river  may  have  started  originall5^  At  the 
present  time  the  waters  have  cut  across  the  dike  so  that  the  southeast 
portion  still  remains  on  the  right  side.  These  granite  ranges  are  not 
unfrequently  banded  with  old  trap  dikes,  trending  about  northeast  and 
southwest,  and  varying  in  width  from  a  few  feet  to  two  or  three 
hundred  feet.  Some  of  them  yield  quite  readily  to  atmospheric  agencies, 
and  many  conspicuoas  depressions  are  j)roduced  in  the  ranges,  thus 


32        GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 

adding  mucli  to  the  pictnresqiieness  of  the  scenery.  These  dikes  are 
quite  common  iu  some  of  the  ranges,  and  all  have  a  peculiar  black  ap- 
l^earance  iu  the  distance ;  but  the  difference  iu  texture  is  shown  by  the 
influence  of  the  atmosphere  upon  them.  Some  of  them  stand  up  as 
sharj)  and  angular  as  ever,  but  most  of  them  have  been  so  rounded  off 
that  the  loose  masses  are  nearly  spherical,  and  the  thin  coats  are  fall- 
ing off"  like  the  layers  of  an  onion.  Sometimes  the  materials  are  coarse, 
and  the  rock  falls  in  pieces;  again  the  mass  is  round  and  smooth, 
glistening  like  black  opaque  quartz.  There  is  no  evidence  at  the  pres- 
ent time  of  the  age  of  these  dikes,  except  that  the  material  was  thrust 
up  through  the  fissures  in  the  granite.  They  may  be  of  different  ages 
or  of  the  same  age.  We  find  they  have  been  subject  to  the  same 
erosion  as  the  granite,  and  extend  across  the  country  in  regular  bands. 
From  the  Devil's  Gate  we  traveled  westward  along  the  bottoms  of 
the  Sweetwater  to  the  "  Cloven  Peak,"  a  conspicuous  landmark  for  the 
traveler.  On  our  right  hand  we  were  walled  iu  most  effectually  by  the 
granite  ridges ;  on  our  left,  in  the  distance,  about  fifteen  miles,  was  the 
Seminole  range,  or  hills,  as  I  have  regarded  them  in  this  report.  They 
rise  high  above  the  surrounding  country,  but  seem  to  have  formed  the 
south  side  of  the  tremendous  erosive  forces  which  once  swept  through 
this  valley.  The  outlines  of  these  hills  are  so  different  from  any  others 
that  are  within  the  range  of  vision,  that  they  excite  the  attention  of 
the  observer  at  once.  There  are  no  ridges  of  upheaval  along  the  flanks, 
as  in  the  case  of  the  Laramie  range,  but  the  grassy  plains  jut  np  close 
to  them,  and  the  very  snmmits  are,  for  the  most  part,  rounded  and 
grassed  over.  No  timber  clothes  them,  except  now  and  then  a  group 
of  poplars.  The  north  side  is  very  abrupt,  while  the  south  side 
slopes  off  into  the  plains.  Near  the  Three  Crossings  there  is  a  low 
point  or  pass  in  the  hills  which  extends  for  about  ten  or  fifteen  miles, 
where  a  second  range  commences,  called  the  Sweetwater  Hills,  and 
continues  to  the  vSouth  Pass.  The  Seminole  Hills  rise  about  fifteen  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  Sweetwater  Valley,  while  the  Sweetwater  Hills  vary 
from  eight  hundred  to  twelve  hundred  feet.  Near  Cloven  Peak,  fifteen 
miles  west  of  Devil's  Gate,  there  are  some  high  bluff  banks  on  the  south 
side  of  the  Sweetwater,  about  one  hundred  feet  high,  which  indicate 
the  existence  of  quite  modern  tertiary  beds,  like  those  on  the  Niobrara 
Eiver.  They  are  composed  of  indurated  sands  and  marls  of  a  light- 
gray  or  cream  color,  and  are  in  appearance  precisely  like  those  seen  on 
the  Laramie  Eiver,  and  many  other  places,  which  I  have  usnally  re- 
garded as  of  the  pliocene  age.  Still  farther  to  the  westward  are  numer- 
ous exposures  of  these  beds,  which  are  weathered  into  the  nsual  fortifi- 
cation-like forms,  and  scattered  around  their  base  are  large  numbers  of 
remains  of  extinct  mammals  and  turtles,  apparently  identical  with  those 
found  on  the  Niobrara.  They  occur  in  the  same  beautiful  state  of  pre- 
servation. These  beds  are  full  also  of  oddly-shaped  concretions  of  sand- 
stones of  all  sizes.  The  sandy  beds  disintegrate  very  readily,  and  the 
bottoms,  as  well  as  the  road,  are  made  up  of  loose  sand,  which  is  readily 
moved  by  the  wind,  rendering  traveling  difficult.  Indeed,  the  entire 
valley  of  the  Sweetwater,  below  St.  Mary's  Station,  is  more  or  less 
Covered  with  moving  sands,  the  result  of  the  disintegration  of  these 
liliocene  beds.  The  appearance  of  the  surface  is  similar  to  that  seen  on 
the  Niobrara  Eiver  and  the  head  of  the  Loup  Fork  in  Nebraska.  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  these  pliocene  beds  are  a  deposit  made, subse- 
quent to  the  somber  brown  indurated  sands,  and  the  conglomerate  sand- 
stone which  forms  the  outer  rim  of  the  Sweetwater  basin.  The  pliocene 
beds  are  best  shown  iu  the  valley  itself  near  the  stream,  while  no  traces 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        33 

of  it  were  seen  (on  the  liig-li  divide  west)  about  the  rim  of  the  valley. 
The  granites  form  tiie  boldest  and  most  barren-looking  ridges  I  havu 
ever  seen  ;  some  of  the  i>eaks  are  true  dome-shaped,  and  are  apparently 
as  smooth  and  as  bare  as  a  ehureh  dome.  No  water  is  to  be  found  in 
or  around  them,  and  here  and  there  a  few  stunted  pines  manage  to  ex- 
traet  a  scanty  nourishment  from  among  the  fissures.  On  our  left  the 
most  magnificent  benches  extend  down  from  the  Seminole  Mountains 
for  ten  miles  or  more.  This  range  is  smoothed  and  grassed  over,  and 
some  portions  are  thickly  covered  with  pines. 

West  of  the  Seminole  Mountains  is  another  detached  range  or  group 
of  hills  ten  to  fifteen  miles  long,  parallel  with  the  Sweetwater;  then 
near  the  Three  Crossings  there  is  another  range,  low  and  covered  thickly 
with  pines.  Still  farther  west  is  another  detached  group  of  hills,  which 
extend  to  the  South  Pass.  These  hills  undoubtedly  form  the  southern 
rim  of  the  Sweetwater  basin.  I  think  this  basin  varies  from  thirty  to 
fifty  miles  in  width.  In  one  of  these  detached  groups  of  hills  we  can 
see  a  high  ridge  of  limestone,  with  a  strike  northwest  and  southeast, 
while  the  group  of  hills  trends  about  northeast  and  southwest.  Near 
the  Three  Crossings  the  high  granite  ridges  are  on  our  right,  and  rise 
seven  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  Sweetwater. 
From  the  tops  of  the  ridges,  far  to  the  westward,  we  can  see  the  Wind  Elver 
range,  and  feel  the  cool  breeze  that  comes  sweeping  down  the  valley,  la- 
dened  with  the  icy  chill  from  the  snow-clad  summits.  Small  lakes  are  also 
visible  in  tlie  plains,  some  of  Avhich  seem  to  befresh  water,  while  all  around 

^the  shores  of  others  there  is  a  thick  efflorescence  like  snow.  Far  dis- 
tant to  the  north  and  northwest  there  is  another  rim  of  this  basin,  which 
I  have  called  the  north  rim  or  side.  The  granites  near  the  Three  Cross- 
ings seem  to  be  somewhat  peculiar.  There  are  two  principal  sets  of 
joints,  one  of  which  is  horizontal  and  the  other  vertical,  dividing  the 
granite  range  into  cubical  blocks,  and  giving  to  the  sides  of  the  ridges 
somewhat  the  appearance  of  mason  work.  Sometimes  the  very  comjjact 
feldspathic  beds  separate  into  columnar  forms,  which  are  quite  pic- 
turesque. The  peculiar  mason-like  appearance  of  the  granite  v^alley  is 
entirely  due  to  the  vertical  and  horizontal  fissures.  This  feature  is  more 
marked  at  this  locality  than  at  any  other  point  we  have  examined. 

On  the  31st  we  made  an  examination  of  the  lower  range  of  hills  which 
extend  up  to  the  South  Pass  on  the  south  side  of  the  Sweetwater.  We 
found  the  granites  occupying  a  very  restricted  area,  and  inclining  from 
them  a  larger  thickness  of  Potsdam  sandstone  with  Oholella  nana  and 
aLinguIa.  Inclining  against  the  Silurian  sJindstone  was  a  massive  bed 
of  compact  bluish  and  yellow  limestone,  with  a  strike  northeast  and 
southwest.     At  one  locality  I  found  the  beds  had  been  tipped  past  ver- 

^ticality  L'Qo.  The  red  beds  were  also  shown  here  quite  well  developed. 
It  would  seem  that  the  range  of  hills  on  the  south  side  of  the  Sweet- 
M'ater  valley  forms  one  side  of  the  anticlinal,  and  the  axis  of  elevation 
is  not  far  from  the  channel  of  the  stream.  A  pretty  little  branch  with 
a  considerable  volume  of  water,  and  crowded  with  beaver  dams,  has 
excavated  a  valley  near  this  point.  It  has  a  fork  also,  which  is  fringed 
with  little  (iotton  woods,  a  feature  quite  unusual  in  the  Sweetwater  valley. 
Jutting  up  against  the  sides,  and  penetrating  every  valley  or  gorge  in 
the  outline  of  the  mountains,  are  the  brown  indurated  sands  of  the  Wind 
Eiver  deposits;  among  them  are  impure  seams  of  lignite  or  carbon- 
aceous clay,  with  layers  of  coarse  sandstone  or  an  aggregate  of  particles 
of  quartz.  The  disintegration  of  the  harder  beds  has  covered  the  sur- 
fiice  with  small  fragments  of  rock.  A  little  farther  to  the  southward  a 
huge  hill,  with  almost  vertical  sides,  is  composed  of  light  gray  sands 
3  G 


34        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 

and  worn  crystals  of  quartz,  with  a  thickness  of  from  four  liuudred  to 
six  hundred  feet.  Hero  indurated  quartzose  sands  have  been  weathered 
into  most  fantastic  columns  fifty  to  sixty  feet  high,  giving  to  the  group 
in  the  distance  the  appearance  of  white  marble  monuments  in  a  church- 
yard. Much  of  the  rock  looks  like  the  decomposed  gangue  of  silver  and 
gold  lodes  as  seen  in  Colorado,  that  is,  small  fragments  of  quartz  in  a 
feldspar  paste.  On  the  side  of  this  almost  perpendicular  hill,  the  summit 
of  which  is  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand  feet  above  the  Sweetwater 
Valley,  are  enormous  granite  boulders  of  all  kinds,  gray  and  red  feld- 
spathic  massive  rocks.  Not  only  the  granites  but  also  the  sandstones  de- 
compose by  exfoliation.  In  the  brown  beds  are  seams  of  rust-brown 
pudding-stone,  which  disintegrates  on  the  low  hills  and  in  the  valleys, 
covering  the  surface  with  small  smooth  pebbles  and  fragments  of  clay. 
This  entire  range  of  hills  has  the  north  side  very  abrupt  and  high 
toward  Sweetwater  valley,  but  the  south  side  slopes  gently  down 
into  the  plains.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  nucleus  of  this  range  of  hills 
is  composed  of  the  older  rocks,  as  Silurian,  carboniferous,  or  red  beds, 
&c. ;  but,  so  far  as  we  can  see  at  this  time,  the  modern  tertiary  beds 
seem  to  conceal  them  from  view.  Some  of  the  valleys  of  erosion  parallel 
to  the  hills  show  by  the  high  walls  a  great  thickness  of  tertiary  beds. 
From  the  summits  the  eye  extends  far  southward,  fifty  miles  or  more,  over 
a  most  desolate,  barren  plain,  with  here  and  there  a  table-top  butte  to 
show  that  the  surface  was  once  much  higher  than  at  present.  It  is  cut 
up  into  innumerable  valleys,  which  give  to  the  surface  an  irregular,  wavy 
appearance.  Not  a  tree  or  shrub  greets  the  vision  over  this  vast  desert 
waste.  The  immense  quantities  of  granite  boulders,  reel  and  gray,  which 
literally  cover  the  tops  and  sides  of  this  range  of  hills,  must  have  been 
swept  down  from  the  Wind  River  Mountains.  Some  of  these  granite 
masses  are  ten  to  fifteen  feet  in  diameter;  others  are  sunk  so  deep  in  the 
earth  that  they  appear  to  be  in  place.  Across  the  plains,  at  least  one  hun- 
dred miles  distant  to  the  southwest,  two  or  three  low  ranges  of  mountains 
or  hills  are  visible.  Toward  the  west  end  and  on  the  north  side  of  the 
range  of  hills  I  noticed  a  peculiar  semicircular  depression,  about  twenty- 
five  feet  below  the  summit,  which  affords  an  example  of  a  land-slide  on 
a  large  scale.  This  slide  covers  an  area  of  about  a  mile  in  length  and 
a  fourth  of  a  mile  in  width,  and  is  covered  with  groves  of  the  aspen. 

Above  the  Three  Crossings,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Sweetwater,  are 
several  quite  conspicuous  granite  ridges,  but  they  soon  disappear. 
Soon  the  beds  of  Potsdam  sandstone,  with  carboniferous  limestones  and 
portions  of  the  triassic,  make  their  appearance,  inclining  at  an  angle  of 
20°  to  30°  northwest,  and,  m  a  short  distance,  pass  beneath  the  Wind 
River  deposits.  We  could  not  ascertain  that  any  rocks  older  than  the 
miocene  tertiary  beds  occur  along  the  northern  rim  of  the  valley  from 
Willow  Springs  up  to  this  point. 

From  the  Three  Crossings  to  St.  Mary's  Station  the  valley  bottom  of 
the  Sweetwater  is  about  half  a  mile  in  width  and  looks  like  a  meadow,  as 
usual.  Our  camp  on  the  night  of  the  30th  was  near  the  point  where  the 
stream  comes  out  of  the  first  ridge.  Hitherto  it  has  flowed  through  an 
anticlinal  valley,  with  the  Sweetwater  mountains  or  hills  on  the  soutb 
side,  and  the  granite  ridges,  capped  with  Potsdam  sandstone  ridges  near 
South  Pass.  One  of  the  most  conspicuous  features  are  the  long  benches 
that  come  down  from  the  Sweetwater  hills  so  regular,  so  high,  and 
evenly  rounded  that  they  strike  the  eye  at  once,  ^hey  are  composed  of 
modern  tertiary  marls,  probably  pliocene. 

About  four  'miles  below  St.  Mary's  Station  the  Sweetwater  flows 
through  a  ridge  of  Potsdam  sandstone  with  a  trend  nearly  cast  and 


GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.         35 

west,  inclining  north  75^.  The  rock  is  rusty,  reddish  quartzite,  or  an 
aggregate  of  particles  of  quartz.  The  Silurian  and  carboniferous  rocks 
appear  here  and  there,  but  the  tertiary  beds  are  the  most  conspicuous. 
Near  St.  Mary's  Station  the  beds  of  conglomerate  proje(;t  out  of  the 
blutt's,  on  both  sides  of  the  Sweetwater,  quite  conspicuously.  On  the 
distant  hills  the  arenaceous  marls  are  much  exposed  in  the  form  of  naked 
l^ills,  at  the  base  of  which  Mr.  Elliot  discovered  some  very  interesting 
turtle  remains.  About  a  mile  above  St.  Mary's  Station  the  Sweetwater 
flows  out  of  a  deep  gorge  or  canon,  cutting  the  ridges  of  older  rocks  at, 
right  angles.     The  strike  is  northwest  and  southeast,  dip  northeast. 

The  limestones  and  sandstones  are  very  conspicuous.  On  the  north 
side  we  pass  over  the  upturned  edges  of  an  enormous  thickness  for  three  • 
fourths  of  a  mile,  inclining  30°  to  40^.  These  ridges  form  tlie  east  side 
of  the  anticlinal  that  runs  down  from  the  Wind  Eiver  Mountains. 
Indeed  it  is  a  portion  of  the  range  itself.  So  far  as  the  east  side  is  con- 
cerned I  have  never  seen  a  more  perfect  anticlinal.  The  series  of  ridges 
of  carboniferous  limestones  and  Potsdam  sandstones  extends  across  the 
country  in  regular  lines,  and  the  erosion  has  been  such  that  the  out- 
cropping edges  are  but  little  above  the  general  surface,  so  that  they  can 
be  studied  with  ease.  The  main  road  passes  across  the  edges  of  all  the 
rocks  at  right  angles.  Not  far  distant  to  the  northwest  the  snowy  peaks 
of  the  Wind  Eiver  range  rise  high  above  the  surrounding  country. 
Here  and  there,  resting  npon  the  edges  of  the  older  rocks,  are  patches  of 
the  modern  tertiary  deposits,  remnants  of  the  last  i^eriod  of  erosion. 
As  we  approach  the  base  of  the  mountains  there  is  a  sJght  dip  in  these 
tertiary  beds  3^*  to  5°,  as  if  the  last  movements  were  subsequent  to  their 
deposition.  There  is  a  deep  valley  from  the  base  of  the  mountains  to 
the  Sweetwater,  which  marks  the  line  of  separation  between  the  Silurian 
and  carboniferous  ridges,  completely  separates  them,  but  indicates  no 
discordancy.  Inside  of  these  ridges  is  an  immense  thickness  of  slates 
standing  nearly  vertical,  with  a  strike  northeast  and  southwest,  inclining 
slightly  northwest.  Extending  to  the  northeast  toward  the  Wind  Eiver 
Valley  could  be  seen  ridge  after  ridge  of  cretaceous  and  tertiary  beds. 


CHAPTEE  III.  t 

FROM  SOUTH  PASS  TO  FORT  BRIDGER. 

Like  the  Black  Hills  of  Dakota  and  the  Laramie  range,  the  Wind 
Eiver  Mountains  form  a  complete  anticlinal.  It  is  so  regular  that  when 
once  the  key  to  its  structure  is  obtained  it  is  studied  with  great  ease. 
So  far  as  my  observations  have  extended,  all  the  ranges  with  a  north- 
west and  southeast  axis  are  simple  and  regular  in  their  structure.  They 
may  be  defined  briefly  as  a  nucleus  of  granite  or  gneissic  rocks,  rising 
step  by  step  on  either  side  toward  a  central  axis,  and  on  each  side  of 
the  nucleus  the  various  unchanged  rocks  inclining  at  a  variety  of  angles. 
Sometimes  extensive  erosion  and  the  subsequent  deposition  of  modern 
tertiary  beds  or  drift  obscures  the  study,  and  we  shall  find  that  this  is 
the  case  with  the  Wind  Eiver  range.  The  Black  Hiils  of  Dakota  is  the 
most  complete  illustration  of  an  anticlinal,  not  complicated  by  other 
influences,  that  I  have  met  with  in  the  West.  The  nucleus  is  massive 
feldspathic  granite,  with  a  series'  of  gneissic  beds  outside  of  it ;  these 
incline  iu  every  direction  from  this  nucleus,  a  sort  of  narrow,  ova) 
quaquaversal,  and  all  the  unchanged  beds  known  in  tTiis  portion  of  the 


36        GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

vest  froin  the  Potsdam  sandstones  inclusive  to  tlie  top  of  tlie  lignite 
tertiaries.  The  trend  of  the  Wind  Eiver  range  is  northwest  and  south- 
east. The  portion  in  which  the  South  Pass  is  located  is  about  ten 
miles  wide,  and  is  composed  mostly  of  metamorphic  slates  in  a  nearly 
or  quite  vertical  position.  It  is  in  these  slates  that  the  gold  mines  are 
found.  The  gulch  diggings  are  quite  extensive,  and  although  much  has 
been  done  in  that  way,  yet  there  is  a  most  extended  field  open  yet  for 
the  enterprising  miner  or  laborer. 

The  facilities  for  placer  mining  are  very  great  on  account  of  the 
supply  of  water.  The  gold-bearing  rocks  are  composed  of  thin  gneissic 
slates,  which  occupy  a  somewhat  restricted  area  about  ten  miles 
wide  and  twenty  to  thirty  miles  long.  Some  of  the  slates  are  very  thin 
and  might  be  made  useful  for  building  purposes ;  others  are  more  silicioiis 
and  fracture  into  columnar  masses.  Veins  of  white  quartz  run  through 
these  slates  very  frequently,  and  it  is  in  these  the  gold  is  found.  The 
most  celebrated  lodes  in  this  district  are  the  Cariso  and  "  The  Miner's 
Delight."  The  Cariso  lode  is  about  four  feet  wide ;  the  shaft  has  been 
sunk  one  hundred  and  forty  feet ;  the  quartz  yields  $50  to  $75  per  ton. 
About  $75,000  has  been  taken  out  of  the  mine  by  its  owners.  The  lode 
has  a  strike  northeast  and  southwest,  and  a  dip  of  70°.  It  was  dis- 
covered in  18G7,  and  has  been  worked  two  years.  The  lode  itself  is 
mostly  composed  of  white  quartz  with  some  iron  pyrites,  while  the 
country  rock  consists  of  gneiss.  It  will  be  seen  at  once  that  the  great 
value  of  these  ores  lies  in  the  ease  with  which  the  gold  can  be  extracted. 
I  shall  describe  these  mines  more  in  detail  in  a  subsequent  portion  of 
this  report,  and  simply  allude  to  them  now  in  their  geological  relations. 

The  elevations,  as  taken  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Beaman,  are  of  some  interest. 
At  "St.  Mary's  Station,"  on  the  Sweetwater,  G,Jj90  feet.  Ascending 
from  ridge  to  ridge  for  ten  or  fifteen  miles,  G,894,  7,149,  7,356,  7,405, 
and  7,524  feet,  a  gradual  ascent,  and  probably  approximately  correct. 
At  Fort  Stambaugh  the  elevation  is  7,7 14  feet;  Atlantic  City,  7,666  feet ; 
South  Pass  City,  7,857.  At  Washakie's  Camp,  at  the  base,  main  range 
8,158  feet,  and  the  high  rid^s  below  the  central  ridge,  10,215  feet. 
This  central  portion  of  the  South  Pass  district,  or  the  area  occupied 
mostly  by  the  metamorphic  slates,  I  have  estimated  at  ten  miles  in  width 
and  twenty  to  thirty  in  length.  The  surface  is  somewhat  rolling,  but 
cannot  be  called  rugged,  and  bears  evidence  of  remarkable  ero- 
sion. In  many  places  long  lines  or  rounded  elevations  extend  across 
the  surface  like  the  ripples  of  a  lake.  The  surface  has  been  so  worn 
down  by  erosion,  and  the* irregularities  filled  with  a  heavy  drift  deposit, 
that  these  ridges  or  outcropping  edges  just  project  above  the  surface. 
Usually  the  surface  is  well  grassed  over,  and  in  the  valleys  of  the 
streams  large  quantities  of  hay  are  obtained.  The  timber  consists 
principally  of  groves  of  aspen  here  and  there,  which  give  a  beautiful 
appearance  to  the  scenery. 

September  1. — We  arrived  at  Port  Stambaugh,  and  by  the  kind  per- 
mission of  Major  Gordon,  the  commander  of  the  post,  j)itched  our  camp 
near  a  fine  spring,  three  hundred  yards  below  the  fort,  and  about  three 
miles  from  Atlantic  City.  This  post  was  named  in  memory  of  a  gallant 
officer.  Lieutenant  Stambaugh,  who  was  killed  by  Indians  not  far  from 
this  place  during  the  past  year.  It  is  finely  located  in  one  of  the  most 
romantic  spots  in  this  region,  surrounded  by  high  hills,  with  beautiful 
groves  of  aspen  on  their  sides.     Springs  of  pure  water  are  abundant. 

Septembers. — We  left  our  camp  at  this  localitj^,  with  a  small  pack- 
train,  for  a  short  trip  to  the  Wind  Eiver  Mountains ;  our  direction  was 
northwest  about  ten  miles,  across  the  metamorphic  slates,  until  we  came 


GE,OLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  37 

to  the  foot-hills ;  here  the  granites  prevail.  At  first  they  have  a  fissilo 
stracture  to  some  extent,  but  soon  become  massive,  like  the  ATauitcs  of 
bweetwater  Valley,  except  that  the  feldspar  is  white.  The  uTass  of  the 
^Yud  River  Moimtanis  is  gray  granite,  with  here  and  there  some  red 
feldspathic  seams;  but  as  1  found  it  in  1800,  when  croasinff  the  ranoe 
near  the  source  of  Wind  Elver,  to  the  head  of  Lewis'  Fork  of  the 
Columbia,  the  central  mass  is  mostly  gray  granite  and  wonderfully  uni- 
form in  texture.  Small  masses  of  black  gneiss  are  distributed  through 
the  granite.  After  entering  the  foot-hills  we  moved  up  the'vallev  of 
one  of  the  various  branches  of  the  Sweetwater,  Mirough  most  ruo-o-ed 
scenery,  among- thick  pines  and  over  vast  quantities  of  broken  rockier 
debris.  At  last  we  reached  a  high  ridge  which  forms  the  divide  between 
tbe  waters  that  flow  into  the  Sweetwater  and  those  of  the  Saudv  ind 
near  this  ridge,  at  an  elevation  of  over  10,000  feet  above  the  sea,  we  had 
a  complete  and  near  view  of  the  Wind  River  range.  Far  above  us  rose 
the  snow-capped  ridges  of  the  axis  of  the  range,  with  FremontVs  and  Sno  w 
Peaks  full  in  view.  Fremont  has  given  in  his  report  the  elevation  of 
Snow  Peak,  which  is  probably  the  highest  of  the  range,  as  13,570  feet 
Oneof  the  peculiar  features  of  these  mountains  is  the  dense  growth  of  a 
kind  of  "nut-pine,"  which  furnishes  food  for  innumerable  birds  ftud 
squirrels,  and  supplies  the  Indians  with  their  favorite  food 

Washakie's  band  of  Shoshones  had  been  up  in  the  mouiitains  only  a 
few  days  before,  and  hundreds  of  the  trees  had  been  cut  down  for  the 
iToon  f  f «"  ^l^\^Se  that  the  limits  of  arborescent  vegetation  is  about 
11,000  feet.  On  the  south  side  of  the  range  there  is  not  much  perpetual 
snow,  only  here  and  there  a  patch  ;  but  on  the  north  side  snow-banks 
are  extensive. 

From  this  high  ridge  we  had  a  most  remarkable  as  well  as  instruct- 
ive view  oi^  the  southwest  side  of  the  range.    Far  out  in  the  plains  the 
long  parallel  ridges  of  the  white  tertiary  marls  could  be  seen,  then 
step  by  step  the  ridges  of  gi-anite  rising  to  the  summit.    The  outline  of 
these  granite  ridges  revealed  most  clearly  the  anticlinal  character  of  the 
range,  tbeir  sharp  summits  pointing  toward  the  snowy  crest  above 
them.    On  the  east  side  of  the  anticlinal  the  outcropping  edges  of  a 
high  ridge  of  carboniferous  limestone  extend  down  toward  the  Sweet- 
water near  St.  Mary's  Station.     The  Silurian  and  carboniferous  rocks 
form  a  conspicuous  wall  on  the  east  side;  on  the  west  side,  far  up  to  the 
head-waters  of  the  Sandy,  they  seem  to  be  concealed  bv  modern  tertiarv 
deposits.    Not  only  the  sides  of  the  lower  ridges,  but  the  top  and  sides 
of  the  central  mass  are  covered  so  thickly  and  continuously  with  frao-- 
S^^S   o""^  granite  that  this  becomes  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  featurel 
Both  Snow  and  Fremont's  Peak  are  one  mass  of  debris.     During  the  day 
Mr.  Jackson,  with  the  assistance  of  the  fine  artistic  taste  of  MrToifibrd 
secured  some  most  beautiful  photographic  views,  which  will  prove  of 
great  value  to  the  artist  as  weU  as  the  geologist.  '  We  made  our  camp 
at  night  near  the  foot  of  Fremont's  Peak,  by  the  side  of  a  spring  of  the 
purest  crystal  water,  surrounded  with  a  thick  growth  of  fi-esh  o-reen 
grass  that  gave  a  manifest  delight  to  our  animals.     We  were  on  the  Pa- 
cific slope  and  as  the  waters  of  the  little  spring  passed  by  us,  within  a 
few  feet  of  our  camp-fire,  in  the  stillness  of  the  night,  we  imagined  we 
could  hear  in  its  rippling  music  the  faint  echo   of  that  of  the  great 
ocean  to  which  it  was  hastening.     Among  the  numerous  plants  which 
grew  here,  many  of  them  with  handsome  flowers,  I  was  attracted  bv  the 
^reat  abundance  of  a  species  of  trifolium,  with  a  white  blossom,  about 
the  size  of  our  domestic  red  clover  of  the  States.     There  was  also  a 
large  species  of  allium  which  I  have  not  observed  before  in  the  West 


38        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Althougli  tlie  geology  as  well  as  the  mineralogy  of  the  Wind  Eiver 
range  is  very  simple,  yet  we  turned  our  backs  upon  it  witli  regret.  I 
shall  always  retain  in  view  the  hope  that  I  may  yet  be  permitted  to  spend 
several  months  in  this  interesting  range,  so  prepared  that  I  can  work 
out  its  topograi^hy  as  well  as  geology.  In  studying  these  mountain  sys- 
tems, the  geology  is  the  anatomy,  and  we  must  have  the  topograi)hy 
with  it  to  clothe  the  skeleton  and  give  it  an  expressive  form. 

On  our  way  up  the  valley  we  passed  several  saw-mills  which  belonge<l 
to  Mr.  TV.  iST.  Hinman,  of  Atlantic  City,  one  of  the  old  pioneers  of  the  Fax 
West.  Thirteen  yeavs  ago  I  met  him  near  the  base  of  Laramie  Peak, 
where  he  was  engaged,  as  director  of  a  saw-mill,  by  the  commanding 
officer  at  Fort  Laramie.  His  experience  in  the  Eocky  Mountain  lumber 
business  has  been  more  extensive  than  that  of  any  one  else,  and  from  him 
I  obtained  some  valuable  information.  He  informed  me  that  the  Eocky 
Mountain  pines  made  lumber  of  about  average  quality;  that  the  trees 
were  of  jouug  growth,  from  two  to  three  feet  in  diameter ;  that  the 
boards  dress  smoothly  and  easily',  and  endure  well,  and  are  mostly  free 
from  pitch.  The  lumber  can  be  produced  at  about  $50  per  1,000  feet. 
He  always  explores  the  ravines  and  canons  on  the  north  side  of  the 
mountains  for  the  large  tall  pines,  while  on  the  south  side  they  are  liable 
to  be  scrubb}'  and  knotty.  The  agricultural  capacities  of  this  mountain 
region  do  not  differ  materially  from  those  of  the  mining  districts  of 
Colorado.  The  grazing  is  excellent  everywhere.  Potatoes,  turnips, 
peas,  beans,  and  all  kinds  of  garden  vegetables  that  do  not  require  a 
long  season  grow  remarkably  well  in  the  valley  of  the  Wind  Eiver,  and 
are  produced  in  considerable  quantities  at  the  present  time. 

At  the  time  of  our  visit  here  Washakie's  band  of  the  Shoshones  was 
encamped  in  the  valley  of  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Sweetwater,  where 
it  emerges  from  the  foot-hills  of  the  mountains.  Through  the  kind  aid 
of  Major  Gordon,  Mr.  Jackson  was  able  to  secure  a  remarkable  series 
of  photographic  views  of  these  Indians  and  their  cam])  in  their  native 
haunts.  Most  of  the  views  have  the  Wind  Eiver  Mountains  as  a  back- 
grouu(i,  and  also  show  the  women  and  children  as  they  are  naturallj' 
distributed  about  the  village.  I  rfegard  this  series  of  views  as  a  real 
contribution  to  Indian  history. 

On  the  morning  of  September  5th  we  left  Fort  Stambaugh,  and  fol- 
lowed the  old  emigrant  road  toward  Fort  Bridger.  We  had  received 
every  attention,  and  much  assistance  that  was  of  gTeat  value  to  us,  from 
the  gentlemanly  officers  of  the  post.  To  Major  Gregg,  the  quarter- 
master, we  were  especially  indebted,  not  only  for  many  social  courtesies, 
but  for  that  kind  of  aid  which  is  so  indispensable  to  our  success,  and 
which  it  is  in  the  power  of  that  officer  to  grant.  Major  G.  kindly  caused 
•ill  of  our  wagons  to  be  repaired,  and  furnished  abundant  supplies  for 
our  animals  and  ourselves. 

West  of  South  Pass  City  we  cross  over  gneissic  slates  that  dip  north- 
east 10°  to  25°.  A  little  farther  on  we  come  to  granites  which  incline 
in  the  same  direction.  Near  the  crossing  of  the  Sweetwater  are  thick 
beds  of  reddish  feldspar  and  white  quartz  imbedded  with  the  gneiss. 
The  white  quartz  extends  across  the  country  in  bands,  about  northeast 
and  southwest.  The  quartz  seams  in  the  massive  granites  are  quite 
conspicuous,  and  trend  in  the  same  direction.  The  dip  is  southwest  20° 
to  30'°.  The  granites  and  gneisses  continued  nearly  to  the  Pacific 
Springs.  The  massive  granites  intercalated  among  the  stratifi.ed  gneis- 
sic rocks  are  the  same  in  color  and  texture  as  those  forming  the  central 
mass  of  the  Wind  Eiver  range,  and  I  regard  them  as  all  of  sedimentary 
oriiiin. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEEEITORIES.        39 

Soutli  Pass  is  a  gradual  elevation,  like  a  divide,  between  the  streams 
to  the  plains.  Indeed,  the  whole  country  is  an  elevated  plain,  gently 
undulating,  and  the  traveler  passes  the  true  divide  or  line  of  separation 
between  the  valleys  of  the  two  oceans  without  observing  it. 

On  the  evening  of  the  oth  we  arrived  at  Paciiic  Springs,  one  of  the 
sources  of  the  Sandy,  a  branch  of  Green  Eiver,  a  long,  low,  boggy  piece 
of  ground  full  of  springs,  and  a  notable  camping  place  for  emigrants.  We 
have  spoken  of  the  low  ridges  of  granite  and  gneiss,  which  are  distrib- 
uted here  and  there  along  our  route,  from  South  Pass  to  Pacific  S[)riDgs. 
Scattered  over  this  surface,  forming  the  water  divide  or  pass,  and  tilling 
up  the  irregularities,  is  a  superficial  deposit  of  modern  date,  probably 
l^lioceue,  which  once  covered  the  area  occui)ied  by  the  metamorphic 
rocks  in  considerable  thickness.  This  deposit  is  composed  of  ^rift  un- 
derlaid by  yellowish- white  arenaceous  marls,  with  greenish  clay.  Wells 
are  dug  near  Fort  Stambaugh  through  a  great  thickness  of  this  light 
marly  clay,  which  is  undoubtedly  the  result  of  the  decomposition  of  the 
feldspathic  granites.  Just  west  of  the  pass  we  have  several  hundred  feet 
of  these  modern  beds,  which  form  long  parallel  ridges,  with  rather 
marked  naked  white  surlaces,  evidently  denuded  of  vegetation,  by  the 
l)erpetual  winds  that  sweep  down  from  the  northwest.  Extending 
nearly  east  and  west,  or  northwest  and  southeast,  and  inclining  geutlj- 
to  the  south  and  southwest,  is  a  broken  ridge  seven  hundred  feet  above 
the  springs,  capped  with  a  bed  of  coarse,  rusty  sandstone,  evidently  of 
modern  age.  This  ridge  is  covered  over  with  huge  granite  boulders  of 
various  textures,  which  seem  to  have  come  from  the  northeast.  Just 
south  of  the  ridge  is  a  still  higher  one,  with  strata  horizontal,  and  so 
denuded  that  the  surface  resembles  "  bad  lands,'-  with  red,  indurated 
arenaceous  clays  at  the  base,  rising  up  into  light  j^ellow  marly  clays, 
weathering  into  the  usual  fantastic  forms.  The  highest  point  to  the 
southward  is  Table  Eock,  or  Steamboat  Buttes,  as  they  have  been 
named  by  the  emigrants,  rising  high  above  the  surrounding  plains,  a 
monument  to  perpetuate  a  portion  of  the  former  thickness  of  the  middle 
tertiar}'  formations  in  this  region.  The  strata  are  nearly  horizontal, 
and  must  have  reached  a  thickness  of  one  thousand  feet  or  more,  extend- 
ing over  the  country  far  to  the  south  and  southwest  toward  the 
railroad.  I  regard  the  western  side  of  the  Wind  Eiver  anticlinal  as 
the  eastern  shore  of  the  second  series  or  lower  miocene  tertiaries,  which 
reach  all  over  the  basin  drained  by  the  Green  Eiver  and  its  tributaries, 
southward  to  the  junction  of  Henry's  Fork.  The  northeast  side  of  the 
shore  line  is  very  steep  and  abruiit,  inclining  slightly,  3°  to  5"^,  covered 
with  immense  granite  boulders,  but  little  worn,  wliich  evidently  came 
from  the  Wind  Eiver  range.  The  white  and  yellow  marls  and  clays  rest 
on  the  metamorphic  rocks,  are  of  pliocene  age,  and  they  extend  far  to  the 
northwest,  parallel  with  the  range.  The  same  formations  occur  near  the 
Three  Crossings  in  the  Sweetwater  Valley,  and  are  rich  in  remains. of 
extinct  mammals,  similar  to  or  identical  with  those  of  the  Loup  Fork 
group.  The  reddish  or  India  ocher  clays,  with  leaden  gray  bands,  form 
the  base  of  the  lower  miocene  group.  Above  them  is  an  extensive  se- 
ries of  yellowish  marls  and  rusty-drab  limestone,  filled  with  a  species  of 
Bythinella,  Yivipanis,  and  other  fresh-water  shells,  with  silicified  wood. 
One  of  the  peculiar  features  of  the  lower  clays,  near  this  shore  line, 
which  does  not  occur  farther  inland,  is  the  numerous  seams  of  small 
rounded  pebbles,  held  together  loosely  with  fine  sand.  As  we  descend 
the  valley  below  Pacific  Springs  it  soon  expands  into  a  broad  meadow, 
which  yields  a  vast  quantity  of  hay.  Winding  through  the  meadow  is 
a  fine  stream  of  water,  which  increases  in  size  continually  from  springs 


40        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

until  it  unites  witli  the  Sandy.  On  tlie  Little  and  Big  Sandy  the  forma- 
tions are  like  those  near  Bryan  and  on  Green  Eiver,  and  on  the  denuded 
hills  the  remains  of  turtles  were  found.  At  our  camj)  on  the  Big  Sandy, 
September  7th,  we  caught  the  best  view  of  the  Wind  Eiver  mountains  we 
have  yet  seen.  As  the  morning  sun  shone  on  them  and  scattered  the 
mist  and  smoke  from  their  summits,  they  seemed  not  far  distant,  and 
loomed  up  along  the  horizon  with  a  sharp,  clear  outline,  that  rendered 
the  view  most  grand  and  imposing.  Fremont's  and  Snow  Peaks  were 
clearly  defined,  and  the  series  of  sharp  peaks  that  project  from  the 
main  ridge  seemed  to  diminish  in  height  far  toward  the  sources  of  Green 
River.  In  no  country  in  the  world,  it  seems  to  me,  can  such  a  compre- 
hensive view  be  presented  to  the  eye  at  a  glance  as  at  this  point,  where 
it  can  take  in  one  of  the  loftiest  of  the  ranges  which  form  the  main 
chain  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  stretching  along  the  horizon  for  at 
least  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  I  could  not  ascertain  that  any  of  the 
older  sedimentary  rocks  are  exposed  along  the  western  side  of  this 
range,  from  the  South  Pass  to  the  sources  of  Green  River.  Ridges  of 
the  lower  miocene  tertiary  strata  along  the  western  limit  of  the  meta- 
morphic  rocks  form  an  unmistakable  shore  line  of  the  ancient  lake. 
Between  this  shore  line  and  the  foot-hills  of  the  mountains  is  a  belt  of 
metamorphic  slates  and  gneiss,  covered  here  and  there  with  pliocene 
marls.  The  erosion  all  along  the  western  side  of  the  mountains  has 
been  tremendous,  sweeping  down  in  a  northeast  direction  to  the  Sweet- 
water Valley.  In  a  preceding  chapter  I  described  the  Sweetwater  Val- 
ley as  one  of  erosion,  on  a  most  remarkably  grand  scale,  and  that  the 
Sweetwater  and  Seminole  Hills  formed  the  south  side  of  the  anticlinal, 
and  that  the  north  side  is  seen  at  the  present  time  only  in  fragments 
here  and  there,  most  of  it  having  been  swept  away  or  concealed  by  the 
Wind  River  deposits.  I  am  also  inclined  to  believe  that  the  Sweet- 
water Valley  is  only  an  extension  to  the  east  or  south  of  east,  of  the 
axis  of  the  Wind  River  range. 

From  the  Big  Sandy  to  our  camp  on  Black's  Fork,  near  Granger  Sta- 
tion, we  i^assed  over  the  Green  River  beds,  capped  here  and  there  with 
ridges  of  the  leaden-gray,  indurated  arenaceous  clays  of  the  Bridger 
group.  In  the  Green  River  beds  are  quite  abundanl;  remains  of  reptiles, 
as  CrococUlusElliotti,  and  the  fragments  of  fishes,  Unios,  3Ielanias,  I'alu- 
dinas,  Planorhis,  &c.,  and  found  in  the  lower  miocenee,  and  Unios^LymneaSj 
and  remains  of  turtles  and  mammals  in  the  Bridger  group.  On  either  side 
of  our  road  we  can  see  in  the  far  distance  a  high  ridge  or  table-top  butte, 
like  the  Pilot  Buttes  which  the  erosive  forces  have  passed  by  as  remnants 
of  the  old  surface.  Among  the  rugged  liills  along  the  Big  Sandy,  and 
in  many  other  localities,  are  long  cylindrical  concretions,  which  look  much 
like  silicified  wood.  They  form  the  central  portions  of  high,  rusty-drab 
concretionary  sandstones,  and  on  exposure  the  sandstone  exfoliates  from 
the  brown  silicified  interior,  and  the  latter  breaks  in  jjicces,  oftentimes  in 
sections,  which  show  the  most  perfect  concentric  rings,  like  the  layers  of 
growth  in  wood,  with  cavities  filled  with  chalcedony.  Most  beautiful  spe- 
cimens can  be  obtained  of  what  appears  to  be  a  thin,  woody,  exterior 
shell,  covered  with  bark,  and  lined  inside  with  beautiful  crystals  of  quartz 
or  chalcedony.  Similar  concretions  occur  in  the  Wasatch  group  near 
Piedmont,  on  the  railroad.  It  is  not  surprising  that  Stansbury  (see 
Report,  p.  72)  should  have  mistaken  these  singular  concretions  for  silici- 
fied trunks  of  trees,  which  they  very  closely  resemble.  All  over  the 
surface,  and  especially  on  the  tops  of  the  hills,  are  distributed  immense 
quantities  of  partially-worn  flint  rocks,  which  come  from  the  debris  of 
these  concretions.    It  is  from  these  ro(;ks  that  the  masses  of  chalcedony, 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  41 

as  well  as  the  "  moss  agnates,"  liavetbeir  origin.  Along  the  railroad  and 
about  Church  Buttes  the  surface  in  many  places  is  literally  paved  with 
small  fragments  of  a  dark-browu,  shiny,  flinty  ro(,'k,  somewhat  worn, 
among  which  the  "  moss  agates"  are  found;  all  these  rocks  originate 
in  the  Bridger  group. 

We  found  our  camps  on  the  Sandy  Creeks  and  Green  Eiver  very 
pleasant,  with  abundant  grass  for  our  animals.  The  bottoms  are  usually 
quite  broad,  and  though  covered  with  the  white  alkaline  efdorescence 
so  common  to  this  country,  the  soil  has  all  the  elements  of  extreme  fer- 
tility. Indeed  this  entire  Green  River  basin,  which  seems  to  the  eye 
so  utterly  desolate  and  barren,  would  jiroduce  all  the  crops  that  the 
climate  will  jjermit,  most  abundantly,  if  it  could  be  irrigated ;  and  the  time 
may  yet  come  when  this  apparently  desert  region  may  "  blossom  as  the 
rose."  Whether  this  state  of  things  can  ever  occur  or  not,  it  is  sufticient 
for  me  to  state,  that  the  soil,  whether  upland  or  lowland,  contains  in 
greater  proportions  the  elements  of  fertility  than  that  of  Salt  Lake  Val- 
ley, which  has  been  found  so  wonderfully  productive. 

The  10th  and  lltli  of  September  we  camped  on  Black's  Fork  near 
Church  Buttes,  and  spent  the  time  most  industriously  and  successfully, 
exploring  the  remarkable  "  bad  lauds"  for  fossil  remains,  as  turtles,  mam- 
mals, and  fresh-water  shells,  of  which  we  gathered  great  quantities. 
Mr.  Elliott  made  a  tine  series  of  panoramic  sketches  and  sections,  and 
Messrs.  Jackson  and  Gififord  procured  seventeen  beautiful  photographic 
negatives  of  the  most  rugged  portions  of  this  unique  scenery.  The  ma- 
terials for  the  illustration  of  the  different  groups  of  strata  are  very  com- 
plete, and  will  add  greatlj'  to  our  knowledge  of  the  geology  of  some  of 
the  most  interesting  regions  in  the  West. 

On  the  evening  of  the  12th  of  September  we  arrived  safely  at  Fort 
Bridger,  the  western  terminus  of  our  present  explorations. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

FORT  BRIDGER  AND  THE  UINTA  MOUNTAINS. 

On  the  morning  of  September  16  we  left  Fort  Bridger  for  the  Uintn. 
Mountains,  under  the  guidance  of  Judge  W.  A.Carter,  whose  long  resi- 
dence at  Fort  Bridger  and  intimate  knowledge  of  the  surrounding  coun- 
try proved  of  great  value  to  us  in  our  explorations. 

Our  course  was  a  little  east  of  north,  across  the  plateau  divide  between 
Black's  Fork  and  Smith's  Fork.  A  distance  of  six  miles  from  Bridger  we 
crossed  over  the  interval  to  Little  Cottonwood  Creek,  a  branch  of  Smith's 
Fork,  and  passed  up  that  valley  to  the  foot-hills  of  the  mountains  about 
seven  miles  farther.  The  valleys  of  these  streams  are  broad  and  ex- 
ceedingly fertile.  The  soil  is  a  rich  vegetable  mold,  and  all  the  vege- 
tation reaches  a  luxuriant  growth.  Large  areas  have  been  under  culti- 
vation by  Judge  Carter  for  years.  Wheat,  oats,  barley,  and  all  the  roots, 
can  be  raised  here  in  great  abundance  and  with  ease.  Hay  can  be 
obtainedjn  the  meadows  or  damp  places  in  unlimited  quantities,  and 
the  grazing  cannot  be  surpassed.  That  portion  of  the  country  between 
Fort  Bridger  and  the  foot-hills  of  the  mountains  may  be  divided  into 
bottom  land  and  table  land  ;  that  is,  the  bottoms  are  very  broad,  vary- 
ing from  two  to  five  miles  in  width,  and  the  table  lands  are  sort  of  ter- 
race divides,  which  look  in  the  distance  as  level  as  a  table  top,  and  de- 
scend very  gradually  from  the  foot-hills.    These  plateaus  are  covered 


42  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

y^ith  sage  at  tliis  time,  but  every  acre  of  tliem  could  be  cultivated  by 
irrigation,  and  the  soil  is  as  fertile  as  any  of  the  fruitful  lands  of  Salt 
Lake  Valley.  The  miocene  beds  of  the  Bridger  Group  jut  up  against  the 
sides  of  tlie  mountains  in  a  nearly  horizontal  position.  Up  among  the 
foot-hills  I  found  the  bones  of  a  turtle,  the  teeth  and  jaws  of  a  mammal, 
and  an  abundance. of  fresh-water  shells,  of  the  genus  Planorbis.  lam 
now  inclined  to  think  that  the  long  high  ridges  that  extend  down  from  the 
flanks  of  the  mountains  between  each  main  stream  or  its  branches,  are 
composed  of  modern  tertiary  beds.  Still  they  are  so  smooth  and  so 
thickly  grassed  over,  and  covered  with  groves  of  pine  and  aspen,  that  I 
could  never  find  a  locality  where  the  rocks  were  exposed,  so  that  I  could 
obtiiiu  a  connected  section.  The  surface  is  covered  very  thickly  with 
rounded  boulders  of  reddish  sandstone  and  quartzite,  with  some  masses 
of  carboniferous  limestone.  The  ascent  is  very  gradual,  and  the  roads 
excellent,  almost  to  the  summits  of  the  range,  at  least  to  an  elevation 
of  11,000  feet  above  the  sea. 

Both  Smith's  and  Black's  Forks  separate  into  numerous  branches,  and 
between  each  one  is  a  lofty,  precipitous  ridge,  which  extends  down  from 
near  the  summit  of  the  mountains  in  the  fonn  of  steps  or  abrupt  points. 
Pheasant  Point  and  Porcupine  Point  are  examples  of  this  kind.  It  is  a 
curious  fact,  however,  that  none  of  these  ridges  ever  reveal  their  interior 
character,  being  clothed  with  a  dense  growth  of  pine  and  aspen,  or  in  the 
open  places,  on  hill  or  in  vallej",  thickly  with  grass  and  a  deep  soil.  For 
ten  miles  at  least  not  a  trace  of  the  basis  rocks  could  be  found  in  the 
channels  of  the  streams.  Spruce  Eidge,  between  the  sources  of  the  Muddy 
and  the  valley  of  Bear  Eiver,  revealed  the  fact  that  there  is  an  immense 
deposit  of  drift  covering  a  belt  along  the  flanks  of  the  mountains  from 
ten  to  twenty  miles  in  width,  extending  in  some  places  nearly  to  the 
crest  of  the  range.  The  ujjper  portion  of  this  drift  is  composed  of  fine 
arenaceous  clays,  covered  with  a  deep,  rich,  vegetable  soil.  It  therefore 
sustains  a  luxuriant  vegetation  up  to  an  elevation  of  nearly  12,000  feet. 
The  mountain  rises  in  steps,  because  there  are  ridges  of  elevation; 
hence,  Judge  Carter  has  given  this  range  the  api^ropriate  name  of 
"  Terrace  Mountains." 

Thus  we  have  two  kinds  of  ridges;  those  of  elevation,  which  are  par- 
allel vrith  the  axis,  and  those  of  erosion,  which  are  parallel  with  the 
valleys  of  the  streams,  and  radiate  from  the  axis  at  right  angles  to  the 
ridges  of  elevation.  The  first  locality,  between  Smith's  Fork  and  Black's 
Fork,  that  we  observed  rocks  in  place  was  at  Photograph  ridge;  a  lofty 
upheaval  of  carboniferous  limestone,  inclining  at  an  angle  of  40°.  The 
elevation  of  the  crest  was  determined  by  the  barometer  to  be  10,829  feet. 
This  ridge  extends  across  Black's  Fork,  with  a  trend  about  northeast 
and  southwest.  From  this  ridge  to  the  axis  of  elevation  there  is  a 
series  of  sandstone  ridges,  passing  gradually  into  red  and  gray  quartz- 
ites.     These  ridges  rise,  like  steps,  to  the  crest  of  the  range. 

The  first  ridge  is  comjjosed  of  dull,  purplish  sandstone  of  various 
degrees  of  texture,  from  a  compact  sandstone  to  a  pebbly  conglomerate. 
The  quantity  of  broken  rocks  and  debris  is  wonderful,  rising  like  a  wall 
one  hundred  to  two  hundred  feet  high.  Then  comes  a  broad,  grassy 
valley  and  a  second  ridge  of  sandstone,  though  a  portion  of  this  ridge 
is  covered  with  the  drift  deposit,  so  that  the  sandstones  are  seen  only 
in  the  sides  of  the  valleys  of  Smith's  and  Black's  Forks.  The  inclination 
of  these  sandstones  is  about  35°  northwest.  At  the  foot  of  the  ridge 
next  to  the  crest  of  the  mountains  there  is  a  broad  valley  like  a  plateau. 
This  has  the  appearance  of  an  elegantly  prepared  lawn,  so  thickly  and 
evenly  is  it  covered  with  grass.    It  is  11,809  feet,  and  1,100  feet  above  the 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        43 

li  mit  of  arborescent  vegetation.  This  also  forms  one  of  the  radiating  ridges, 
Avhieh  extends  down  from  the  axis  of  the  range  to  the  phiius,  and  sepa- 
rates the  A'alleys  of  Smith's  and  Black's  Forks.  Sometimes  it  is  several 
miles  in  width,  but  toward  the  crest  of  the  range  the  ridge  of  separation 
is  not  more  than  two  Imndred  yards  wide.  Standing  on  either  side  of  this 
ridge,  the  view  that  meets  the  eye  toward  the  sources  of  these  streams 
can  hardly  be  surpassed  for  ruggeduess  and  picturesque  beauty.  The 
valley  of  Smitli's  Fork  seems  to  be  altogether  one  of  erosion,  cutting 
through  the  uplifted  strata  nearly  at  right  angles.  The  beds  are  well 
shown  in  the  sides  of  the  valley  for  miles,  inclining  at  angles  from  20^ 
to  35°.  At  the  very  sources  of  both  Smith's  and  Black's  Forks  are 
pyramidal  or  conical  peaks  most  distinctl,y  stratified,  and  apparently 
horizontal,  or  nearly  so,  with  the  summits  above  the  limits  of  perpetual 
snow,  and  from  fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  feet  above  the  springs 
that  give  origin  to  the  streams  below.  These  peaks  or  cones  are  vast 
piles  of  purplish  compact  quartzite,  resembling  much  Egyptian  pyra- 
mids on  a  gigantic  scale,  without  a  trace  of  soil,  vegetation,  or  water. 
One  of  these  remarkable  structures  stands  out  isolated  from  the  rest,  in 
the  middle  of  the  valley  of  Smith's  Fork,  which  we  estimated  to  rise 
fifteen  hundred  feet  above  its  base;  and  so  much  lil^e  a  Gothic  church 
did  it  appear,  that  the  members  of  my  party  gave  it  the  name  of  Hay- 
den's  Cathedral. 

From  Carter's  Plateau  I  descended  into  the  valley  of  Smith's  Fork, 
and  after  traveling  about  three  miles  over  ridge  after  ridge  of  sand- 
stone and  quartzite,  inclining  at  various  angles  from  20°  to  30°,  I  came 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  base  of  this  cathedral,  when  I  found  that 
it  formed  the  south  side  of  an  anticlinal,  and  that  the  trend  of  the 
valley  was  northeast  and  southwest.  It  would  seem  that  while  all  the 
beds  on  the  north  side  of  the  anticlinal  dip  at  a  large  angle,  those  on  the 
south  side  were  forced  up  in  a  nearly  horizontal  position,  inclining 
southwest  only  3°  to  5°.  The  valley  is  full  of  little  lakes,  M^hich  form 
an  interesting  feature  of  the  scenery  of  the  Uiutas.  In  most  cases  they 
are  the  result  of  land-slides,  antl  occur  at  different  elevations,  depend- 
ing upon  the  conditions  that  bring  them  into  existence.  Carter's  Lake 
is  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water,  inclosed  on  one  side  by  a  semicircular  wall 
of  purplish  sandstone  and  slates,  and  on  the  other  by  a  dense  growth  of 
spruce  trees.  The  depression  for  the  accumulation  of  the  waters  of  this 
lake  was  formed  by  an  immense  mass  of  rock  sliding  down  from  the 
ridges  above.  The  side  of  the  mass  opposite  the  ridge  from  which  it 
was  detached  would  be  the  highest,  forming  a  rim  for  the  depression. 
Springs  of  water  ooze  out  of  the  sides  of  the  ridge,  snows  melt,  and 
the  waters  flow  down  and  gather  here,  and  soon  a  little  lake  is  formed. 
This  one  is  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards  in  length,  and  eighty  yards  in 
width. 

It  is  quite  i)laiu  that  these  slides  have  been  the  chief  agency  in 
enlarging  these  valleys,  for  even  at  this  time  we  see  the  evidences  of  it 
everywhere,  both  at  the  head  of  Smith's  and  Black's  Fork.  The  valley 
extends  from  half  a  mile  to  a  mile  above  the  anticlinal  valley,  and  in 
the  dry  season  of  autumn,  far  above  the  existence  of  water.  I  am  inclined 
to  believe  that  the  origin  of  the  stream  and  its  valley  began  in. this 
anticlinal  opening,  and  that  the  valley  has  extended  up  above  it  by  the 
sliding  down  of  vast  masses  of  rock  which  were  swept  downward  by  the 
waters.  On  the  west  side  of  the  valley  of  Smith's  Fork,  near  its  head,  is 
a  vast  semicircular  notch  or  indentation,  neai'lyhalf  a  mile  deep,  which 
has  been  wholly  formed  by  these  slides.  In  the  valley  below,  which  is 
five  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet  deep,  are  half  a  dozen  lakes,  occupy- 


44        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

ing  tlie  depressions  of  these  slides  at  different  elevations.  The  day  that 
we  explored  the  valley,  was  quite  warm,  and  the  sides  were  covered  with 
banks  of  suow  twelve  to  fifteen  feet  deep,  from  the  edges  of  which  were 
flowing  streams  of  water  into  these  little  lakes  or  i)ools.  From  the  sides 
of  the  valley  issued  beautiful  springs  also,  which  contributed  their  portion. 
From  these  lakes  flowed  little  streams,  which  gradually  concentrated 
into  the  main  channel  of  Smith's  Fork.  The  same  descri^jtion  will  apply 
to  the  valley  of  Black's  Fork,  except  that  a  portion  of  the  east  side  seems 
to  be  formed  of  the  sloping  side  of  one  of  the  inclined  ridges  of  sandstone, 
thus  showing  that  it  is  not  altogether  one  of  erosion.  The  w-est  side  reveals 
all  the  quartzites  and  sandstones  in  their  regular  order  of  sequence,  for 
several  miles,  inclining  at  various  angles  from  20°  to  40^^.  From  the  high 
peaks  of  the  crest  of  the  range  we  can  look  down  the  deep,  almost  straight 
valleys  of  Smith's  and  Black's  Forks,  southward  into  the  plains,  and 
follow  the  remarkably  tortuous  course  of  the  little  streams  that  flow 
down  them.  There  are  no  real  mountain  torrents  in  this  range,  no 
picturesque  waterfalls  or  narrow  gorges ;  but  the  valleys  are  deej)  and 
wide,  with  almost  vertical  sides,  eight  hundred  to  twelve  hundred  feet 
high .  Yet  the  lower  portions  below  the  quartzitic  belt  are  covered  thickly 
with  trees  or  grass,  so  that  the  underlying  rocks  are  concealed.  The 
fall  of  the  water  is  so  slight  in  the  streams  that  they  are  not  only  ex- 
ceedingly tortuous,  but  frequently  accumulate  in  little  lake-like  expan- 
sions, which  add  much  to  the  beauty  of  the  scenery,  especially  as  the 
waters  glisten  when  the  morning  sunlight  falls  upon  them.  In  a  volume 
entitled  "  Sun  Pictures  of  Rocky  Mountain  Scenery,"  illustrated  with 
photographs,  I  have  included  two  views,  taken  at  the  head  of  the  west 
branch  of  Bear  River,  by  Mr.  A.  J.  Russell,  as  types  of  Uinta  Mountain 
scenery.  Sun  pictures  No.  1  and  Ko.  14  exhibit  Moore's  Lake  with 
the  quartzite  mountain  in  the  background.  The  stratification  can  be 
seen  perfectly.  This  work,  though  very  costly,  can  be  found  in  most  of 
our  public  libraries  and  can  be  referred  to  by  those  who  may  be  inter- 
ested in  the  scenery  of  the  Uinta  Mountains.  Mr.  Jackson,  photographer 
to  the  survey,  has  taken  a  large  number  of  views  in  this  range,  illustrating 
every  variety  of  form  which  the  texture  of  the  rocks  would  admit  of,  in 
the  i)rocess  of  erosion  or  weathering.  These  views,  I  hope,  will  be  given 
to  the  world  in  some  form  at  no  distant  day.  As  studies  of  the  geologi- 
cal and  geographical  features  of  the  country  they  will  prove  of  great 
value,  and  their  fidelity  to  nature  cannot  be  denied. 

We  descended  the  dividing  ridge  between  Black's  and  Smith's  Forks 
by  the  same  road  we  passed  up,  but  nowhere  below  Photograph  Ridge 
did  we  see  any  of  the  rocks  underlying  the  drift.  I  am  confident  that, 
could  the  immense  deposit  of  drift  be  stripped  off,  we  should  find  the 
regular  series  of  formations,  as  triassic  or  red  beds,  Jurassic,  cretaceous, 
and  older  tertiary,  and  possibly  coal-beds.  Yet  so  thick  a  deposit  of 
drift  and  modern  tertiary  covers  the  sides  and  foot-hills  of  the  range 
that  these  formations  do  not  probably  affect  the  outline  of  the  surface. 
It  is  quite  certain,  however,  that  they  will  be  found  cropping  out  some- 
where, even  on  the  north  side  of  the  range,  or  perhaps  on  the  south 
side  in  the  Uinta  Valley.  I  regret  very  much  that  my  time  would  not 
pernjit  me  to  make  a  thorough  exploration  of  both  sides  of  this  most 
interesting  range.  Some  problems  which  now  are  obscure  might  thus  be 
made  plain 

TRIP    TO    THE    HEAD    OF    BEAR    RIVER,    UINTA    MOUNTAINS. 

We  left  Fort  Bridger  on  the  morning  of  the  24th  of  September, 
with  a  small  pack  train,  and  pursued  a  north  course  up  the  valley  of 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEKEIT0KIE3.        45 

Black's  Fork  for  fourteen  miles.  This  is  a  beautiful  and  fertile  valley, 
varying-  from  tUree-fourtbs  to  a  mile  in  width.  Every  foot  of  the 
bottom  land  could  be  cultivated  with  ease,  and  Black's  Fork  would 
supply  an  abundance  of  water  for  irrigation.  The  soil,  like  that  of  all 
the  valleys  of  the  Uinta  range,  is  a  rich  black  vegetable  mold,  which 
always  sustains  a  heavy  growth  of  native  vegetation.  The  creek  itself 
is  fringed  with  a  handsome  border  of  cottonwoods  and  aspens ;  spruce 
and  pine  come  in,  which,  mingled  with  the  deciduous  trees,  give  a  pleas- 
ant variety  to  the  foliage.  Each  of  the  streams  that  flow  down  the 
slopes  of  the  Uiutas  separate  into  numerous  branches,  and  between  each 
branch  there  is  a  dividing  ridge  which  extends  down  from  the  moun- 
tains and  breaks  oif  abruptly  at  the  base.  The  Bridger  group  extends 
u])  to  the  base  of  these  ridges  and  juts  up  against  the  foot-hills.  Then 
come  the  grass-covered  and  woody  ridges,  which  are  composed  of  strata 
of  yellow  and  green  arenaceous  clays,  with  thin  layers  of  sandstone  pro- 
jecting from  the  sides.  The  grass  and  other  vegetation  covers  the  sur- 
face so  uniformly  that  it  is  difficult  to  find  a  connected  section  of  the 
strata,  but  it  is  probable  that  there  are  lower  tertiary  beds,  which  form 
a  portion  of  the  coal  series. 

Leaving  Black,'s  Fork  we  ascended  the  dividing  ridge  westward  to 
Muddy  Creek,  and  followed  an  old  trail  just  under  the  foot-hills  of  the 
mountains.  The  elevation  of  the  summit  of  the  ridge  is  7,857  feet. 
This  ridge  is  most  beautifully  diversified  with  groups  of  aspen  trees. 
The  surface  is  covered  with  loose  water-worn  rocks,  mostly  the  red 
sandstones  and  quartzites  that  must  have  been  drifted  from  the  crest  of 
the  mountains.  On  the  west  side  of  this  ridge  is  a  singular  table-top 
butte,  witli  an  elevation  of  7,977  feet,  and  five  hundred  feet  above  the 
Avaters  of  the  Muddy,  which  flows  along  its  western  base.  It  is  evidently 
a  fragment  of  an  upheaved  ridge  of  middle  tertiary  strata,  inclining  from 
the  mountains  at  a  small  angle.  The  southwest  side  is  very  abrupt,  and 
the  strata  are  exposed  so  that  a  moderately  good  section  can  be  studied. 
The  suujmit  is  covered  thickly  with  water -worn  boulders,  which  seem  to 
have  lodged  there  on  their  w^ay  from  the  Uintas.  The  deposit  of  drift 
is  at  least  fifty  feet  thick,  and  the  greatest  accumulation  of  the  boulders  is 
on  the  abrupt  edge  toward  the  ranges.  Below  the  driftare  alternate  layers 
of  light-gray  argillaceous  limestone,  sandstone,  and  laminated  arenaceous 
clays.  In  one  of  the  ui^per  beds  of  limestone  is  a  thin  seam  of  black 
chert  or  flint,  with  fresh-water  shells,  and  plants.  A  thickness  of  two 
hundred  feet  of  the  base  of  the  hill  is  composed  of  arenaceous  clays 
with  a  light  pinkish  tinge,  which  is  peculiar  to  a  vast  series  of  beds 
west  of  the  rim  of  the  basin.  From  the  top  of  this  butte  the  view  is  very 
extended  in  every  direction.  To  the  south  are  the  Uinta  Mountains, 
with  the  foot-hills  or  ridges  gradually  sloping  down  into  the  plains, 
covered  with  asp'en  groves  and  pines,  with  here  and  there  grass}', 
meadow-like  openings.  To  the  west  and  north,  as  for  as  the  eye  can 
reach,  thirty  to  fifty  miles,  we  see  only  the  modern  tertiary  beds.  These 
all  show  a  slight  inclination  from  the  range,  with  the  southwest  side  of 
the  projecting  ridges  abrupt  and  denuded,  and  the  northeast  side 
sloping  gently  down  and  covered  thickly  with  grass.  On  one  of  the 
little  branches  of  the  Muddy  the  carboniferous  limestones  crop  out 
somewhat  obscurely,  but  sufficient  to  show  that  they  exist  underneath 
this  vast  deposit  of  drift  and  tertiary  strata.  I  have  no  doubt  that  the 
entire  series  of  unchanged  beds  known  in  this  region,  either  do  exist  or 
have  existed  on  the  flanks  of  the  Uintas,  although  at  this  time  they 
may  have  been  eroded  away.  We  know  that  along  the  railroad,  near 
Aspen  Station,  the  cretaceous  rocks  are  brought  to  the  surfiice,  and  in  the 


46  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

valley  of  the  "Weber  the  Jurassic,  triassic,  carboniferous,  &c.,  are  enormous- 
ly developed.  We  then  ascended  the  west  branch  of  the  Muddy,  along 
one  of  the  most  beautiful  mountain  valleys  we  have  yet  seen.  It  is 
quite  narrow,  inclosed  between  high  ridges,  the  sides  descending  in 
step-like  slopes  to  the  stream.  The  little  groves  of  aspen  were  dis- 
tributed over  it  with  the  most  delicate  artistic  taste,  and  the  varieties  of 
autumn  coloring  of  the  foliage  surpassed  every  power  of  description. 
One  could  look  for  hours  upon  them,  and  yet  there  were  no  marked 
salient  points,  and  the  charm  consisted  more  in  a  kind  of  esthetic 
feeling  which  no  pen  or  pencil  can  portray.  The  grass  is  excellent,  and 
the  water  i:>ure  from  mountain  springs.  The  sage  shrub  grows  very 
rank,  which  also  indicates  the  fertility  of  the  soil.  We  camped  in  a 
little  grove  of  aspens,  and  all  the  party  were  so  well  pleased  that  they 
united  in  calling  it  Camp  Elliott,  in  honor  of  the  artist  of  our  expedition. 
The  elevation  was  ascertained  to  be  8,194  feet.  The  next  morning, 
September  2oth,  we  continued  up  this  branch  of  the  Muddy  for  about 
two  miles,  and  then  struck  across  the  divide  to  the  west  branch,  and 
followed  that  up  to  Spruce  Eidge,  the  high  divide  between  the  waters  of 
the  Muddy  and  Bear  Elver.  Here  we  caught  a  full  view  of  the  range  of 
mountains,  with  the  sharp  peaks  covered  with  snow.  This  was  just  the 
point  we  had  desired  to  reach  where  we  could  take  a  careful  survey  of 
the  country,  and  determine  our  point  of  destination.  I  had  with  me  a 
most  excellent  field  glass,  and  so  useful  have  I  found  it  in  my  explora- 
tions that  it  has  become  my  inseparable  companion.  With  it  I  could 
extend  my  vision  over  a  vast  area.  Far  to  the  northward,  one  hundred 
and  eighty  miles  distant,  the  white  snow-clad  mountains  of  Wind  Eiver 
were  distinctly  visible  extending  along  the  horizon.  The  intermediate 
space  resembles  in  its  surface  the  irregular  broken  waves  of  a  sea.  To 
the  west,  not  more  than  fifty  miles  distant,  the  Wasatch  range  can  be 
clearly  seen,  while  the  beautiful  broad  valley  of  Bear  Eiver  and  its 
branches  are  si)read  out  beneath  us.  It  is  diflicult  for  one  to  fully 
appreciate  the  wonderful  extent  of  country  over  w^hich  the  eye  can  travel 
through  the  pure  atmosphere  in  this  open  country  without  having 
visited  it.  It  seems  to  me  that  no  other  i)ortion  of  the  world  can  present 
so  much  surface  of  country  to  a  single  grasp  of  the  vision.  Spruce  Eidge 
explains  so  much  that  has  hitherto  been  obscure  in  regard  to  the  foot- 
hills of  the  Uintas,  that  I  will  describe  it  more  minutely. 

Smith's  Fork,  Black's  Fork,  and  Bear  Eiver  take  their  rise  in  the  main 
divide  of  the  Uinta  range  among  the  snow  peaks.  Each  one  of  these 
streams  has  its  smaller  branches,  which  originate  from  springs  issuing 
from  the  lower  foot-hills.  Between  Black's  Fork  and  Bear  Eiver  is  the 
Muddy  Creek,  which  drains  a  broad  valley,  and  separates  into  half  a 
dozen  branches,  most  of  which  extend  up  to  the  main  range.  The  range 
itself  consists  of  a  central  belt  or  zone  of  peaks  and  ridges,  more  rugged 
and  inaccessible  than  most  mountain  ranges.  This  belt  varies  from  five 
to  fifteen  miles  in  width,  and  has  a  general  trend  about  east  and  west,  or 
northeast  and  southwest.  Below  this  zone,  the  mountains  are  composed 
of  step  like  terraces  or  ridges,  which  are  so  covered  with  drift  material, 
and  sustain  such  a  grow^th  of  grass  and  timber,  that  the  basis  rocks  are 
seldom  if  ever  exposed  to  the  eye.  Thus  we  have  two  kinds  of  ridges — 
the  ridges  of  upheaval,  which  incline  aw^ay  from  the  central  axis  and  are 
parallel  with  it,  and  the  ridges  of  erosion  which  radiate  down  into  the 
plains  from  the  rugged  belt  before  described  as  forming  the  crest  of  the 
mountains.  Spruce  Eidge  extends  from  this  central  belt  with  a  some- 
what irregular  outline  down  into  the  plains  between  the  drainage  of 
Black's  Fork  and  Bear  Eiver.    All  along  the  sides  of  this  ridge,  nearly 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   TPIE    TERRITORIES.  47 

to  the  summit,  thousands  of  beautiful  springs  of  water  gush  out,  and, 
concentrating  in  some  valley,  form  quite  large  streams,  and  really  are  the 
main  sources  of  these  rivers.  Sometimes  these  ridges  are  only  a  few 
feet  in  width  at  the  summit,  as  between  the  waters  of  the  Muddy  and 
the  east  branch  of  Bear  Iliver.  Here  a  little  further  up  the  mountain 
it  expands  out  to  a  width  of  four  to  six  miles,  and  is  covered  with 
large  forests  of  pine  and  aspen  groves,  with  meadow-like  openings, 
varying  in  size  from  fifty  to  one  thousand  acres  each.  Then  again, 
to  the  sources  of  the  main  branches  near  the  mountain  crest,  these 
ridges  become  very  narrow,  merely  separating  the  waters  of  the 
streams.  Upon  these  ridges  are  trails  or  roads,  made  by  men  or  wild 
animals,  which  lead  one  with  comparative  ease  up  the  rugged  mountain 
divide.  Spruce  Ridge  is  formed  of  a  great  thickness  of  drift  conglom- 
erate. This  consists  of  quite  large  masses  of  purplish  and  gray  sand- 
stone, quartzites,  and  carboniferous  limestones  with  fossils,  with  now 
and  then  a  granitoid  or  gneissic  rock.  The  boulders  are  not  usually 
large,  varying  in  size  from  a  small  pebble  to  two  feet  in  diameter.  The 
rocks  are  mostly  the  purplish  sandstone,  quartzites,  and  limestones  from 
the  carboniferous  ridges.  These  rocks  are  more  or  less  water-worn ; 
some  of  them  are  quite  angular,  as  if  they  had  not  been  transported  fur 
or  rolled  in  the  waters,  others  are  much  rounded.  They  are  set  in  an 
arenaceous  i)uddiug-stone  i^aste,  mostly  decomposed  feldspar  and  quartz 
of  a  grayish-white  color.  The  whole  mass  is  not  closelj'^  cemented  and 
yields  readily  to  atmospheric  agencies.  The  entire  thickness  of  this 
modern  deposit,  as  shown  by  this  ridge,  must  be  very  great,  from  four  hun- 
dred to  eight  hundred  feet.  It,  however,  varies  much  in  thickness  in  differ- 
.eut  portions  of  the  range.  I  have  mentioned  the  different  kinds  of 
rocks  in  this  ridge  from  the  fact  that  such  deposits  are  almost  certain 
to  contain  specimens  from  all  the  geological  formations  which  come 
within  the  scope  of  the  agencies  which  deposited  it.  I  have  found  by 
experience  that  I  can  anticipate  the  existence  of  nearly  all  the  rocks  of 
different  formations  or  those  of  different  ages,  in  amountain,  by  examining 
the  drift  materials  distributed  over  the  base  or  foot-hills  of  the  range. 
This  ridge  also  presents  a  marked  illustration  of  the  influence  of  land- 
slides in  shaiiing  the  surface  of  the  sides  of  this  range.  These  slides 
are  doubtless  caused  by  the  numberless  springs  which  ooze  out  of  the 
sides  at  every  point  of  elevation  from  the  plains  to  the  main  divide. 
They  also  give  the  peculiar,  terrace-like,  or  stex)-like  character  to  the  .slopes 
which  has  suggested  the  name  of  "terrace  range"  for  these  mountains. 
These  steps  are  usually  very  gradual  and  smooth,  but  in  some  cnses  they 
give  an  extreme  ruggedness  to  the  surface.  The  east  side  of  Spruce 
llidge  is  nearly  vertical  for  two  hundred  feet  or  more,  and  the  conglom- 
erate beds  project  out  of  the  sides  in  horizontal  layers.  The  east  side  is 
very  steep,  but  slopes  down  to  the  i^lains  without  any  very  abrupt  break, 
and  is  covered  with  grass  or  forests  of  aspen  or  pine ;  but  the  west  side  is 
covered,  as  far  as  the  valley  of  Bear  Eiver,  with  a  series  of  abrupt  steps, 
which  would  appear  to  be  of  comparatively  modern  date  or  of  different 
dates  within  our  i)resent  period.  These  landslides,  on  the  west  side  of 
this  ridge,  extend  a  width  of  three  to  five  miles  before  reaching  tlie  east 
branch  of  Bear  Eiver ;  and  from  the  summit  of  this  ridge  we  had  a  most 
excellent  opportunity  to  study  the  effects.  An  immense  mass  of  the  drift 
conglomerate  has  slipped  off"  from  the  ridge  and  fallen  down ;  the  detached 
nmss  opposite  the  main  ridge  is  the  highest,  forming  a  sort  of  sharp,  low 
ridge,  sloping  toward  a  depressed  center;  thus  a  de])ression  is  made  for 
the  accumulation  of  waters  from  the  drainage  of  a  small  area;  and  thus 
others^ — most  of  the  little  lakes  that  have  given  such  celebrity  to  these 


48  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.    ' 

mountains — have  been  formed.  Carter's  Lake,  a  most  beautiful  little  slieet 
of  \fater  attlie  bead  of  Smitb'.s  Fork,  is  formed  in  tbat  way  ;  it  is  about 
three  hundred  yards  long,  and  fifty  to  one  hundred  wide.  These  little 
accumulations  of  water  occur  at  all  elevations  from  the  foot  of  the 
mountains  to  the  crest;  and  in  looking  from  the  high  mountain  divide, 
<lown  the  valleys  of  Bear  Eiver  or  Black's  Fork,  they  appear  like  gems 
set  in  the  landscape  as  their  waters  glisten  in  the  sunlight.  In  many 
instances  these  little  lakes  are  surrounded  with  tall  pines,  which  cast 
their  shadows  across  the  waters  with  such  sharp  outlines  that  they  have 
become  favorite  subjects  for  the  photographer;  thus  we  have  the 
beautiful  pictures  of  "shadow  lakes."  I  have  described  this  ridge  more 
in  detail  from  the  fact  that  it  supplied  me  with  a  key  to  an  important 
portion  of  the  history  of  this  curious  mountainous  range  which  was 
before  very  obscure. 

I  think  the  Uinta  Mountains  might  be  divided  into  three  belts  or 
zones,  parallel  with  the  axis:  1.  The  tertiary  beds  at  the  base  laj)- 
ping  on  the  sides  of  the  foot-hills  for  a  short  distance ;  2.  A  broad  belt, 
fifteen  to  twenty  miles  in  width,  covered  with  a  vast  deposit  of  drift,  and 
so  covered  with  vegetation,  and  so  smoothed  down  to  the  water's  edge 
of  all  the  streams,  that  the  basis  rocks  are  entirely  concealed  from  view, 
and  it  is  only  by  the  accident  of  a  laud  slide  the  character  or  ex- 
tent of  this  modern  drift  deposite  can  be  ascertained,  but  inasmuch  as 
it  has  given  the  most  prominent  surface  feature  to  this  range  it  is  worthy 
of  our  careful  study.  The  third  belt  comprises  the  central  portion,  which 
is  covered  with  sharp  peaks  rising  eleven  thousand  to  twelve  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea,  varying  in  width  from  ten  to  twenty  miles.  This  is 
the  most  rugged  and  inaccessible  portion  of  the  range,  and  is  composed 
of  high  ridges  of  upheaval,  parallel  to  the  axis  of  elevation,  and  the 
strata  inclining  from  it.  These  three  belts  will  be  described  in  detail  as 
we  proceed  from  point  to  point. 

Leaving  that  portion  of  the  ridge  that  separates  the  waters  of  Bear 
Eiver  and  Muddy  Creek,  v^e  passed  along  a  sharp  crest  to  a  broad, 
sloping,  plateau-like  area  between  Black's  Fork  and  the  east  branch 
of  Bear  River.  AVe  thus  see  at  a  glance  that  not  only  the  greater  part 
of  the  water  of  the  main  streams  that  issue  from  the  mountain  origi- 
nates in  this  second  or  middle  belt,  but  that  some  of  the  important 
streams  are  entirely  fed  from  springs  that  flow  out  of  these  grassy  or 
Avooded  slopes.  In  ascending  the  "  plateau  slope  "  above  mentioned  we 
I)ass  around  thefoantainsof  half  a  dozen  branches  of  IMuddy  Eiver,  which 
in  the  plains  become  quite  important  trout  streams,  varying  from  ten  to 
thirty  feet  in  width.  As  we  i)assed  up  this  ridge  towardthe  water  divide, 
sometimes  it  would  expand  out  three  to  five  miles  in  width,  with  thick 
forests  of  pine  or  broad,  meadow-like  openings  covered  with  a  thick  growth 
of  grass.  Then  it  would  become  so  narrow  that  we  could  look  into  the 
magnificent,  gorge-like  valleys  of  the  rivers  on  either  side.  The  surface 
is  covered  thickly  with  transported  rocks,  mostly  of  reddish  sandstones 
and  quartzites  of  the  mountain  nucleus.  We  made  our  camp  in  the  edge  of 
the  spruce  forest,  at  the  upper  side  of  a  beautiful  grassy  meadow  of  about 
one  thousand  acres  in  extent,  near  a  fine  spring,  ten  thousand  three 
hundred  and  eight  feet  above  tide  water.  The  sky  was  clear  and  the 
weather  mild.  XVe  slept  on  the  ground  in  the  ojien  air  with  a  satisfac- 
tion which  we  shall  not  soon  forget.  Our  animals  drank  the  mountain 
water  and  cropped  the  sweet,  nutritious  grass  as  delighted  as  ourselves. 
We  were  about  ten  miles  in  a  direct  line  from  the  axis  of  elevation.  The 
course  of  Black's  Fork  is  nearlj^  north,  while  the  branches  of  Bear 
Eiver  flow  northwest.    Our  camp  was  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        49 

the  M'est  bank  of  the  valley  of  Black's  Fork,  and  from  the  Hiargiu  v^e 
ohtamed  a  most  instructive  view  of  the  third  or  central  belt.  Tlie  west 
side  of  the  valley  of  Black's  Fork  is  very  steep,  rising  from  eight  hun- 
dred to  oue  thousand  feet  above  the  channel.  It  is  covered  very  thickly 
with  transported  boulders,  most  of  which  are  but  little  worn.  Here 
and  there  are  quite  broad  terraces,  produced  by  land-slides.  On  the 
opposite  side  are  the  high  ridges  of  limestone  which  have  been  furrowed 
down  the  sides  by  atmospheric  forces  in  a  somewhat  striking  manner. 
The  color  antl  general  appearance  of  the  mass  across  the  valley  led  me 
to  believe  that  it  was  the  result  of  an  outburst  of  igneous  rocks,  but  on 
closer  examiuation  I  found  it  was  an  extension  westward  of  Photo- 
graph Eidge  from  Smith's  Fork,  and  was  composed  of  limestones  of 
carboniferous  age.  About  two  miles  further  up  the  west  side  of  Black's 
Fork  we  came  to  an  exposure  of  the  red-beds  or  triassic,  the  first  dis- 
play of  them  I  have  been  able  to  find  in  the  mountains.  They  are 
shown  here  from  one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundred  feet  in  thickness, 
passing  into  grey  sandstones  quartzites  and  indurated  arenaceous 
clays:  then  alternate  thin  beds  of  gray  limestone  and  sandstone,  and 
finally  into  the  massive  limestone  that  forms  one  of  the  most  conspic- 
uous ridges.  The  inclination  of  the  beds  appeared  to  be  46°  northwest, 
with  a  trend  northeast  and  southwest.  The  red-beds  being  composed  of 
yielding  sands  and  clays,  are  here  worn  away  so  that  a  low,  narrow  pass 
was  formed  across  the  ridge  between  the  west  branch  of  Black's  Fork 
and  the  east  branch  of  Bear  River,  revealing  the  beds  of  sandstone  and 
gray  quartzites,  the  vertical  layers  projecting  above  the  general  level  like 
walls,  and  their  height  depended  upon  the  power  of  the  rock  to  resist  the 
atmosphere.  Further  up  toward  the  sources  of  these  rivers,  where  the 
strata  are  finely  exposed,  we  could  see  clearly  that  the  limestones  formed 
a  ridge  of  upheaval  parallel  with  the  axis  of  the  mountains,  and  extend 
off  far  to  the  southwest  across  all  the  branches  of  Bear  Eiver  toward 
the  Wasatch  range. 

Among  the  numerous  fossils  that  occur  here  in  the  limestones  are 
Zaphrentis,  Froductus  PrattenianuSy  &c.  Some  of  the  layers  of  an 
ashen-grey,  compact  limestone  were  mostly  composed  of  fragments  of 
remains.  The  fossils,  therefore,  fix  the  age  of  the  limestones  that  con- 
stitute this  ridge  there,  beyond  a  doubt.  The  same  limestones  undoubtedly 
extend  all  over  the  Utah  basin,  along  the  western  side  of  the  Uintas, 
along  the  flanks  of  the  Wasatch  range  and  about  Salt  Lake.  Many  of 
the  fossils  appear  to  be  identical  with  those  from  Salt  Lake,  described 
by  Hall  in  Stansbury's  Eeport.  The  succeeding  series  of  rocks  I  have 
not  found  it  so  easy  to  locate  in  the  geological  scale.  They  consist  of 
dull,-  purplish  sandstones,  with  a  series  of  thin  layers  of  slate  and  clay, 
gradually  passing  down  into  quartzites.  The  upper  beds  are  nearly 
all  sandstones  of  various  degrees  of  texture ;  some  very  fine  and  com- 
pact, others  an  aggregation  of  small  worn  particles  of  quartz ;  then  a 
complete  pudding-stone,  consistin  g  of  water- worn  quartz  pebbles  set  in 
a  silicious  paste.  As  w^e  proceeded  toward  the  crest  of  the  mountains, 
the  sandstones  are  very  clearly  shown  in  the  sides  of  the  valleys  of  both 
Black's  Fork  and  Bear  Eiver.  As  these  diminish  in  importance,  the 
quartzites  increase  until  the  beds  of  reddish  and  gray  quartzites  are  very 
thick  and  massive,  while  the  sandstones  and  slaty  clays  are  thin  and- 
unimportant,  until  we  arrive  at  the  main  divide,  where  the  rocks  are 
reddish  quartzites  alone.  Between  the  east  branch  of  Black's  Fork  and 
the  east  branch  of  Bear  Eiver  the  ridge  is  not  more  than  one  hundred 
to  five  hundred  yards  in  width  for  a  distance  of  three  miles  in  a  straight 
line.  In  this  distance  are  ten  or  twelve  ridges  of  upheaval  which  both, 
4  G 


50        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

valleys  cut  at  right  angles.  Eacli  ridge  contains  a  massive  bed  of 
quartzite,  wliicli  in  some  cases  rises  to  a  great  height,  and  between  the 
alternate  ridges  is  a  thin  series  of  slates  and  sandstones,  which,  yielding 
more  readily  to  the  atmospheric  agents,  have  been  worn  away,  form- 
ing a  narrow  depression  or  pass  from  one  valley  to  the  other. 

At  the  head  of  the  streams  the  rocks  that  form  the  divide  seem  to 
have  been  elevated  in  a  horizontal  position,  and  they  exhibit  the  most 
remarkable  architectural  forms  as  cones,  i)yramids,  castles,  cathedrals, 
&c.  The  strata  are  clearly  shown,  and  are  perfectly  horizontal  in  most 
cases,  sometimes  inclining  slightly  to  the  southwest.  ISIowhere  else  in 
the  West  have  I  ever  seen  rocks  assuming  these  peculiar  forms.  The 
scenery  has  an  artificial  appearance,  so  uniformly  regular  is  the  shape  of 
some  of  the  pyramids.  These  rocks  most  effectually  shut  off  all  water 
communication  between  the  north  and  south  side  of  the  Uinta  range. 
The  distance  from  the  red-beds  or  triassic,  including  the  carboniferous 
limestones,  to  the  crest  of  the  mountains,  I  estimated  at  five  miles  in  a 
straight  line,  and  the  inclination  varies  from  40'^  to  75°.  In  all  this 
series  of  strata,  from  the  red-beds  to  the  oldest  quartzites,  I  was  able  to 
detect  no  unconformability.  The  connection  of  the  sandstones  with, 
the  carboniferous  limestones  was  perfect,  so  far  as  could  be  ascertained 
by  the  eye,  whatever  may  have  been  the  chasm  in  time.  Not  a  trace  of 
a  fossil  was  found  below  the  limestones,  although  I  strongly  suspect  the 
purplish  sandstones  to  be  of  Lower  Silurian  age.  The  texture  of  the 
upper  beds  of  sandstone  is  so  much  like  the  Potsdam  sandstones,  as 
may  be  observed  in  other  portions  of  the  Eocky  Mountain  region,  I  was 
lead  to  suspect  that  the  upper  portion  might  be  Lower  Silurian.  The  sec- 
tion along  the  valley  of  Black's  Fork  is  clear,  inasmuch  as  the  rocks  are 
cutthrough  at  right  angles  to  the  strata  and  they  all  present  an  unbroken 
series  from  the  oldest  quartzites  exposed  to  the  carboniferous  limestones; 
and  close  to  the  oldest  quartzites  are  thin  beds  of  sandstone,  apparently 
unchanged  or  only  partially  so,  and  resembling  in  texture  and  color  the 
upper  sandstones,  which  I  am  inclined  to  regard  as  Silurian.  I  have 
estimated  the  entire  thickness  of  stratified  rocks  exposed  here  at  ten 
thousand  feet.  If  this  is  true,  about  eight  thousand  feet  consist  of  the 
sandstones  and  quartzites  rising  to  an  elevation  of  over  twelve  thousand 
feet  above  tide- water. 

I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  the  upper  beds  are  Silurian,  that  they 
pass  gradually  down  without  any  break  in  the  sequence  of  time  to 
rocks  of  Huronian  age.  The  purplish  quartzites  are  almost  precisely 
like  those  which  occur  at  the  Sioux  Falls  in  Dakota,  and  at  the  Pipe- 
stone quarry,  in  color  and  texture,  which  Professor  Hall  regards  as 
Huronian  age.  At  any  rate,  I  have  never  observed  such  a  series  of 
rocks  in  any  other  portion  of  the  West,  and  am  inclined  to  think  they 
are  confined  to  the  Uinta  range.  The  Uinta  Mountains  are  not  far 
from  the  Wasatch  range,  and  apparently  join  on  to  that  range ;  yet  I 
have  passed  through  the  Wasatch  range  at  right  angles  at  different 
points,  and  was  able  to  discover  no  such  series  of  strata.  The  precise 
or  approximate  age  of  these  rocks  is  a  very  interesting  problem  to  me, 
and  I  regret  that  my  time  will  not  permit  me  to  make  a  more  thorough 
examination  of  the  range.  A  careful  study  of  the  southern  slope,  and 
the  intermediate  country  southward  into  the  Uinta  basin,  might  afford 
some  clue  to  their  age,  but  I  suspect  that  there  are  no  fossiliferous  strata 
in  the  series. 

As  I  have  before  stated,  two  of  the  main  branches  of  Black's  Fork 
and  Bear  Eiver  take  their  rise  in  the  axis  of  elevation  at  precisely  the 
same  point,  run  xjarallel  for  about  five  or  six  miles  and  then  diverge,  the 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        51 

former  running  north  toward  Fort  Bridger,  tlie  latter  northwest.  Both 
have  carved  out  for  themselves  wonderfully  deep  and  picturesque  val- 
leys. They  can  hardly  he  called  gorges  or  caiions  from  the  fact  that 
the  sides  are  not  usually  A'ertical.  In  some  places  there  are  large  semi- 
circular indentations  in  the  sides  of  the  valley,  caused  by  the  sliding 
down  of  masses  of  earth  ;  and  in  looking  down  from  the  plateau  above, 
the  eye  meets  with  beautiful  lakes,  surrounded  by  small  groves  of  pine  or  as- 
pen. In  the  sides  of  the  valley  the  strata  may  be  studied  with  great  clear- 
ness, usually  inclining  at  a  greater  or  less  angle.  These  valleys  are  largely 
those  of  erosion,  but  not  entirely  so.  The  waters  in  former  times  have 
cut  through  a  vast  thickness  of  strata  at  right  angles,  but  a  portion  of 
the  way  the  valley  lies  between  the  ridges  of  upheaval,  which  I  have 
termed  monoclinals.  Some  of  the  smaller  branches  start  in  the  mono- 
clinal  intervals,  and  flexing  around  northward  cut  through  the  ridge  at 
right  angles  to  the  plains.  In  one  instance  a  small  branch  of  Black's 
Fork  starts  between  two  ridges  of  carboniferous  limestones,  wears  out  a 
valley  eight  hundred  feet  in  depth  and  an  eighth  of  a  mile  in  width, 
flows  a  little  north  of  east  into  the  main  branch,  which  runs  about  due 
north.  At  the  same  point  commences  a  small  branch  of  Bear  River 
between  the  same  two  ridges  of  limestone,  and  tlows  a  little  uorthof 
west  into  one  of  the  east  branches  of  Bear  Eiver,  although  these  two 
small  branches  run  in  opposite  directions.  The  rid^e  of  separation  is 
not  thirty  feet  above  the  principal  valleys  of  Black's  Fork  and  Bear 
Eiver.  There  is  another  interesting  feature  just  here  which  should  be 
noticed.  These  small  branches,  four  in  number,  completely  isolate  a 
large  fragment  of  the  limestone  ridge.  It  rises  up  in  the  form  of  a  cone 
eleven  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  above  the  vaUey  at  its  base.  The  inclination  of  the  limestones 
is  45°  to  50°  northwest. 

There  are  two  important  thoughts  suggested  by  the  study  of  this 
ujiper  belt.  First,  the  amount  of  debris  found  by  the  broken  fragments 
of  the  sandstone  and  quartaites  is  immense,  beyond  any  instance  I  have 
observed  before.  Not  only  the  ridges,  but  also  the  sides  of  the  deep 
yalleys,  are  covered  to  an  unknown  thickness  with  fragments  of  quartz- 
ite,  sandstone,  and  limestone,  of  all  sizes  from  that  of  a  pea  to  several 
cubical  feet.  Scattered  over  the  surface  of  valley  and  ridges  are  also 
great  quantities  of  the  same  rocks  in  a  more  or  less  worn  condition,  and 
the  deposit  of  drift  which  extends  up  to  the  third  belt,  close  to  the 
crest,  and  varies  in  thickness  from  a  few  feet  to  1,000  or  1,200,  is 
composed  to  a  great  extent  of  these  rocks.  Along  the  northern  slope  of 
the  Uinta  Mountains,  extending  into  the  plains,  these  worn  rocks  cover 
an  area  at  least  one  hundred  miles  in  length  from  east  to  west  and  fifty 
from  north  to  south.  These  stray  masses  are  more  worn,  the  fiu-ther 
we  recede  into  the  plains  northward  from  the  mountains.  In  the 
region  of  Echo  and  Weber  Creeks  is  a  vast  deposit  of  conglomerate, 
probably  three  thousand  to  five  thousand  feet  in  thickness,  the  most  re- 
markable group  of  rocks  of  that  character  I  have  ever  seen  on  this  con- 
tinent. The  question  has  often  arisen  in  my  mind  from  whence  the 
materials  were  derived.  I  cannot  answer  the  question  even  yet,  but 
the  debris  of  the  Uinta  Mountains,  if  transported  to  some  lake  basin, 
would  make  a  mass  of  conglomerate  of  equal  thickness  and  cover 
an  equal  area. 

The  second  thought  suggested  is  the  apparently  excellent  illustration 
of  the  gradual  transition  from  unchanged  to  changed  or  metamorphic 
rocks.  We  have  a  thickness  of  about  one  thousand  feet  of  carboniferous 
limestones  unchanged.    Passing  upward  to  the  crest  of  the  mountains, 


52  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

« 

but  downward  in  a  geological  sense,  we  observe  a  series  of  purplisli  sand- 
stones and  slates,  perfectly  conformable  to  the  limestones,  and  appa- 
rently unchanged.  These  sandstones  gradually  pass  to  thick  beds  of 
gray  and  purplish  quartzites,  which  are  exceedingly  brittle  in  fracture, 
and  plainly  metamorphosed  by  heat.  Intercalated  among  the  beds  of 
Quartzite  are  thin  layers  of  quartzitic  sandstone  and  clay  slate.  As  we 
proceed  toward  the  crest  of  the  mountains,  where  the  rocks  have  been 
elevated  from  a  great  depth,  the  slates  and  sandstones  become  thinner 
until  they  disappear.  I  am  therefore  inclined  to  regard  this  as  a  re- 
markable example  of  the  gradual  transition  of  unaltered  into  meta- 
morphic  rocks.  It  would  seem  also  that  the  finer  the  texture  of  the 
rock  the  more  readily  is  it  affected  by  metamorphic  action. 

On  the  morning  of  the  27th  we  descended  from  the  high  plateau  luto 
the  valley  of  the  small  side  branches  of  the  east  fork  of  Bear  Eiver,  with 
the  hio'h  steeply  inclined  limestone  ridge  on  the  left,  and  the  gray  sand- 
stone,1ind  red  argillaceous  sandy  clays  on  our  left.  The  surface  is  so 
covered  with  fragments  of  rocks  that  the  travebng  is  difficult.  Our 
course  was  nearly  due  west  for  about  three  miles,  when  the  valley  flexes  to 
the  northwest.  When  we  left  our  camp  in  the  morning  we  were  about 
two  miles  above  the  source  of  this  branch.  At  oiu?  noon  camp  the  little 
stream  was  two  feet  wide.  For  about  ten  or  fifteen  nides  the  stream 
flows  between  ridges  twelve  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  feet  above  the 
valley  covered  with  pines  and  aspens,  with  no  exposures  of  the  under- 
lyin o-  rocks.  The  same  vast  deposit  of  drift  covers  the  valley  and  ridges 
all  over  the  drainage  of  Bear  Eiver.  As  soon  as  we  come  out  into  the 
plains  the  valley  expands  to  a  width  of  several  miles,  and  the  tertiary 
beds  iut  against  the  foot-hills  with  a  sHght  inclination  from  the  range. 
Sulphur  Creek  is  the  most  eastern  part  of  Bear  Eiver,  and  rises  in 
Spruce  Eidge,  flows  northwest,  and  empties  into  Bear  Eiver  near  Bear 
Eiver  City.  On  the  east  side  of  Sulphur  Creek,  about  two  miles  north 
of  the  railroad,  there  is  a  high  ridge  of  sandstone  one  hundred  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  high,  with  an  iiiclination  of  20^  to  25^  west  to 
northwest.  It  extends  across  the  railroad  a  little  east  of  north,  and 
ioins  on  to  a  range  of  hills,  of  which  Medicine  Butte  forms  a  part.  On 
'the  summit  of  this  ridge  is  a  layer  of  rusty  brown  arenaceous  hmestone, 
composed  largely  of  a  species  of  Ostrea.  This  ridge  is  the  first  ludica- 
tion'of  cretaceous  rocks  I  have  seen  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Umta  range. 

From  Sulphur  Creek  to  the  "  rim  of  the  basin,"  a  series  of  modern 
tertiary  beds  are  deposited  unconformably  upon  the  lower  tertiary  and 
cretaceous,  filling  up  all  the  inequalities  of  the  surface,  and  jutting  up 
ao-ainst  the  foot-hills  of  the  Uintas.  They  are  mostly  horizontal  m  posi- 
tion, but  sometimes  dip  5^.  This  most  characteristic  feature  is  the 
'  lio-ht  pinkish  hue  by  which  they  are  detected  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach. 

In  completing  our  section  of  the  Uinta  range  and  connecting  it  with 
the  formations  of  the  plains,  the  only  period  wanting  is  the  Jurassic, 
no  indication  of  which  has  been  observed.  The  geological  features  of 
this  region  will  be  discussed  more  fully  in  a  succeeding  chapter,  in  con- 
nection with  the  belt  of  country  along  the  line  of,  and  contiguous  to,  the 
Union  Pacific  Eailroad.  The  study  of  the  Uinta  range  has  been  lull  ot 
interest.  It  has  been  sometimes  called  the  Alpine  Mountain  of  America, 
though  we  miss  the  vast  masses  of  snow  and  the  glaciers ;  butm  an  artistic 
sense,  no  range  that  I  have  ever  seen  on  this  continent  can  compare 
with  it  in  beauty.  There  is  a  far  more  rugged  grandeur  about  the  AVmd 
Eiver,  the  Sierra  Nevada,  or  the  Coast  ranges ;  but  in  none  ot  theni  is 
there  such  simplicity  of  structure,  nor  the  contrasts  so  pleasing  to  the 
eye. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  53 

As  I  have  before  stated,  there  seem  to  be  three  belts  or  zones  of  country 
which  one  passes  over  in  traveling-  south  ward  from  Fort  Bridger  to  the  crest 
of  the  Uintas.  1.  The  modern  tertiary  formations  which  jut  up  against  the 
foot-hills,  and  arc  so  denuded  as  to  present  to  the  eye  an  arid,  naked  appear- 
ance. We  then  passsnddeuly  tothe  second  belt,  which  we  ascend  by  a  con- 
tinued but  almost  uninterrupted  ascent  to  an  elevation  of  over  eleven 
thousand  feet.  The  lower  portion  of  this  zone  is  covered  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  with  groves  of  aspen,  mingled  with  the  siiruce  and  pine. 
As  we  ascend  the  aspens  cease  and  the  i)ines  become  more  dense.  Here 
and  there  we  find  most  beautiful  meadow-like  openings,  with  springs  of 
water  and  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grass.  Some  of  these  meadows  occupy  two 
thousand  acres.  Looking  down  from  some  high  peak  across  the  belt, 
these  openings  meet  the  eye  continually,  and  contrast  most  beautifully 
by  the  tawny  color  of  th^ir  autumn  dress  with  the  dark,  sombre  foliage  of 
the  pines.  The  great  luxuriance  of  the  vegetation  reveals  the  fertility 
of  the  soil.  The  third  belt,  which  forms  the  crest,  contrasts  again  by  the 
almost  entire  absence  of  vegetation  or  water  and  the  excessive  rugged- 
ness  of  the  surface.  In  no  other  portion  of  our  continent  have  I  ever 
seen  such  types  of  scenery.  Cones,  pyramids,  domes,  and  cathedrals, 
sometimes  as  sharply  cut  as  if  they  had  been  wrought  by  art,  occur  at 
the  sources  of  all  the  streams  that  rise  in  the  anticlinal  fissure. 

The  height  of  Gilbert's  Peak,  at  the  head  of  Henry's  Fork,  was  ascer- 
tained by  Mr.  Beaman,  with  the  barometer,  to  be  13,182  feet.  Cox's 
Peak,  at  the  head  the  middle  branch  of  Black's  Fork,  rises  like  an  im- 
mense dome  above  the  surrounding  country,  13,250  feet  above  tide-water. 
Dawe's  Peak,  on  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  west  branch  of 
Black's  Fork  and  the  east  branch  of  Bear  Elver,  sends  its  sharj)  cone- 
like summit  still  higher,  13,300  feet.  Logan's  Peak  marks  the  source  of 
the  middle  branch  of  Bear  Eiver  anti  is  13,250  feet  above  tide-water. 
All  these  are  covered  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  with  x^erpetual  snow. 
From  a  higher  ridge  that  extends  from  the  crest  on  the  west  side  of  the 
Uinta  range  there  is  one  peak  still  loftier  than  any  of  those  named, 
which  we  estimated  to  be  13,500  feet. 

]S"early  all  the  important  streams  that  flow  from  either  side  of  the 
range  have  their  origin  within  a  short  distance  of  each  other.  From 
the  summit  of  any  of  these  peaks  we  can  see  the  sources  of  them  all  at 
a  glance.  Looking  at  this  range  from  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad,  or 
from  Fort  Bridger,  thirty-five  to  forty  miles  distant,  there  is  a  very  great 
difference  in  the  clearness  with  which  the  summits  can  be  seen  at  different 
periods  of  the  year  and  upon  different  days.  Sometimes,  as  the  early 
sunlight  falls  upon  them,  they  appear  so  near,  through  the  clear  atmos- 
phere of  this  region,  that  they  seem  almost  within  our  grasp.  Again 
they  are  obscured  with  clouds  or  fog  and  are  so  faintly  visible  that  they 
appear  as  a  dim  outline  on  the  horizon. 

An  interesting  feature  in  connection  with  this  range  is  the  limit  of 
arborescent  vegetation.  On  the  north  side  of  the  range  we  determined 
the  highest  point,  where  low  trailing  shrubs  grew,  to  be  10,709  feet, 
and  estimated  10,500  feet  as  the  limit  of  upright  trees.  As  we  ascend 
above  this  line  the  pines  begin  to  dwindle  until  they  trail  upon  the 
ground,  and  exhibit  all  the  symptoms  of  a  desperate  struggle  for  exist- 
ence, and  finally  disappear  entirely.  As  we  i)ass  above  the  borders  of 
upright  trees,  the  stunted  pines  gather  in  grouiis,  sometimes  not  more 
than  four  to  six  feet  in  height,  forming  the  most  unique  but  scraggy 
forms.  In  one  instance  about  twenty  of  these  trees  formed  a  complete 
circle,  inclosing  a  clear  space  of  about  fifteen  feet  in  diameter;  the  tops, 
leaning  toward  the  center,  made  a  complete  shelter.    I  gave  it  the  some- 


\ 


54        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

wliat  poetical  name  of  tlie  "Uinta's  Bower."  At  tlie  extreme  limit  the 
groups  of  pines  spread  out  along  the  ground,  and  always  toward  the 
east,  showing  that  the  winds  in  these  mountains  are  mostly  from  the 
west.  The  pines  and  the  aspens  constituting  nearly  all  the  tree  vegeta- 
tion of  the  mountains,  it  becomes  an  interesting  matter  to  determine 
the  highest  limit  of  the  growth  of  the  latter  also.  Observations  with 
the  barometer  near  the  sources  of  the  Muddy  Creek  showed  the  highest 
limit  at  one  point  to  be  9,623  feet;  at  another  9,302.  Probably 
an  average  of  the  two  observations  would  be  the  correct  one.  There  is 
considerable  variation  in  the  extreme  limits,  on  account  of  the  differ- 
ence in  position  in  relation  to  the  sun.  A  southern  exposure  is  most 
favorable,  and,  in  consequence,  the  limit  is  extended  upward. 

I  will  not  close  my  description  of  this  interesting  region  without  a 
word  in  regard  to  its  future  prospects.  Judge  Carter  has  introduced  a 
bill  into  Congress  asking  for  a  charter  for  the  Fort  Bridger  and  Uinta 
Moimtain  Eailroad,  extending  from  some  point  on  the  Union  Pacific 
Eailroad,  up  the  valley  of  Smith's  or  Black's  Forks,  to  some  point  toward 
the  sources  of  these  streams.  He  also  asks  the  very  moderate  grant  of 
the  alternate  sections  of  land  for  four  miles  on  each  side  of  the  road.  It 
would  be  hardly  possible  for  CongTess  to  refuse  a  request  which  would 
be  of  such  inestimable  value  to  this  portion  of  the  country.  Besides,  it 
would  bring  into  market  eventually  at  least  one  hundred  thousand  acres  of 
agricultural,  grazing,  and  timber  land  for  the  Government,  which  would 
otherwise  remain  undeveloped  for  an  indefinite  period  of  time.  In  the 
valleys  of  Smith's  and  Black's  Forks  and  their  branches  are  thousands  of 
acres  of  very  fertile  land,  which  could  not  fail  to  be  occupied  by  the 
farmer;  and  all  the  intervening  plateaus,  comj)rising  many  thousands  of 
acres  of  equally  fertile  soil,  could  be  made  fruitful  by  irrigation.  By 
means  of  this  railroad  the  vast  quantities  of  timber  and  wood  that 
cover  the  slope  of  the  mountains  would  be  accessible.  Millions  of  feet  of 
timber  could  be  obtained  for  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  at  a  trifling  cost. 
The  deficiency  of  wood  for  fuel  over  so  great  a  portion  of  this  country  could 
be  abundantly  supplied  from  this  source.  As  a  summer  resort  for  in- 
valids, or  those  desiring  rest  from  laborious  duties,  these  mountains 
cannot  be  surpassed.  Pure,  clear,  exhilarating  atmosphere,  ever-flowing 
springs  of  water,  streams  filled  with  fine  trout,  the  woods  stocked  with 
all  kinds  of  game,  the  most  beautiful  scenery  in  America,  and  the  most 
accessible,  offer  attractions  for  all,  and  I  am  convinced  that  the  time  is 
not  far  distant  when  this  country  will  be  visited  by  thousands  of  seek- 
ers of  health  and  pleasure.  To  the  artist  it  woukl  open  a  new  world  of 
beauty,  suppljdng  a  variety  and  abundance  of  material  for  landscape 
studies  which  can  be  found  in  no  other  portion  of  the  West. 


CHAPTEE  V. 


FROM  FORT  BRIDGER  TO  UINTA  MOUNTAINS,  HENRY'S  FORK,  GREEN  RIVER, 
AND  BROWN'S  HOLE,  TO  GREEN  RIVER  STATION  ON  THE  U.  P.  R.  R. 

On  the  morning  of  October  1st  we  left  the  hospitable  post  of  Fort 
Bridger  for  the  valley  of  Henry's  Fork,  about  twenty-five  miles  to  the 
southward.  The  principal  portion  of  our  party  had  remained  near  the 
fort  since  September  12,  making  repairs  and  recruiting  our  animals.  In 
the  meantime  we  had  made  most  interesting  explorations  of  the  Uinta 
Mountains,  the  valleys  of  Smith's,  Black's,  and  Bear  Elvers,  with  their 


GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  55 

tributaries.  We  liacl  obtained  a  pretty  clear  idea  of  the  geology  of  the 
north  slope  of  the  Uiutas  and  a  part  of  the  shore  line  of  the  Bridger 
basin  and  this  gave  us  an  earnest  desire  to  trace  it  to  Green  Eiver,  to 
ascertain  its  connection  with  the  "  Green  Eiver  beds,"  and  the  lignite  or 
lower  tertiaries.  1  take  great  pleasure  in  acknowledging  here  my  great 
obligations  to  t/ieuteuant  Shepard,  the  quartermaster  of  Fort  Bridger, 
for  numerous  courtesies  and  favors  which  were  indispensable  to  us,  and 
which,  in  a  country  like  this,  money  will  not  purchase.  From  Captain 
Clift,  the  commanding  officer,  and  Dr.  J.  K.  Corson,  the  surgeon  of  the 
l)ost,  myself  and  party  were  the  recipients  of  many  kindnesses.  I  have 
already  spoken  of  my  obligations  to  Judge  Carter,  to  whom  I  was  indebted 
for  many  lavors  and  much  valuable  information.  To  him  this  portion  of 
the  West  has  been  in  the  past,  and  will  be  in  the  future,  more  indebted 
for  its  prosperity  and  development  than  to  all  others.  I  take  pleasure 
here  in  adding  my  testimony  to  the  fidelity  and  truthfulness  of  his  state- 
ments in  regard  to  its  resources. 

Fort  Bridger  is  quite  pleasantly  located  in  what  appears  to  the  eye  a 
sort  of  basin  inclosed  by  high,  arid  table  lands,  but  really  in  a  central 
l)ortiou  of  the  drainage  of  Black's  Fork.  These  beautiful  valleys,  Smith's, 
Black's,  and  Muddy,  have  been  carved  out  the  horizontal  strata,  and  be- 
tween the  streams  are  terraces  and  flat  table  lands  which  give  a  singular 
as  well  as  instructive  outline  to  the  surface  of  the  country.  No  forces 
now  in  operation  in  this  vicinity  could  have  given  the  existing  features  to 
the  surface  of  the  country,  and  the  cause  must  have  been  local,  proceed- 
ing from  the  northern  slope  of  the  Uiutas.  The  beautiful  table-top 
divides  between  the  valleys  and  streams  are  extensions  into  the  plains  of 
the  radiating  ridges  of  the  mountain  slope,  and  are  literally  paved,  in 
many  places,  with  the  water- worn  boulders  of  the  purplish  sandstones  and 
quartzites,  and  with  the  carboniferous  limestones  that  compose  the  nucleus, 
of  the  Uinta  range.  Here  and  there  we  can  see  a  flat-topped  butte  cut 
off  by  erosion  from  some  of  the  intervening  ridges  and  rising  above  the 
surrounding  country  as  a  i^artial  witness  to  the  extent  of  the  denuda- 
tion. A  little  south  of  west  of  Fort  Bridger  is  an  isolated  butte  called 
Bridger's  Butte,  which  forms  a  prominent  landmark  to  the  traveler, 
and  according  to  the  barometer,  rises  seven  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
above  the  valley  of  Black's  Fork  at  the  fort.  The  summit  appears  per- 
fectly level,  and  was  estimated  to  be  about  two  miles  in  length  from 
nortii  to  south,  and  about  a  fourth  of  a  mile  in  width  from  east  to  west. 
The  upper  portion  of  the  butte  is  composed  of  the  somber  brown  in- 
durated arenaceous  clays,  grey  and  rusty  brown  sandstones  of  the 
Bridger  group,  passing  down  into  limestones  and  marls  of  the  Green 
Eiver  beds.  In  the  brown  clays  are  abundant  remains  of  turtles,  with  a 
few  fragments  of  other  vertebrate  remains.  The  terraces  along  the 
valley  of  Black's  Fork  are  composed  of  yellowish  and  whitish-gray  marls 
and  chalky  limestones,  some  of  the  layers  mostly  formed  of  Uuios  and 
other  fresh- water  shells.  A  few  plants  were  found  in  the  valley  of 
Smith's  Fork,  in  thin,  black  flinty  layers,  mostly  ferns  and  leaves  of 
deciduous  trees.  Between  Fort  Bridger  and  Henry's  Fork  the  indurated 
arenaceous  clays  of  the  Bridger  grouj)  are  w^eathered  into  remarkably 
unique  forms.  The  absence  of  harder  layers  of  sandstone  did  not  admit  of 
the  weathering  into  pinnacles,  turrets,  steeples,  domes,  «&c.,  as  we  observe 
near  Church  Buttes.  The  surface,  though  very  rugged  and  almost  im- 
passable except  along  the  valleys  of  the  streams,  is  uuich  more  rounded  ; 
the  hills  are  more  dome  or  pyramid  shaped,  and  entirely  destitute  ot 
vegetation,  except  the  sage  and  several  varieties  of  chenopodiaceous 
shrubs.    As  w^e  passed  up  the  Cottonwood  Fork  the  marls  and  limestones 


56  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

made  their  appearance  for  a  short  distance  in  the  bhiffs.  The  divide  be- 
tween the  drainage  of  Smith's  Fork  and  Henry's  Fork,  is  a  high  ridge  of  the 
leaden-browu  clays  of  the  Bridger  group,  which  extends  up  and  juts 
against  the  base  of  the  Uinta  Mountains.  Passing  over  this  divide  we 
descended  quickly  to  the  valley  of  Henry's  Fork,  and  camped  near  the 
point  where  it  issues  from  the  foot-hills  of  the  Uinta  Mountains,  29 
miles  southwest  of  Fort  Bridger.  This  is  a  beautiful  valley,  quite  broad, 
a  large  portion  being  meadow,  and  the  surrounding  hills,  especially  on 
the  south  side,  covered  with  grass,  rendering  it  a  favorite  place  for  years 
past  for  procuring  hay  and  grazing  stock.  Hundreds  of  tons  of  hay 
iiave  been  cut  and  cured  for  winter  use  in  this  valley  the  present  year. 
The  time  cannot  be  far  distant  when  it  will  be  occupied  by  settlers  from 
its  mouth  nearly  to  its  source.  The  view  of  the  Uinta  range  from  our 
camp  was  as  beautiful  and  inviting  as  from  Fort  Bridger. 

On  the  morning  of  the  2d  I  started  up  the  valley  with  a  small  pack- 
train.  The  geology  did  not  differ  materially  from  that  of  the  portions  of 
the  range  already  described.  Up  among  the  foot-hills  is  an  isolated  butte 
about  three  hundred  feet  high,  capped  with  the  brown  clays  of  the  Bridger 
gToup  passing  down  into  the  calcareous  layers  of  what  I  have  termed 
Green  Eiver  beds,  containing  an  abundance  of  turtle  shells,  with  teeth, 
jaws,  and  vertebra  of  some  extinct  mammal.  These  chalky  limestones  are 
also  filled  with  large  Plauorbis  in  a  perfect  state  of  preservation.  These 
beds  along  the  flanks  of  the  mountains  have  been  slightly  elevated  or 
carried  up  in  the  later  stages  of  the  elevation  of  the  range.  They 
usually  incline  about  3°  to  5°.  The  radiating  ridge  on  the  north  side  of 
the  valley  is  covered  with  land-slides,  which  show  a  heavy  deposit  of 
reddish  clays  with  narrow  whitish  bands,  evidently  a  modern  deposit, 
pliocene  or  quarternary  overlapping  the  well-defined  tertiary  beds. 
These  extend  up  a  few  miles  and  are  again  overlapped  with  the  drift 
deposit  described  in  the  preceding  chapters;  the  same  dense  groves  of 
pines  and  aspens,  the  same  open  meadows,  deep  ravines,  fallen  timber,  and 
great  quantities  of  rocks  on  the  surface  occur,  rendering  traveling  exceed- 
ingly difficult,  which  we  have  before  noted.  We  passed  the  ridge  of  lime- 
stone into  the  belt  of  sandstone,  with  the  lofty  piles  of  debris,  gradually 
ascending  to  the  banks  of  i)erpetual  snow,  where  the  pines  dwindle  down 
and  trail  upon  the  ground.  We  rode  our  horses  up  to  a  point  above  the 
limits  of  arborescent  vegetation,  toward  them,  to  a  point  12,205  feet  above 
the  sea,  and  ascended  to  the  summit  of  Gilbert's  Peak. 

We  camped  the  night  of  the  3d  in  a  beautiful  open  meadow,  at  the 
sources  of  one  of  the  branches  of  Henry's  Fork,  9,833  feet.  The  lime- 
stone or  continuation  of  Photograph  Kidge  was  9,986  feet,  while  the 
valley  between  the  carboniferous  limestone  ridge  and  the  inner  purplish 
sandstone  ridge  was  found  to  be  9,453  feet.  We  found  that  the  extreme 
limit  of  tree  vegetation  was  higher  here  than  farther  west,  11,106  feet; 
and  the  point  where  the  upright  trees  break  off  rather  abruptly  was 
about  two  hundred  feet  lower.  As  a  general  rule  the  trees  dwindle  in 
height  to  about  twenty  or  thirty  feet  and  then  fall  off  abruptly  to  the 
trailing  form,  which  usually  extends  up  two  hundred  or  three  hundred 
feet  higher  in  straggling  bunches  or  groups.  From  the  summit  of  Gil- 
bert's Peak  with  my  excellent  field-glass  I  could  look  far  over  the  surround- 
ing country  and  study  the  principal  geological  and  geographical  features 
in  their  relations  to  each  other.  There  are  three  main  branches  of 
Henry's  Fork  that  rise  in  the  axis  of  the  range.  The  east  branch  has 
its  source  at  the  base  of  Gilbert's  Peak  on  the  northeast  side  and  ilows 
nearly  north  for  ten  or  fifteen  miles.  The  middle  branch  rises  on  the 
Bouth  side  of  the  peak,  flows  west  for  a  short  distance,  and  bends  around 


GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        57 

to  the  nortli.  The  west  branch  rises  in  the  axis,  rnns  parallel  with  the 
middle  branch,  with  a  sharp  narrow  rid^e  between  them.  All  the 
branches  of  all  the  streams  that  flow  down  the  Uinta  Mountains  from  the 
quartzite  belt  cut  the  carboniferous  limestone  ridge  at  right  angles  on 
their  way  to  the  plains.  At  the  southeast  base  rises  one  of  the  maiu 
branches  of  the  Uinta  Eiver,  runs  east  for  about  three  miles,  flexes  south- 
ward or  a  little  west  of  south,  and  flows  down  the  southern  slope  of  the 
range  into  the  maiu  Uinta.  On  the  south  side  of  this  branch  there  is  a 
rather  sharp  ridge,  with  six  or  seven  conical  points  rising  one  hundred 
to  two  hundred  feet  higher  than  Gilbert's  Peak,  and  culminating  in  a 
rounded,  dome-like  peak,  which  I  estimated  to  be  13,500  feet.  All  the 
valleys  of  the  streams  that  rise  around  this  peak  are  more  purely  valleys 
of  erosion  than  any  I  have  seen  in  this  rang'e.  The  strata  of  Gilbert's 
Peak  and  the  ridges  and  peaks  in  the  immediate  vicinity  are  nearly 
horizontal  or  incline  southeast  4°  or  5°.  The  principal  peaks  belong  to 
the  southeastern  side  of  the  axis.  The  two  sides  of  the  anticlinal  are 
somewhat  unequal.  A  narrow  belt,  comprising  the  highest  peaks  and 
ridges,  with  the  curves,  i)yrainids,  and  cones,  seems  to  have  been  lifted 
up  by  forces  acting  nearly  vertical,  but  the  strata  incline  slightly  to  the 
southeast  side,  so  that  the  streams  that  flow  down  the  north  slope  of  the 
range  really  extend  their  valleys  a  little  past  the  anticlinal  oi^ening.  At  the 
sources  of  Smith's,  Black's,  and  Bear  Elvers  the  strata  incline  from  the 
northwest  side  of  this  axis  at  a  considerable  angle.  Here  they  incline 
slightly  for  about  Ave  miles,  when  they  dip  20°  to  30°.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  these  streams  originated  in  this  anticlinal  opening,  gradually  cutting 
their  channels  through  the  beds  of  quartzite  and  sandstone  at  right  angles. 
The  quartzites  as  well  as  the  sandstones  are  divided  quite  finely  by 
joints,  so  that  they  break  readily  into  cubical  masses  of  moderate  size. 
Besides  they  are  very  brittle,  fracturing  easily,  as  is  shown  by  the  vast 
amount  of  debris.  Probably  water  accumulating  in  these  fissures  or  joints 
would  cause  the  debris  to  fall  down  into  the  anticlinal  valley  and  be 
swept  down  the  channels  of  the  streams  of  the  northern  slope.  This 
process  of  wearing  away  the  horizontal  quartzites  from  the  northwest 
side  of  the  southeast  anticlinal  has  continued  until  some  of  the  gorges 
extend  up  half  a  mile  to  a  mile  beyond  the  axis.  In  the  beds  of  the 
branches  of  Henry's  Fork  the  descent  is  by  steps  from  one  layer  of  quartz- 
ite to  another  down  to  the  axis,  like  the  horizontal  layers  of  rock  which 
form  the  rapids  in  many  of  our  streams.  At  the  present  time  there  is 
seldom  any  great  amount  of  water,  in  some  cases  none,  above  this  axis; 
sometimes  there  is  a  little  lake,  the  accumulated  waters  of  the  melting 
snows. 

From  this  high  elevation,  with  such  a  vast  area  of  country  within  our 
range  of  vision,  one  could  glance  back  into  the  abyss  of  time,  and  trace, 
step  by  step,  the  origin  and  slow  erosion  of  these  wonderful,  gorge-like 
valleys,  one  thousand  to  twelve  hundred  feet  deep,  and  speculate  upon 
the  beginning  and  growth  of  this  beautiful  mountain  itself.  The  study 
of  the  northern  slope  of  the  Uintas  has  been  such  a  source  of  pleasure 
and  instruction,  that  I  regretted  my  time  would  not  permit  me  to  ex- 
amine the  southern  side  also,  but  a  glance  over  into  the  the  Uinta  Val- 
ley showed  quite  plainly  that  the  southern  side  is  nearly  or  quite  the 
counterpart  of  the  other.  In  all  these  vallej^s  are  numerous  small  lakes, 
which  add  greatly  to  their  picturesque  beauty.  At  the  base  of  Gilbert's 
Peak,  in  the  valley  of  the  east  branch  of  Henry's  Fork,  is  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  of  these  lakes,  which  reflects  the  peak  and  the  surround- 
ing pines  in  its  transijarent  waters.  Mr.  Jackson  succeeded  in  catching 
a  view  of  the  peak  and  the  lake,  with  the  shadows,  with  his  camera. 


58  GEOLOGICAL   SUKVEY   OF   THE    TERRITOEIES. 

On  account  of  its  exceeding  beauty  and  poetic  surroundings,  I  have 
called  it  Lake  "Annie."  The  barometer  makes  its  elevation  just  11,000 
feet.  This  shows  that  the  summit  of  the  Peak  is  twenty-one  hun- 
dred feet  above  the  base  at  the  head  of  this  valley.  We  descended 
with  great  difficulty  a  sort  of  ravine  on  the  steep  sides  of  this  valley  to 
the  bottoms,  and  follov/ed  the  little  stream  from  its  source  at  the  base 
of  the  peak  to  its  junction  with  the  main  fork  in  the  plains.  As  I  have 
stated  above,  the  strata  of  the  peak  are  nearly  horizontal,  and  for  sev- 
eral miles  down  the  valley  the  sides  are  six  hundred  to  eight  hundred 
feet  high  and  nearly  vertical,  with  the  strata  inclining  at  a  very  small 
angle.  The  bottom  of  the  valley  is  full  of  the  evidences  of  huge  slides. 
Immense  masses  of  rock  seem  to  fall  down  gradually,  something  like 
the  movement  of  a  glacier,  a  certain  distance  each  year,  until  they  reach 
the  channel  of  the  stream,  and  the  debris  is  swept  down  by  the  spring 
floods.  Large  semicircular  notches  in  the  sides  or  walls  of  the  valley 
show  most  plainly  how  it  has  been  enlarged  in  process  of  time.  We 
passed  on  our  way  down  the  valley  through  a  dense  growth  of  pines 
and  aspens,  over  boulders  and  among  fallen  timber,  for  about  ten  miles, 
when  we  passed  through  the  gorge  of  Photograph  Eidge,  and  came 
out  into  the  wide,  grassy,  open  foot-hills  which  led  to  our  camp  in  the 
main  valley  of  Henry's  Fork,  in  the  plains. 

Octoher  4. — We  started  down  the  valley  of  Henry's  Fork  to  its  junc- 
tion with  Green  Eiver.  I  have  previously  mentioned  the  ridge  or  divide 
between  Smith's  and  Henry's  Forks,  which  carries  the  tertiary  beds  up 
against  the  foot-hills  of  the  range.  From  this  ridge  to  Green  Eiver  the 
valley  of  Henry's  Fork  forms  a  remarkable  line  of  separation  between 
the  Bridger  group  and  the  lower  miocene  beds.  This  line  of  separation 
is  somewhat  of  a  surface  one,  yet  it  is  so  marked  as  to  attract  the  atten- 
tion of  the  commonest  observer.  The  valley  is  quite  broad,  and  on  the 
south  side  the  surface  of  the  country  to  the  summits  of  the  mountains 
appear  smoothed  downward,  in  part  grassed  over.  A  close  examina- 
tion will  detect  some  thin  remnants  of  the  Bridger  group,  underlaid  by 
the  lower  tertiary  beds,  which  have  a  tendency  to  weather  into  rounded, 
igently-slopiug  hills.  On  the  north  side,  the  arid,  rugged,  "bad  lands" 
are  very  conspicuous,  and  rise  up  somewhat  abruptly  like  a  high  wall. 
On  the  north  side  of  the  creek,  there  is  a  great  thickness  of  the  indurated 
clays  which  I  have  included  in  the  Bridger  group.  All  the  divisions 
that  I  make  are  somewhat  arbitrary.  I  can  find  no  well-defined  line  of 
demarkation.  There  seems  to  be  no  unconformability,  and  the  dif- 
ferent beds  pass  from  one  to  the  other  gradually;  but  to  the  leaden-gray, 
sombre,  indurated  arenaceous  clays  which  cover  a  large  area  east  of 
Fort  Bridger  and  weather  into  such  unique  architectual  forms,  and  con- 
tain a  large  variety  of  vertebrate  remains,  I  have  given  the  provisional 
name  of  the  "  Bridger  group."  These  beds  I  shall  also  regard  as  upper 
miocene,  and  the  calcareous  laj^ers  which  underlie  the  Bridger  group 
are  so  well  displayed  lower  down  on  Henry's  Fork  that  I  regard  them 
as  a  portion  of  the  Green  Eiver  group  and  lower  miocene.  Below  all 
these  beds,  is  an  immense  thickness  of  sandstone  and  clays,  which  I 
group  together  as  eocene,  extending  down  to  the  cretaceous  clays. 
Intercalated  with  the  clays  of  the  Bridger  group  are  beds  of  rusty-brown 
and  gray  sandstones,  all  tending  to  a  concretionary  structure,  and  dis- 
integrating by  exfoliation  in  thin  concentric  layers.  Sometimes  there 
are  beds  of  sandstone  which  form  an  aggregate  of  concretions.  In  the 
whole  mass,  arenaceous  materials  predominate.  As  we  descend,  the  cal- 
careous sediments  prevail,  until  chalky  limestones  and  marl  are  greatly 
in  excess.    The  lower  miocene  beds  are  also  of  a  lighter  color.    By  the 


GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TEEKITORIES.        59 

barometer  the  liigliest  point  on  the  north  side  of  the  creek  is  8,583  feet. 
Our  camp  at  the  base  near  the  creek  is  7,G15  feet,  so  that  we  have  a  ver- 
tical thickness  of  the  tertiary  beds  of  over  one  thousand  feet.  On  the 
summit  of  the  hill  is  a  large  accumulation  of  drift  material,  cemented  with 
a  calcareous  cement  into  a  coarse  conglomerate.  It  is  composed  mostly  of 
the  sandstones,  quartzites,  and  carboniferous  limestones  from  the  Uinta 
Mountains.  These  conglomerates  are  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and 
tifty  feet  in  thickness,  and  are  weathered  into  columns,  sharp-pointed 
peaks,  domes,  «&c.,  much  like  the  conglomerates  in  Echo  Canou. 

The  summit  of  this  high  wall  is  a  sort  of  table  land  covered  with  a 
deposit  of  fine  reddish  sand,  plainly  derived  by  erosion  from  the  sand- 
stones and  quartzites  of  the  Uiutas.  The  surface  is  covered  with  grass, 
and  slopes  geutlj^  northward  for  several  miles.  From  this  high  ijoiut  I 
could  comprehend  to  some  extent  the  tremendous  erosive  forces  that 
had  been  in  operation  here  at  a  comparatively  modern  date.  All  the 
tertiary  beds  probably  once  extended  nninterruptedly  across  ttie  val- 
ley of  'Henry's  Fork  and  jutted  np  against  the  sides  of  the  Uinta  range, 
and  this  immense  deposit  of  conglomerate  which  caps  the  summit 
passed  across  and  connected  with  the  drift  materials  high  up  on  the 
radiating  ridges.  It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  if  we  make  a  careful 
examination  of  the  country  we  shall  always  find  some  remnants  of  the 
formations  that  may  have  existed,  however  great  the  erosion  may  have 
been.  They  seem  to  be  left  as  monuments  to  aid  us  in  reconstructing 
the  surface  as  it  really  existed  at  different  periods  of  the  past ;  and  this 
fact  adds  much  to  the  charm  of  the  study  of  the  geology  of  the  West. 
There  is  a  slight  inclination  of  the  beds,  which  shows  that  they  partook 
somewhat  of  the  later  movements  of  the  mountains.  As  we  descend, 
following  the  stream,  we  pass  below  the  leaden-gray  indurated  clays  of 
the  Bridger  group  into  a  series  of  lighter-colored  marls,  with  layers  of 
laminated  chalky  limestone.  These  marls  and  limestones  are  somewhat 
arenaceous  at  first,  but  the  sand  diminishes  and  the  lime  increases  in 
the  descent.  All  the  beds  assume  a  lighter  and  more  cheerful  color, 
although  there  is  some  variety  from  rusty  yellow  to  white.  Henry's 
Fork  flows  about  fifteen  miles  from  its  source  nearly  north,  when  it 
bends  around  a  little  north  of  east  for  about  forty-five  miles  to  its  en- 
trance into  Green  Eiver.  Most  of  the  way  it  passes  through  a  narrow 
valley  about  one-quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  with  abrupt,  wall-like  terraces 
on  either  side.  These  vary  from  eighty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
in  height.  The  bottom  itself  is  quite  pretty,  covered  with  a  thick 
growth  of  grass  and  large  bitter  cottonwoods.  The  grass  in  some  places 
is  six  feet  high  and  very  thick.  Hundreds  of  tons  of  hay  are  procured 
from  this  valley  every  season,  and  it  is  a  favorite  resort  for  herds  of 
cattle  and  sheep  in  the  autumn  and  winter.  The  soil  is  as  rich  as  any 
in  the  West,  being  formed  of  the  sands  and  clays  of  the  Bridger  group, 
with  the  calcareous  materials  of  the  Green  Eiver  beds,  as  well  as  con- 
tributions from  the  limestones  and  quartzites  of  the  Uintas.  The  mix- 
ture seems  to  be  suitable  for  the  production  of  a  luxuriant  vegetation 
under  favorable  circumstances. 

At  our  camp,  October  4th,  the  lower  miocene  beds  rise  up  on  the  north 
side  of  the  creek  to  a  height  of  four  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet.  l!s"ear 
tne  base  are  layers  of  thinly -laminated  slate,  limestone,  and  some  beds 
01  cherty  limestones  with  jjlants.  There  are  also  several  thin  seams  of 
earthy  lignite.  There  are  several  thin  layers,  especialiy  near  the  lignite 
seams,  which  vary  from  an  inch  to  six  inches  in  thickness,  composed 
mostly  of  small  fresh- water  shells,  Melanias  and  Unios.  These  layers  of 
shells  continue  nearly  to  the  mouth  of  Henry's  Fork,  and  masses  of  them 


60        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 

\ 

are  foiinll  iu  every  raviue  and  creek.  No  experience  of  my  own  among 
fresli-water  shells  of  the  present  day  has  revealed  them  in  such  marvel- 
ous i)rofusiou  as  they  must  have  existed  in  or  near  tl^is  great  lake  in 
tertiary  times.  Intercalated  in  the  marly  layers  are  thin  seams  of  fibrous 
calcite  and  selenite;  some  of  the  seams  of  calcite  are  three  inches  thick. 
Three  principal  features  appear  in  the  rocks  as  we  descend  the  creek: 
1.  A  large  increase  of  lime  5  2.  Silica  in  the  form  of  black  chert  or  flint ; 
3.  The  appearance  of  impure  lignite.  There,  are  also  petrified  wood, 
masses  of  stems  of  plants  aggregated  together,  yet  the  beds  are  all 
purely  fresh-water.  The  style  of  weathering  of  the  upper  and  lower 
miocene  is  well  contrasted  by  the  character  of  the  surface.  The  surface 
occupied  by  both  formations  is  equally  arid  and  barren,  but  that  of  the 
former  is  very  rugged,  forming  what  is  usually  termed  "bad  lands,"  while 
that  of  the  latter  is  more  rounded  and  far  less  rugged.  At  the  junction 
of  Henry's  Fork  with  Green  Eiver  the  geological  structure  is  very  com- 
plicated and  presents  one  of  the  most  interesting  studies  I  have  met 
with  on  the  trip.  At  first  glance  the  formations  seem  to  have  been, 
thrown  into  utter  chaos,  but  a  careful  examination  shows  the  system  of 
formations  to  be  more  complete  and  consecutive  than  in  any  other  por- 
tion of  the  West.  The  ildges  of  upheaval  extend  from  the  Uinta  Eange 
across  Green  Eiver,  and  seem  to  have  almost  entirely  escaped  erosion, 
so  that  they  are  left  for  our  examination  nearly  as  they  were  thrown  up 
by  the  internal  forces  that  elevated  the  Uinta  Mountains. 

All  along  the  northern  slope  of  the  Uintas,  from  Bear  Eiver  to  Hen- 
ry's Fork,  I  have  sought  for  the  absent  members  of  the  geological 
series,  and  noted  the  evidences  of  erosions  which  are  displayed  on  such 
a  stupendous  scale.  Not  only  are  several  members  of  the  geological 
series  swept  away,  but  also  the  surface  is  covered  with  an  enor- 
mous deposit  of  drift.  But  not  until  we  come  to  Green  Eiver  can  we 
realize  the  vast  extent  of  the  erosion  along  the  northern  slope  of  the 
Uintas. 

About  eight  miles  above  the  mouth  of  Henry's  Fork  the  calcareous 
layers  gradually  disappear  or  cap  the  summits  of  the  hills,  and 
beds  with  a  preclominauce  of  arenaceous  sediments  come  in.  Beds  of 
massive  yellow  and  gray  sandstones  rise  above  the  water  level  as  we 
descend,  until  they  reach  a  great  thickness,  three  hundred  to  five  hun- 
dred feet.  About  four  miles  before  reaching  the  mouth  of  the  creek 
the  valley  expands  out  on  either  side.  On  the  north  side  the  upper 
portion  of  the  bluff  is  a  massive  sandstone  with  a  reddish  tinge,  inclin- 
ing at  an  angle  of  5°  to  10°,  while  at  the  base  the  layers  seem  to  have 
been  pushed  up  abruptly,  as  if  there  was  some  degree  of  discordancy. 
The  same  beds  that  dip  at  a  small  angle  on  the  north  side  of  the  stream 
incline  50°  to  70°  on  the  south  side  and  extend  southwest  toward  the  foot 
of  the  Uintas.  Then  comes  an  open  area  of  about  four  miles,  occupied  by 
rather  soft  beds  of  yellow  and  steel-gray  indurated  clays,  which  I  have 
regarded  as  of  cretaceous  age,  although  I  did  not  discover  a  fossil  in 
them.  On  the  south  side  of  Henry's  Fork,  at  its  junction  with  Green 
Eiver,  is  a  remarkable  exhibition  of  the  ridges  or  hog-backs,  which  rise, 
ridge  by  ridge,  to  the  distant  summits  of  the  quartzite  nucleus  of  the 
Uintas.  Tlie  formations  at  first  sight  seem  to  have  been  lifted  up  in 
such  a  chaotic  manner  that  I  could  not  unravel  any  system  for  some  time. 

We  followed  the  channel  of  Green  Eiver  down  among  the  caiions,  with 
the  walls  on  each  side  rising  twelve  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  feet, 
but  only  triassic  and  carboniferous  rocks  were  seen.  At  last  we  found  a 
deep  dry  gorge  which  had  been  worn  through  the  ridges,  on  the  west 
side  of  Green  Eiver,  at  right  angles,  thus  exposing  all  the  beds  in  their 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  61 

order  of  sequence,  from  the  triassic  to  the  cretaceous  inclusive.  In  study- 
in  g-  the  section  from  the  north  side,  commencing-  -with  the  open  area, 
which  we  supi)osed  to  be  occupied  with  upper  cretaceous  clays,  the  first 
ridge  is  a  yellowish-gray  sandstone,  inclining  35°  west-northwest. 

2.  A  series  of  steel-gi'ay  slaty  shales,  (Xo.  2  cretaceous  section.)  The 
usual  scales  and  other  remains  of  fishes  are  abundant,  fixing  this  bed 
as  positively  lower  cretaceous — one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  thickness. 

3.  The  yellow-gray  and  gray  sandstones  of  the  lower  cretaceous,  (Xo. 
1,)  inclining  35°,  two  hundred  feet,  > 

4.  A  series  of  layers  of  remarkably  variegated  clays,  with  one  of  the 
layers  of  rusty  sandstone. 

5.  A  bed  of  fine  gray  sandstone,  weathering  brown,  four  feet,  passing 
into  clay,  with  a  slight  reddish  tinge,  inclining  30°.  In  these  beds  are 
some  thin  layers  of  siliceous  limestone,  mostly  made  up  of  a  species  of 
ribbed  Terebratula,  undoubtedly  Jurassic,  eighty  feet. 

6.  Then  comes  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  of  alternate  layers  of 
fine  gray  sandstone  and  yellow  gray  arenaceous  clay,  dipping  50°. 
Jurassic  fossils  abundant. 

7.  A  singular-looking  series  of  variegating  clays,  about  fifty  feet 
thick,  varying  from  a  chalky  white  gray,  ashen  graj',  light  red,  deep 
red,  purple,  in  alternate  bauds ;  the  colors  giving  a  picturesque  effect 
to  the  eye.    They  weather  into  curious  rounded  ridges,  inclining  65°. 

8.  A  "thick  bed,  two  hundred  feet;  grayish  sandstone,  weathering 
brown,  inclining  40°. 

9.  A  grassy  Interval,  composed  of  soft  beds,  somewhat  variegated, 
with  thin  layers  of  limestone,  with  Terebratula,  Ostrea,  and  other  Jurassic 
fossils.  There  is  a  considerable  increase  of  lime  in  these  beds.  Just 
over  these  marls  is  a  thick  bed  of  somewhat  laminated  limestone,  with 
fossils — fifty  feet  thick — dipping  26°.  Above  the  limestone  is  another 
series  of  sandstones,  marls,  and  clays,  fifty  feet  thick,  with  thin  layers 
of  limestone,  made  up  of  Jurassic  fossils.  Then  comes  a  series  of  sand- 
stones, massive ;  a  portion  of  them  weathering  with  a  reddish  hue, 
forming  a  ridge,  which  rises  one  thousand  feet  above  the  channel  of 
Henry's  Fork,  inclining  26°.  Above  this  sandstone  is  a  thin  series, 
fifty  feet,  of  alternate  layers  of  sandstone,  limestone,  and  argillaceous 
marls,  with  Terebratula,  Ostrea,  and  other  Jurassic  fossils.  This  I  regard 
as  the  u^jper  line  of  the  Jurassic  beds. 

10.  The  gray  sandstone,  weathering  yellow,  which  form  the  upper 
portion  of  the  triassic  ridges,  is  very  thick  and  massive.  It  is  exposed 
here  so  as  to  be  studied  to  the  best  advantage.  I  have  never  seen 
finer  illustrations  of  oblique  layers  of  deposition.  The  sandstone  shows 
a  vertical  slice  through  it,  one  hundred  feet  or  more,  where  all  the  irregu- 
larities are  as  perfect  as  possible.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  gorge 
the  sandstone  has  an  interesting  cave  in  the  side,  at  least  fifty  feet  in 
every  direction,  and  showing  equally  as  clear  the  conditions  of  the  depo- 
sition of  the  sediments.  The  cave  is  full  of  holes  and  crevices,  which  give 
shelter  to  multitudes  of  bats  and  other  animals.  Masses  of  their  excre- 
ment project  from  the  crevices,  and  sometimes  run  down  the  walls  of  the 
cave.  In  many  instances  this  black  excrement  of  bats  has  been  mistaken 
for  indications  of  petroleum.  This  cave  has  also  been  a  favorite  resort 
for  Indians,  as  is  shown  by  the  fires,  the  walls  of  stone  laid  up  for  de- 
fense, the  chipped  flints  and  arrow-heads  scattered  about,  and  the  rude 
images,  marked  upon  the  walls.  The  sides  of  the  ridge  are  very  rugged 
and  i^icturesque,  weathered  into  a  variety  of  architectural  forms.  The 
texture  of  the  sandstone  is  quite  soft,  yielding  readily  to  the  atmos- 
phere, and  the  valley  is  filled  with  loose  sand.    This  ridge  forms  the  di- 


62        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

viding  line  between  tlie  triassic  and  carboniferous  beds.  It  rises  to  tlie 
heiglit  of  one  thousand  three  hundred  feet  above  the  bed  of  Green 
Eiver,  which  runs  along  its  western  base.  Below  the  sandstones,  well 
shown  in  the  Green  Eiver  caiion,  is  a  considerable  thickness  of  the 
brick-red  arenaceous  clays  which  I  have  so  often  described  in  former 
reports  as  characteristic  of  the  triassic  period  in  other  portions  of  the 
West.  These  red  beds  pass  down  into  a  series  of  rather  variegated  aren- 
aceous clays,  with  thin  beds  of  sandstone  and  one  or  two  beds  of  bluish 
siliceous  limestone.  The  river  sometimes  flows  for  a  short  distance  be- 
tween the  ridges,  inclming  in  the  same  direction,  or,  as  I  have  termed  it, 
a  monoclinal  rift ;  then  it  cuts  its  way  directly  through  a  ridge,  forming 
a  narrow  channel,  with  high  vertical  walls  on  either  side ;  then  making 
a  flexure  and  taking  a  monoclinal  valley  again.  I  do  not  see  that  the 
waters  made  any  diflerence  in  their  course,  whether  they  flow  through  a 
valley  originally  prepared  for  them  or  cut  their  way  through  ridges  at 
right  angles.  The  next  ridge  to  the  southwest  of  the  triassic  one  is 
composed  of  limestones  and  calcareous  sandstones  of  carboniferous  age. 
These  rocks  in  the  aggregate  really  form  but  one  of  the  ridges  of  up- 
heaval, yet  it  is  separated  into  numerous  fragments,  but  without  anj^  dis- 
tinct and  continuous  valley  of  separation,  as  between  it  and  the  triassic 
ridges.  Then  comes  a  series  of  ridges,  of  purplish  sandstone  and  quartz- 
ites,  reaching  to  the  snow-covered  axis  of  the  range.  The  southwest  ab- 
rupt face  of  the  triassic  ridges,  at  the  entrance  of  Green  Eiver  into  the 
canon,  exhibits  a  remarkable  example  of  the  flexures  of  the  layers,  all 
the  triassic  and  Jurassic  beds  forming  a  bow  or  arch.  Pictorial  sections 
were  made  of  all  the  ridges,  their  surface,  forms,  inclination,  and  any 
local  peculiarities.  These  are  intended  to  be  engraved  for  the  final 
reports,  and  then  my  descriptions  of  this  most  interesting  geological 
region  will  become  more  clear.  From  the  summit  of  the  triassic  ridge, 
one  thousand  three  hundred  feet  above  the  valley  of  Henry's  Fork,  we  were 
able  to  gather  within  the  limits  of  our  vision  a  most  interesting  group 
of  geological  facts.  This  ridge  is  very  tortuous  in  its  outline,  but  its  true 
trend  is  about  southwest  and  northeast,  parallel  with  the  axis  of  the  Uinta 
range.  The  angle  or  dip  varies  in  different  localities,  but  it  is  usually  20° 
to  30°.  Taken  at  different  points  the  strike  of  this  ridge  varies  from  east 
to  west  by  way  of  north.  At  the  junction  of  Henry's  Fork  with  Green 
Eiver  the  latter  stream  flows  nearly  east,  yet  it  passes  through  this 
nearly  at  right  angles.  From  the  summit  one  can  jjass  the  eye  over  the 
upturned  edges  of  an  almost  endless  series  of  ridges  across  a  rugged 
and  picturesque  surface.  Far  to  the  south  the  main  range  of  the  Uin- 
tas  cuts  off  the  view,  while  in  the  interval  the  ridges  of  sandstone  and 
quartzite,  with  the  usual  thick  growth  of  pines,  rise  like  steps  to  the 
axis.  Between  the  sandstones  and  the  triassic  ridge  we  look  across 
the  steep,  jagged  ridges  of  carboniferous  limestones,  inclining  at  various 
angles  from  10°  to  25°. 

Not  unfrequently,  along  the  sides  of  the  river  where  the  channel  passes 
through  the  ridges  at  right  angles,  the  strata  reveal  very  graceful  curves 
or  arches,  as  they  pass  down  beneath  the  more  recent  beds.  Looking 
west  we  can  see  how  these  ridges  connect  with  the  Uinta  Mountains, 
and  that  without  doubt  all  the  northern  slope  of  the  range  from  Bear 
Eiver  was  once  as  rugged  and  bristled  with  as  sharp  ridges  as  this  portion 
on  Green  Eiver. 

We  thus  have  some  standard  by  which  to  estimate  the  extent  of  the 
erosion  that  must  have  occurred.  The  eye  can  run  along  the  sandstone 
and  quartzite  ridges,  and  connect  them  without  interruj)tion  far  west 
toward  the  Wasatch  range.    The  ridge  of  carboniferous  limestone  which 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEREITOEIES.        63 

crosses  Green  River  to  the  soutlieast,  tliongh  interrupted  from  time  to 
time  by  portions  swept  away,  is  plainly  a  portion  of  what  we  have  called 
Photograph  Eidge  all  along  the  northern  slope  of  the  Uiutas.  The  dif- 
ference in  the  texture  of  the  carboniferous  rocks  on  Green  River,  and 
those  forming  the  high  ridges  on  Black's  Fork  and  Bear  River,  indicates 
that  the  latter  were  partially  changed  by  heat.  The  lofty  triassic  ridge 
facing  Green  River,  from  which  we  take  this  extended  view,  reaches  oft 
to  the  south  of  west,  about  fifteen  miles,  in  full  size,  when  it  is  broken 
into  fragments  and  disappears  on  the  surface.  In  descending  the  valley 
of  Henry's  Fork,  we  noticed  a  high  fragment  of  a  ridge  to"  the  south, 
rising  about  two  thousand  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  creek,  which  seems 
to  have  been  cut  off  from  the  north  side  of  Photograph  Ridge,  but  is 
now  so  covered  with  drift  that  no  sign  of  the  basis  rocks  can  be 
detected.  The  upper  portion  is  covered  with  a  belt  of  dense  pines,  and 
the  remainder  is  smoothed  down  and  covered  with  a  good  growth  of 
grass.  It  is  a  beautiful  ridge  to  the  eye,  without  a  sharp  or  angular 
point.  I  have  no  doubt  that  its  nucleus  is  triassic.  It  is  cfbout  fif- 
teen miles  in  length,  and  breaks  oft'  quite  abruptly,  when  the  well- 
defined  triassic  ridge  commences  and  continues  in  a  somewhat  tor- 
tuous line  across  Green  River  near  the  mouth  of  Henry's  Fork.  The 
only  other  indications  of  this  ridge  are  the  rather  faint  traces  of  it  on 
Black's  Fork  and  Bear  River.  The  Jurassic  and  cretaceous  ridges 
extend  westward  onlj^  five  to  ten  miles,  and  disappear,  not  to  "be 
seen  again  until  we  reach  Bear  River  and  beyond.  Intermediate  be- 
tween the  lower  cretaceous  ridges  and  the  lower  tertiary  beds  is  a 
broad,  open,  vaUey-like  space,  three  to  five  miles  wide,  which  is  occupied 
by  yellow  and  brown  indurated  clays.  This  valley-like  space  extends 
from  the  base  of  the  Uinta  Mountains,  across  Henry's  Fork  near  its  •. 
mouth,  and  over  Green  River  in  a  southwest  and  northeast  direction. 

It  would  appear  to  have  been  a  valley  of  denudation  from  forces  hav- 
ing their  origin  in  the  Uintas.  In  this  interval  are  numerous  fragments 
of  ridges  which  must  have  been  once  continuous,  and  which  are  now 
left  to  show  the  vast  amount  of  rocky  material  which  has  been  swept 
away.  Over  the  surface  is  a  considerable  thickness  of  drift,  composed 
of  the  well-worn  boulders  of  sandstones,  quartzites,  and  limestones 
which  undoubtedly  came  from  the  Uintas.  Still  farther  to  the  west,  are 
the  full  series  of  miocene  and  tertiary  beds,  not  less  than  three  thousand 
to  five  thousand  feet  in  thickness,  extending  to  Fort  Bridger  and  beyond. 

If  we  were  to  extend  this  tremendous  development  of  the  geological 
formations  from  the  quartzites  to  the  tertiaries,  as  shown  at  Green  River, 
where  they  appear  to  have  suffered  comparatively  little  erosion,  all  along 
the  northern  slope  of  the  Uintas,  far  west  to  the  Wasatch  range,  we 
should  be  doubtless  reconstructing  the  former  conditions  of  the  surface ; 
and  we  may  thus  form  a  dim  conception  of  the  tremendous  erosive  forces 
which  have  operated  in  this  region.  We  may  thus  account  for  the  vast 
thickness  of  drift  and  immense  quantities  of  stray  boulders  which  are 
scattered  over  the  sides  and  foot-hills  of  the  mountains  far  out  into  the 
plains.  The  further  these  worn  rocks  are  found  from  the  mountains,  the 
smaller  and  more  rounded  they  are,  at  once  revealing  the  source  from 
whence  they  came. 

On  the  morning  of  October  8  we  left  our  camj)  at  the  mouth  of  Henry's 
Fork  taking  a  small  pack-train  for  a  three  days'  trip  down  the  Green 
River  to  Brown's  Hole.  Crossing  Green  River  we  followed  an  Indian 
trail,  which  led  us  over  the  high  ridge  that  forms  the  northern 
wall  of  the  broad  valley  or  hole  at  the  junction  of  Henry's  Fork  with 
Green  River.    The  general  course  of  the  ridge  for  the  first  thirty  miles 


64  GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

is  about  east  to  the  lower  end  of  Brown's  Hole,  where  it  seems  to  bend  off 
south  of  east.  After  crossing  this  high  triassic  ridge  our  course  was  neary 
east,  parallel  with  the  river  on  the  north  side,  thus  passing  diagonally 
across  the  different  formations.  We  soon  have  on  our  left  hand  a  frag- 
ment of  the  purplish  sandstone,  and  outside  of  that  a  high  ridge  of 
carboniferous  limestones,  rising  six  hundred  feet,  and  inclining  45°, 
with  a  trend  about  southwest  and  north(^ast.  On  our  right  were  the 
ridges  of  the  purplish  sandstones  and  quartzites,  rising  step  by  step  to 
the  axis  of  the  mountains,  where  the  strata  appear  nearly  horizontal,  as 
at  the  source  of  Henry's  Fork.  Stunted  cedars  are  quite  thick  upon 
the  mountain  sides,  and  for  the  first  time  this  season  we  met  with  the 
"Piiion,"  {Pinns  eclulis,)  or  nut-pine,  so  common  in  New  Mexico.  The 
trail  was  a  rugged  one,  leading  over  broken  rocks,  and  up  and  down 
precipitous  hills. 

Brown's  Hole  is  an  expansion  of  the  valley  of  Green  Eiver,  and  is 
about  five  miles  wide  and  thirty  in  length .  Just  before  reaching  the  main 
valley  tfiere  is  a  small  expansion  called  Little  Brown's  Hole.  These  are 
names  given  to  these  localities  by  the  old  trappers,  forty  years  ago  or 
more.  Far  north,  in  the  mountains  at  the  sources  of  the  Columbia,  are 
beautiful  valleys  of  a  similar  character,  called  Pierre's  Hole,  Jackson's 
Hole,  &c.  These  were  all  favorite  wintering  places  for  the  trappers. 
But  little  snow  fall  in  them,  and  they  are  so  surrounded  by  high  moun- 
tains that  the  bleak  winds  of  winter  can  not  reach  them.  Brown's  Hole 
has  been  a  favorite  locality  for  wintering  stock  for  many  years,  and  the 
day  we  visited  it,  twenty-two  hundred  head  of  Texas  cattle  were  driven 
into  it  from  the  east,  to  remain  during  the  winter,  and  destined  for  the 
California  market  in  the  spring.  It  is  covered  with  wild  sage  and  cheno- 
l)odiaceous  shrubs,  with  scattered  bunch-gTass.  A  small  number  of 
cattle  or  horses  could  find  abundant  food  for  winter,  but  so  large  a 
number  as  were  in  it  at  the  time  we  visited  it  must  consume  all  the 
grass  in  a  few  weeks.  The  strata  of  red  quartzite  are  distinctly  shown 
on  each  side  of  the  valley.  It  would  appear  that  there  had  been 
originally  a  sort  of  monoclinal  opening,  the  beds  on  the  north  side  dip- 
ping northwest  20°  to  30°.  They  present  their  upturned  edges,  there- 
fore, to  the  valley,  and  here  and  there  beds  of  gneiss  and  white  quartz 
have  been  thrust  up,  sometimes  to  a  great  height,  so  that  the  sides  of 
the  mountains  have  a  somewhat  variegated  appearance.  At  first  glance 
I  supposed  some  of  the  modern  tertiary  beds  had  been  lifted  high  on 
the  sides.  On  the  south  side  of  the  valley  the  quartzites  dip  gently 
down  to  the  eastern  end  of  the  wall,  and  apparently  pass  under  the  modern 
tertiary  beds.  In  the  process  of  erosion  the  waters  have  cut  diagonally 
across  the  sides  of  the  quartzite  beds,  so  that  they  appear  somewhat  like 
the  opposite  side  of  the  anticlinal ;  but  I  am  convinced  that  it  is  an 
inner  ridge,  inclining  originally  in  the  same  direction,  and  extended  over 
a  l^ortion  of  the  south  side  of  the  valley. 

The  gorge  from  which  the  Green  Eiver  issues,  near  the  mouth  of  Ver- 
million Creek,  is  very  beautiful.  The  waters  have  cut  a  channel  directly 
through  the  rocks,  showing  the  layers  most  perfectly  on  each  side,  in- 
clining at  a  moderate  angle.  Mr.  Jackson  was  very  fortunate  in  securing 
an  excellent  i^hotograph  of  this  caiiou,  which  wiU  express  its  geological 
characters  perfectly.  In  this  valley  there  is  an  extensive  modern  de- 
posit, which  I  suppose  to  be  of  pliocene  age.  It  is  composed  of  beds  of 
fine  sand  or  very  friable  sandstone,  light  gTay,  yellowish  gray,  with 
brown  sandstone  in  thin  laminae,  &c.  The  whole  deposit  seems  to  be 
sand,  with  some  mixture  of  clay,  and  weathering  in  the  usual  style  of 
these  deposits  into  rounded  hills  with  deeply  and  regularly-furrowed 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  65 

sides  or  "  bad  lauds,"  as  the  surface  is  usually  called.  Ou  the  summit  is 
a  thick  bed  of  conglomerate,  composed  of  the  rocks  of  the  mountains, 
purplish  sandstones,  quartzites,  carboniferous  limestones,  and  quartz! 
Toward  the  upper  end  of  the  valley  this  drift  conglomerate  is  one  hun- 
dred and  titty  to  two  hundred  feet  thick,  and  becomes  thinner  as  we 
descend. 

Along  the  north  side  of  the  valley  this  drift  deposit  is  quite  thick  all 
the  way  down,  bat  it  is  scarcely  seen  in  the  immetliate  vicinity  of  the 
river.  The  tertiary  beds  jut  up  against  the  sides  of  the  mountains 
slightly  elevated  and  inclining  3°  to  5°.  They  were  borne  up  to  some 
extent  during  the  later  movements  of  the  internal  forces  that  elevated 
the  mountains. 

On  the  south  side  there  are  remnants  of  the  tertiary  beds,  appareiitly 
perfectly  horizontal.  I  have  estimated  these  modern  tertiary  deposits 
to  be  six  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet  in  thickness.  It  is'  probable 
that  Brown's  Hole  formed  a  sort  of  '^bay,"  into  which  the  waters^f  the 
tertiary  lake  to  the  west  and  southwest  set  up.  These  modern  deposits 
are  not  uncommon  among  the  mountain  valleys.  The  Arkansas  marls 
in  the  valley  of  the  Arkansas,  similar  deposits  in  the  Middle  Park,  iii 
the  mountain  valleys  at  the  source  of  the  Missouri,  in  Salt  Lake  basin 
&c.,  are  all,  doubtless,  of  similar  character  and  origin.  ' 

At  one  point  on  the  north  side  of  the  valley,  close  to  the  base  of  the 
mountains,  these  beds  are  weathered  into  unusually  beautiful  architec- 
tural forms,  like  the  ruins  of  pyramids,  &c.  They  are  usuall  v  smoothed 
off  ou  tXw  upper  surface  into  table  lands,  but  this  one  locality  will  strike 
the  eye  of  the  traveler  at  once  as  a  style  of  weathering  of  unusual 
beauty  and  regularity.  There  is  but  little  timber  along  the  immediate 
valley  of  Green  Eiver— only  a  few  bi.tter  cotton  woods  and  willows;  but 
ou  the  hills  there  is  a  thick  growth  of  the  low  piuou  and  cedars.  In  the 
mountains  above,  as  well  as  in  the  valley,  there  is  a  universal  growth  of 
the  sage,  {Artemisia  tridentata,)  greasewood,  {Sarcohatus  vermiculans, ) 
and  Lmosijris.  The  sage  grows  to  the  height  of  eight  and  ten  feet,  and  is 
sometimes  six  inches  in  diameter.  There  were  some  remarkable  clamps 
of  the  Elius  tnlohata,  ten  to  twelve  feet  high,  growing  over  the  Green 
Eiver  bottoms. 

On  our  return  we  passed  out  of  Brown's  Hole  by  way  of  the  Henry's 
Fork  road,  as  it  is  called  in  this  country,  which  led  us  up  the  canon  of 
Eed  Creek.  Here  we  have  the  largest  display  of  whitish  quartz  that  I 
have  ever  seen  in  the  West.  The  sides  of  the  caiion  rise  up  eight  hundred 
feet  or  more,  massive  quartz.  At  the  entrance,  one  side  of  the  caiion 
presents  the  appearance  of  a  cathedral.  This  style  of  weathering,  for 
quartz,  is  unique.  There  is  here  an  outburst  of  old  trap,  and  some 
beds  of  gneiss.  There  are  also  layers  of  true  mica  schists.  The  incli- 
nation IS  60°  to  750  northwest.  The  first  quartz,  gneiss,  and  trap  that 
I  have  seen  in  connection  with  the  Uinta  Mountains  occur  at  Brown's 
Hole,  m  this  portion  of  the  range.  The  Eed  Creek  seems  to  wind  its 
very  tortuous  way  among  the  monoclinal  rifts  for  about  five  miles,  where 
the  mountains  cease  abruptly. 

As  we  pass  up  the  Eed  Caiion  the  sides  rise  to  the  height  of  eight 
hundred  to  one  thousand  feet,  composed  of  white  quartz,  with  a  remark- 
able number  of  intrusions  of  trap.  The  igneous  matter  has  protruded 
itself  into  every  opening  or  fissure,  in  every  possible  direction,  some- 
times betw^een  the  strata  and  sometimes  across  them,  in  thin  layers  or 
m  huge,  branching  masses.  Most  of  the  way  for  a  distance  of  five  miles 
these  high,  nearly  vertical  sides  were  spotted  with  the  black  trap,  con- 
trasting with  the  white  quartz.  Nowhere  else  have  I  ever  seen  such 
5  G 


Q6  GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

clear,  well-marked  exhibitions  of  the  trap  protrusions,  and  they  deserved 
a  much  longer  studj^  than  I  coukl  give  them.  I  believe  that  this  igne- 
ous material  was  i)rotruded  among  the  quartz  beds  prior  to  their  up- 
heaval. At  the  entrance  of  lied  Canon  Creek  from  Brown's  Hole  the 
elevation  is  5,897  feet,  and  very  nearly  the  highest  point  of  the  range  was 
8,073  feet,  and  the  bottom  of  Green  River,  about  ten  miles  below,  was 
5,175  feet;  so  that  by  these  elevations  we  may  estimate  approximately 
the  heights  of  these  mountains  above  the  surrounding  couutry. 

As  we  emerged  from  the  Red  Creek  Caiion,  we  came  out  into  a  sort 
of  semicircular  area,  occupied  by  yellow-brown  clays,  the  same  as  those 
occurring  in  a  similar  locality  at  the  mouth  of  Henry's  Fork.  The  north- 
east side  of  this  quartz  range  is  very  abrupt,  and  no  rocks  appear  to  be 
exj)osed  between  the  quartz  rocks  and  the  cretaceous.  Red  Creek  runs 
through  the  widest  i^ortion  of  this  semicircular  area,  about  two  miles  on 
the  south  side.  The  ridges  of  cretaceous  and  tertiary  soon  close  up 
against  the  sides  of  the  mountains,  and  about  four  miles  up  a  little 
branch  of  Red  Creek,  which  flows  parallel  with  the  range  between  the 
ridges,  the  same  beds  jut  up  against  the  range  in  the  same  manner.  The 
southeast  wall  of  this  semicircle  is  formed  by  a  massive  bed  of  tertiary 
(lower)  sandstones,  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  thick, 
south  of  the  Red  Creek,  dipping  about  10°.  The  soft  clays  are  shown 
under  the  sandstones  for  thirty  to  fifty  feet  in  thickness. 

As  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  from  the  summit  of  the  highest  moun- 
tains these  ridges  of  tertiary  extend  off  ridge  after  ridge,  each  one 
inclining  at  a  moderate  angle,  and  having  an  open  valley  or  space 
between,  which  seems  to  be  composed  of  soft  beds.  We  have,  therefore, 
the  cretaceous  clays  occupying  the  first  open  semicircular  space ;  this  is 
walled  in  by  a  ridge  of  lower  tertiary  sandstone  one  hundred  and  fifty 
to  two  hundred  feet,  inclining  northeast  10'^  to  15°;  then  an  interval  of 
a  quarter  of  a  mile,  which  is  occupied  by  variegated  clays,  with  thin 
layers  of  soft  sandstone.  The  whole  weathers  smoothly  and  is  covered 
with  grass.  The  next  ridge  is  composed  of  sandstones,  pudding-stones, 
and  conglomerates,  rising  two  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
inclining  10°.  The  rocks  of  this  ridge  have  a  reddish  tinge  and  remind 
one  of  the  conglomerates  and  sandstones  of  Echo  Cafiou. 

I  find  it  difficult  to  account  for  this  tremendous  development  of  quartz 
with  gneiss  at  the  eastern  end  of  the  Uinta  range.  The  white  quartz 
beds  rise  abruptly  from  beneath  the  red  quartzites,  occupying  a  belt  five 
to  nine  miles  in  width,  and  end  as  abruptly  as  they  commence.  I  do 
not  know  why  they  should  appear  at  this  locality,  when  further  to  the 
west,  at  the  sources  of  Black's  Fork  and  Bear  River,  where  the  rocks 
rise  to  an  elevation  of  over  13,000  feet,  no  trace  of  them  can  be  seen. 
Here  the  red  quartzites  and  the  white  quartz  beds  seem  to  conform,  aud 
on  the  side  fronting  Brown's  Hole  the  red  quartzites  present  an  enorm- 
ous thickness.  On  the  summit,  toward  the  outer  portion  of  the  white 
quartz  belt,  there  is  only  a  thin  remnant  remaining.  I  could  not  spare 
the  tinie  to  study  this  portion  of  the  range  to  my  satisfaction,  but  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  the  immense  thickness  of  quartz  was  thrust  up 
beneath  the  red  quartzites,  carrying  the  latter  so  high  up  that  they 
have  been  swept  away  by  erosion,  except  the  remnant  now  remaining. 

When  we  passed  over  the  high  ridges  on  our  way  to  Brown's  Hole 
from  Henry's  Fork  we  spoke  of  a  high  carboniferous  limestone  ridge  on 
our  left  or  north  side.  This  extends  down  the  river  about  five  miles 
and  juts  up  against  the  quartz  ridges  and  disappears.  Below  this 
point  there  is  a  space  of  ten  miles  or  more,  where  all  the  formations  from 
the  cretaceous  to  the  quartzites,  inclusive,  seem  to  have  been  swept 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.         67 

away,  and  as  I  bave  previously  stated,  the  cretaceous  clays  jut  up 
ao'ainst  tlie  sides  of  tiie  quartz  rid,i4es.  Tlie  geology  of  this  portion 
of  the  Uinta  range  is  very  complicated  and  interesting.  To  have  solved 
the  problem  to  my  entire  satisfaction  would  have  required  a  week  or 
two.  To  understand  the  whole  structure  clearly-  my  examinations 
should  bave  been  extended  to  Bear  lliver  and  beyond.  I  have  no  doubt 
that  after  a  little  interval  these  quartz  ridges  connect  with  the  rajige 
of  mountains  south  of  the  Vermillion  Creek. 

Green  River  cuts  a  channel  through  the  eastern  end  of  the  Uinta  Moun- 
tains diagonall3^  At  the  upjxn'  end  the  unchanged  rocks  oidy  lie  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river,  but  before  reaching  Brown's  Hole  the  river  cuts 
through  the  great  thickness  of  the  red  quartzites.  We  thus  have  here  a 
most  interesting  semi-quaquaversal,  on  a  large  scale,  including  within  it 
several  smaller  ones.  South  of  Henry's  Fork,  and  east  of  Green  liiver, 
the  principal  ridges  incline  to  the  northwest.  They  gradually  ilex  around 
until  at  lied  Greek  they  dip  to  the  northeast,  thus  forming  nearly  a 
semicircle  from  west  to  east  by  way  of  north. 

,  Red  Greek  passes  directly  through  one  small  semicircle  or  semi-qua- 
quaversal, the  general  dip  of  which  is  northeast.  Each  end  bends 
around  so  as  to  jut  up  against  the  mountains.  At  the  head  of  the  little 
branch  that  flows  into  Eed  Greek  from  the  north,  between  the  massive 
ridges  of  brown  tertiary  sandstones  and  the  quartz  beds,  there  is  a  singular 
feature,  which  is  an  apparent  non-conformity — for  about  four  miles  up 
the  stream,  on  the  left  or  east  side  rising  at  lirst  one  hundred  and  lifty 
to  two  hundred  feet,  and  dipping  about  10°.  As  we  approach  the  head 
of  the  bench,  this  ridge  slopes  down  to  the  valley  and  apparently  passes 
beneath  the  softer  beds.  At  this  point  commences  a  series  of  nearly 
vertical  ridges  trending  to  northwest,  and  growing  thicker  and  thicker 
until  the  lower  and  middle  tertiary  ridges  are  included.  The  distance 
between  the  northern  end  of  the  ridge,  dipping  10°,  and  the  south  end 
of  the  same  ridge,  holding  a  vertical  position,  and  in  some  cases  passing 
a  vertical  10°,  is  not  more  than  one  hundred  yards.  •  There  is  a  similar 
illustration  about  five  miles  up  the  valley  of  Henry's  Fork.  On  the  north 
side  of  the  Greek  the  beds  dip  at  a  small  angle,  while  on  the  opposite 
side  they  extend  up  to  the  westward,  inclining  at  an  angle  of  00°  to  75°. 

On  the  high  ridges  at  the  head  of  the  little  branch  of  Red  Creek,  1  found 
in  a  rusty  sandstone  impressions  of  deciduous  leaves,  among  them  a  Plata- 
m(s  ;  also  a  species  of  poplar,  and  a  Sabal,  the  same  species  probably 
winch  occurs  in  the  coal-bearing  beds  near  Point  of  Rocks,  on  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad.  There  are  also  some  thin  seams  of  coal  here,  but  the 
indications  of  coal  are  nowhere  very  marked  in  the  vicinity  of  this  por- 
tion of  Green  River.  On  the  east  side  of  Green  River,  opposite  the 
mouth  of  Henry's  Fork,  there  is  another  fine  example  of  a  series  of  semi- 
circular ridges  on  a  small  scale.  At  this  point  all  the  formations  from  the 
quartzite  nucleus  of  the  Uinta  range,  far  to  the  northward  until  the 
middle  tertiary  beds  become  horizontal,  follow  each  other  in  perfect  order 
of  sequence.  The  angle  of  inclination  varies  much,  but  the  change  is  so 
gradual,  and  the  ridges  follow  each  other  with  such  regularity,  that  no 
want  of  conformity  can  be  detected.  The  geological  structure  of  this 
portion  of  the  Green  River  country  is  very  complicated,  but  interest- 
ing. 1  have  already'  shown  that  members  of  all  the  formations  of  the 
geological  scale,  known  to  exist  in  this  portion  of  the  West,  are  largely 
developed  here ;  that  the  erosion  has  been  so  slight,  comparatively,  that 
they  are  all  turned  up  to  the  scrutiny  of  the  geologist. 

Before  leaving  this  portion  of  the  country  I  will  say  a  word  in 
regard  to    its    supposed  mineral  resources.      So    far   as  the   physi- 


68        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

cal  evidence  is  concerned  the  practical  miner  would  pronounce  the 
quartz  range  of  Green  Eiver  one  of  the  richest  localities  for  gold  and 
silver  in  the  West.  About  a  year  ago  a  large  number  of  men  prospected 
it  with  the  usual  enthusiasm,  but  most  of  them  returned  disappointed. 
At  the  present  time  a  few  miners  are  exploring  the  range  near  Vermillion 
Creek  with  some  success.  The  following  lodes  have  been  located  near 
Vermillion  Creek,  in  what  is  called  the  Brown's  Hole  district: 

1.  '■'  Lone  Star  Lode,"  twenty-five  feet  wide.  Both  walls  composed 
of  gneiss.  Dip  75°,  strike  north  of  west,  or  nearly  northwest  and  south- 
east. 2.  "Bull  of  the  Woods."  South  wall  well  defined.  Crevice 
*  twelve  inches  wide  on  the  surface,  increasing  to  three  feet  as  the  shaft 
was  sunk  twenty  feet.  3.  "  Miner's  Glory."  Neither  wall  known. 
Crevice  six  feet  wide  at  present.  4.  "  Green  Oil  Lode."  Soath  wall 
well  defined,  six  feet  wide.  An  analysis  of  some  of  the  ore  from  one 
of  the  lodes  showed  the  existence  of  $12  in  silver,  and  $1  50  in  gold. 
That  there  is  enough  of  the '[)recious  metals  here  to  attract  the  miners 
for  a  time,  there  seems  to  be  no  doubt ;  but  my  impression  is  that  they 
will  never  prove  rich  enough  to  reward  the  expenditure  of  much  labor  , 
or  capital.  Still,  only  the  most  superficial  examinations  have  been  made 
up  to  this  time,  and  the  future  may  show  richer  developments. 

Although  the  tertiarj^  beds  are  so  well  exposed  in  the  vicinity  of  this 
portion  of  Green  Eiver,  there  are  very  few  indications  of  coal,  and  these 
are  quite  obscure.  On  a  branch  of  Eed  Creek  are  two  or  three  seams 
of  dark  clay  or  carbonaceous  shale,  which  might  lead  to  thin  beds  of 
coal,  but  no  marked  signs,  as  are  seen  along  the  railroad  at  Rock 
Springs,  Point  of  Rocks,  &c. 

October  11. — Vv'e  left  Henry's  Fork  for  Green  Eiver  Station,  on  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad.  It  had  been  our  intention  to  cross  the  country 
on  the  east  side  of  Green  River  to  the  head  of  Bitter  Creek,  but  the  reports 
of  its  extreme  ruggedness  and  the  lateness  of  the  season  prevented  us. 
We.  concluded  that  it  would  "be  safer  to  take  our  teams  over  a  well-trav- 
eled road,  on  the  west  side  of  Green  River,  which  led  us  to  the  old  stage 
road  near  Bryan.  As  we  ascend  the  hills  on  the  west  side  of  Green  River 
from  our  camp  on  Henry's  Fork,  we  pass  over  the  outcropping  edges  of 
the  tertiary  beds,  forming  a  splendid  section.  The  lower  hills,  which  rise 
in  terraces  and  are  underlaid  with  dark  brown  clays,  I  believe  to  be  of 
upper  cretaceous  age,  though  I  was  unable  to  find  a  single  fossil  in  them. 
This  opinion  is  strengthened  hy  the  fact  that  the  first  upheaved  ridges 
south  of  Henry's  Fork,  which  must  lie  geologically  directly  under  these 
clays,  is  plainly  lower  cretaceous.  The  first  hard  bed  above  the  creta- 
ceous clays  is  a  rusty  yellow  sandstone,  then  comes  a  series  of  alternate 
beds  of  drab-brown  indurated  clay,  with  thin  beds  of  rusty-brown  sand- 
stone ;  some  of  the  rocks  slightly  calcareous,  inclining  at  an  angle  of 
60°  to  75°,  and  extending  across  Green  River,  with  a  trend  east  and 
west.  The  sandstones  vary  in  thickness  from  a  few  inches  to  several  feet, 
while  the  clays  vary  from  a  few  feet  to  fifty  or  one  hundred  feet  in  thick- 
ness. Then  come  beds  of  massive  sandstones,  reddish-gray,  with  seams 
of  clay  between,  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  thick ;  then  a  light- gray,  fine- 
grained, massive  sandstone,  weathering  by  exfoliation — fifty  feet ;  then 
a  harder  bed  of  iron-rust-yellow  sandstone,  projecting  above  the  other 
rocks,  with  a  tendency  to  a  concretionary  structure,  and  weathering  into 
grotesque  forms — with  cavities  one  hundred  feet ;  then  a  series  of  thin 
beds  of  yellow  drab  sandstones,  with  a  reddish  layer,  with  j)artings  of 
clay.  These  sandstones,  as  they  stretch  across  the  country,  present  a 
marked  banded  appearance.  All  these  beds  incline  at  various  angles 
at  different  localities.    Here  they  are  nearly  vertical,  but  on  the  east 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        GO 

side  of  Green  River  the  same  beds  incline  at  an  angle  of  15^  to  20°, 
The  scries  of  beds  above  described  are  plainly  lower  tertiary,  and  are 
separated  from  a  sncceeding  series  by  a  valley  about  one-fourth  of  a 
mile  in  width.  On  the  border  of  this  valley,  some  of  the  npper  beds  of 
this  first  series  incline  past  a  perpendicular  45°.  This  excessive  dip  is 
not  uncommon  among'  all  the  stratified  rocks  in  the  vicinity  of  the  moun- 
tain ranges,  but  I  suspect  it  is  conthied  to  the  surface,  and  that  some  dis- 
tance in  the  earth  the  beds  have  their  normal  dip.  I  was  unable  to  find 
any  fossils  in  this  series  of  beds,  nor  any  indications  of  coal.  Crossing  the 
valley  we  come  to  a  second  series  of  variegated  sandstones,  mostly  yel- 
low and  rusty  brown,  standing  nearly  vertical  with  the  same  strike  as 
the  first  series,  and  about  five  miles  up  Henry's  Fork.  This  interesting 
valley  is  filled  up  with  beds  which  show  a  perfect  conformity.  Thefi-rst 
bed  is  a  yellow-brown,  rather  fine-grained  sandstone,  dipping  75°,  a  lit- 
tle west  of  north.  Then  comes  a  series  of  yellow  and  light-gray  arena- 
ceons  or  marly  clays,  ^ith  beds  of  yellow-brown  and  light-gray  sand- 
stones projecting  somewhat  above  the  surface.  Alternating  with  these 
layers  of  saud.4tone,  are  quite  thick  beds  of  pudding-stone  and  conglom- 
erate, composed  of  rounded  pebbles  of  all  the  older  formations.  But 
what  surprised  me  most  were  the  large  masses  of  purplish  sandstones 
and  quartzites,  and  the  carboniferous  limestones,  sometimes  forming  the 
greater  i)ortion  of  thick  beds  of  the  conglomerate,  four  feet  in  diameter, 
somewhat  worn,  evidently  derived  from  the  nucleus  of  the  Uinta 
Mountains.  These  conglomerate  beds  are  intercalated  among  the  sand- 
stones through  three  hundred  or  four  hundred  feet  in  thickness,  and 
are  probably  of  upper  eocene  age.  Above  them  are  at  least  five  hundred 
feet  of  sandstones,  which  have  a  diminished  dip  20°  to  30°,  and  then 
j)ass  up  into  the  calcareous  layers  of  the  middle  tertiary  or  Green  Eiver 
group.  We  thus  see  that  the  aqueous  forces  that  deposited  the  sedi- 
ments of  the  upper  eocene  beds  were  broughi  to  bear  on  the  summits  of 
the  Uintas,  and  we  can  form  some  conception  of  the  vast  period  of 
time  they  have  been  subjected  to  erosion.  Since  that  time  all  the  mid- 
dle and  tertiary  beds,  comprising  many  thousands  of  feet  of  strata,  have 
been  deposited  in  this  region.  At  the  base  of  this  second  series  of  sand- 
stones is  a  thin  bed  of  carbonaceous  clay,  and  above  and  below  it  are 
layers  of  sandstone  a  foot  thick  or  more,  composed  almost  wholly  of 
Blelanias,  Paludinas,  and  Unios,  with  some  reptilian  remains.  We  thus 
reach  a  point  downward  where  we  can  decide  that  the  waters  in  which 
these  sediments  were  deposited  were  i^urely  fresh-water.  Green  Eiver 
flows  between  high  vertical  walls  of  these  beds,  and  the  opportunity  to 
follow  them,  step  by  step  in  their  order  of  sequence,  is  excellent. 

We  pass  gradually  up  to  the  Green  Eiver  beds,  where  lime  forms  a 
large  constituent.  About  two  miles  north  of  Henry's  Fork  the  strata 
become  nearly  horizontal,  and  continue  so  far  up  Green  Eiver  toward 
its  source. 

As  we  pass  over  the  uplands  on  our  way  northward  toward  the  railroad, 
we  have  on  our  left  hand  or  west  side  a  long,  high,  broken  ridge  of  the 
brown  indurated  clays  of  the  Bridger  group,  three  hundred  to  four  hun- 
dred feet  high,  which  seems  at  the  present  time  to  form  the  eastern  limit 
of  this  group.  That  it  continued  eastward  at  one  time,  perhaps  far  across 
Green  Eiver,  I  have  no  doubt,  because  remnants  of  it  are  seen  high  up 
near  the  banks  of  Green  Eiver ;  and  on  the  Big  and  Little  Sandj'  Creeks, 
which  rise  in  the  Wind  Eiver  Mountains,  are  quite  extensive  develop*- 
ments  of  this  group,  with  an  abundance  of  the  xieculiar  vertebrate  fos- 
sils. It  is  quite  iwssible,  also,  that  the  long,  high  ridges,  which  so  closely 
resemble  them,  south  of  the  old  stage-road  near  La  Clede  and  Dug 


70  GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

Spring  Statiou,  wliicli  extend  off  toward  Muddy  and  Bear  Elvers,  of 
■which  Hay  Stack  Butte  forms  a  part,  are  portions  of  the  same  group  5 
if  so  it  is  a  matter  of  great  interest  to  trace  the  results  of  the  denuding 
forces,  which  have  operated  so  energetically  all  over  this  country  in 
geological  times.  It  forms  one  of  the  greatest  charms  of  the  study  of 
the  geology  of  the  West  to  trace  the  connections  of  different  groups  of 
beds  across  intervening  spaces,  where  they  have  been  removed  by 
erosion  alone  or  by  the  upheaval  of  mountain  ranges,  to  take  up  the 
broken  links  in  the  history  and  unite  them  together.  As  I  have  before 
stated,  we  gradually  pass  up  through  the  second  series  of  sandstones  to 
a  third  series  of  laminated  marls,  with  thin  layers  of  chalky  limestone. 
JS'ear  the  middle  of  these  marls  are  some  layers  of  chalcedony,  composed 
mostly  of  Goniohasis,  masses  of  which  are  strewed  over  the  surface  in 
great  quantities.  Fragments  a  foot  square  are  covered  on  both  sides 
"with  beautiful  specimens  of  Goniohasis^  while  about  ten  feet  below  is  an- 
other layer  of  limestone  filled  with  Unios,  with  a  few  Goniohasis.  Frag- 
ments of  turtle  shells  are  quite  abundant  in  the  marly  clays.  These 
laminated  marls  reach  a  thickness  of  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  feet, 
and  weather  into  very  symmetrical  rounded  hills  or  buttes,  contrasting 
quite  strongly  with  the  stjde  of  form  of  the  Bridger  clays,  though  sim- 
ilar in  tyx)e.  Their  shaly  character  is  always  noticeable,  and  their  radi- 
ating furrows,  so  characteristic  of  indurated  clays,  are  wanting. 

Before  reaching  the  crossing  of  Green  Eiver,  nineteen  miles  north  of 
our  camp  near  the  mouth  of  Henry's  Fork,  a  thick  bed  of  rusty-yellow 
sandstone  makes  its  appearance.  This  sandstone  is  well  shown  on  the 
banks  of  Green  Eiver.  It  caps  the  high  bluffs  along  the  river  near  the 
station  on  the  railroad,  and  assists  in  giving  the  i)eculiar  forms  to  the 
hills.  On'Black's  Fork  the  disintegration  of  this  sand  bed,  as  it  comes 
to  the  surface,  has  produced  large  banks  of  loose  sand.  The  surface  of 
the  country  along  Black's  J^ork  and  up  to  Green  Eiver  Station  is  quite 
sandy.  ISTo  portion  of  the  country  over  which  we  have  traveled  seems 
to  be  so  entirely  destitute  of  vegetation  as  that  between  Henry's  Fork 
and  the  railroad,  and  yet  the  soil  possesses  all  the  elements  of  extreme 
fertility.  If  it  could  be  well  irrigated  it  would  produce  forty  bushels  of 
wheat  per  acre.  The  bottoms  of  the  streams  produce  good  grass,  and 
are  now  occui^ied  by  numerous  herds  of  cattle. 


CHAPTEE  YI. 

FROM    GREEN    RIVER    STATION,    VIA    BRIDGER'S    PASS,    TO    CHEYENNE, 

'WYOMING  TERRITORY. 

From  this  i)oint  to  Black  Buttes,  a  distance  of  seventy  miles,  we  fol- 
low the  valley  of  Bitter  Creek,  along  the  immediate  line  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Eailroad.  The  geological  features  of  this  region  are  of  great  in- 
terest, and,  inasmuch  as  the  detailed  account  of  them  is  included  in  the 
chapters  on  the  third  belt,  along  the  road  from  Cheyenne  to  Salt  Lake,  I 
shall  pass  over  this  portion  with  only  a  few  general  remarks,  sufficient 
to  connect  the  geological  formations  of  the  two  i^oiuts. 

The  Green  Eiver  group  can  be  studied  to  the  best  advantage  along 
the  valley  of  Green  Eiver,  where  the  sides  of  the  bluff  banks  rise  to  a 
perpendicular  height  of  five  hundred  feet  or  more.  The  "  cuts''  along 
the  railroad,  from  Eock  Springs  to  Bryan  Station,  aid  us  very  much  in 
reading  the  true  history  of  the  strata  and  securing  their  fossil  remains. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        71 

Ten  miles  east  of  Green  Eiver  Station,  tlie  Green  Eiver  group  disappears 
abruptly  on  the  south  side  of  Bitter  Creek,  and  the  coal  formations  come 
up  to  view.  On  the  north  side,  the  eastern  limit  of  the  Green  Eiver 
beds  is  most  sharply  marked  by  a  long',  high,  white  blutf,  that  extends 
off,  lar  to  the  northeast,  toward  the  South  Pass. 

The  dip  varies  from  3'^  to  5°,  and  the  laminated  calcareous  shales 
gradually  pass  down  into  yellow,  gray,  and  brown  indurated  arenaceous 
clays,  sands,  and  sandstones,  until  the  well-detiued  coal  strata  are  ex- 
posed, without  the  least  appearance  of  discordancy. 

Both  the  middle  and  the  lower  tertiary  beds  incline  to  the  northwest. 
At  Eock  Springs  the  extensive  and  valuable  mines  of  the  AVyoming 
Coal  Company  are  located.  The  lignite  coal  beds  continue  for  a  dis- 
tance of  about  six  miles  east  of  Eock  Springs,  with  a  dip  of  10^,  where 
a  series  of  yellow  and  drab-brown  indurated  clajs  rise  up  from  beneath 
the  sandstones,  and  continue  for  eight  miles,  to  a  point  about  two  miles 
east  of  Salt  Wells  Station.  This  interval  forms  a  sort  of  low,  valley- 
like space,  which  is  well  marked,  on  account  of  the  rounded  and  far  less 
rugged  style  of  weathering  which  extends  off  to  the  northeast  of  the 
railroad,  on  one  side,  and  southwest  on  the  opposite  side.  East  of  Salt 
"Wells  the  coal-bearing  beds  appear  again,  with  an  opposite  incli- 
nation, about  10°  to  the  southwest,  proving  this  interval  to  be  a  true 
anticlinal  valley.  Xot  a  fossil  was  discovered  in  these  clays  to  fix  their 
age  with  certainty,  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  belong  to  the  upper 
cretaceous  period,  and  are  an  extension,  to  the  north  or  northeast,  of 
those  cretaceous  clays  already  noticed  as  occurring  near  the  mouth  of 
Henry's  Fork,  on  Green  Eiver.  I  believe  it  to  be  the  extension  north- 
eastward of  the  axis  of  elevation  of  the  Uinta  Mountains.  I  think,  how- 
ever, that  it  dies  out,  or  is  concealed  by  more  modern  tertiary  beds,  be- 
fore reaching  the  Sweetwater  Valley. 

Continuing  eastward  from  Salt  Wells  Station,  the  gradual  inclination 
of  the  strata  exposes  a  splendid  section  of  the  eocene  coal  beds.  ]S"ot 
less  than  1,000  to  1,500  feet  of  sandstones  and  clays  are  passed  over 
before  we  come  to  the  valuable  coal  beds  near  Black  Buttes.  At  this 
point  the  old  stage  road  diverges  to  the  south  of  the  railroad,  follow- 
ing up  the  south  branch  of  Bitter  Creek. 

Soon  after  leaving  Black  Buttes  we  cross  the  western  rim  of  the  series 
of  middle  tertiary  beds,  which  I  have  named  the  "  Washakie  group." 
The  transition  from  the  coal  beds  is  through  a  series  of  indurated  are- 
naceous clays,  with  beds  of  sandstones  of  all  colors  and  texture,  bearing 
upon  their  surface  the  evidence  of  their  more  modern  date.  The  in- 
clination is  in  the  same  direction  and  in  accordance  with  the  lower 
tertiaries,  but  the  dip  is  not  more  than  3°  to  5^*. 

At  Big  Pond  Station,  fourteen  miles  east  of  Black  Buttes,  the  deserted 
buildings  of  the  old  stage  station  are  entirely  built  of  rocks  composed 
of  fresh-water  shells.  There  are  two  kinds  of  rock,  viz,  a  calcareous 
sandstone,  formed  of  an  aggregate  of  Unios,  Viviparas,  Goniobatiis,  &c., 
but  all  casts,  the  sandstone  being  so  porous  that  the  calcareous  shell 
has  been  entirely  dissolved  away  ;  still  the  rock  itself  eflervesces  very 
briskly  on  the  application  of  hydrochloric  acid.  Another  bed,  varying 
in  thickness  from  six  to  twelve  inches,  is  a  very  compact  limestone, 
somewhat  siliceous.  This  is  simply  an  aggregate  of  Goniobasis  cemented 
with  a  little  lime  and  silica.  The  texture  of  the  rock  is  so  close  that 
it  is  difficult  to  obtain  any  i)erfect  shells. 

Table  Eock  is  a  high.  Hat-topped  "  butte"  north  of  this  point.  The 
underlying  yielding  clays  are  protected  from  erosion  by  these  beds  of 
shell  rock.    All  the  rocks  used  for  building  purposes  along  the  railroad 


72  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

at  Table  Eock  and  Ked  Desert,  and  ou  the  old  stage  road  at  Big  Pond 
and  La  Clede,  were  taken  from  tliese  shell  beds.  These  layers  of  rock 
extend  over  hundreds  of  square  miles,  and  all  the  buildings  for  large 
cities  might  be  constructed  from  the  aggregate  remains  of  these  little 
fresh-water  animals.  Marine  limestones  of  great  thickness,  composed 
entirely  of  organic  remains,  are  not  uncommon  in  various  portions  of 
our  own  county,  but  I  have  never  known  such  extensive  beds  of  rock 
made  up  entirely  of  a  few  species  of  fresh-water  shells.  At  the  present 
time  both  fresh-water  and  land  shells  are  very  rare  in  this  country; 
the  physical  conditions  seem  to  be  very  unfavorable,  except  at  the 
sources  of  some  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Missouri  Eiver  that  come  in 
from  the  north,  as  the  James,  Yermilliou,  and  Big  Sioux  Elvers.  These 
streams  are  filled  with  Unios,  Viviparas^  Lynmeas,  Planorhis,  Physas, 
&c. ;  and  yet  the  conditions  seem  to  have  been  more  favorable  in  years 
past  for  tliis  kind  of  life  than  at  present.  In  the  fine  vegetable  matter 
that  accumulates  along  the  Missouri  Eiver  from  the  annual  floods,  I  have 
seen  bushels  of  minute  Helices,  Pupas,  Succineas,  &c,,  and  yet  I  have 
looked  in  vain  for  any  of  these  shells  alive  in  the  little  streams  in  the 
vicinity.  In  the  banks  of  the  streams  that  flow  into  the  Lower  Missouri, 
as  Big  Sioux,  Vermillion,  and  others,  large  accumulations  of  fresh-water 
and  land  shells  are  found  buried  fifteen  to  twenty  feet  beneath  the  sur- 
face ;  yet  it  seems  to  me,  that  if  all  that  have  ever  existed  in  this  region 
were  gathered  together,  they  would  not  cover  a  large  area.  In  the  Mis- 
souri Eiver,  from  the  base  of  the  mountains  to  its  entrance  into  the 
Mississippi,  scarcely  a  shell  can  be  found,  and  very  few  ever  are  seen  in 
any  of  the  iDranches  that  flow  in  from  the  south.  The  inference  is,  that 
the  impurity  of  the  waters  over  the  greater  portion  of  the  West  is  such 
at  the  present  time  that  this  class  of  life  cannot  exist.  How  favorable, 
then,  must  have  been  the  conditions  for  the  increase  of  molluscous  life  in 
these  old  tertiary  times!  Not  only  were  the  waters  pure,  but  through- 
out all  the  vast  thickness  of  middle  and  upper  tertiary  deposits  in  the 
beds  of  clay  and  sandstones,  there  is  more  or  less  calcareous  matter,  as 
is  shown  by  the  application  of  an  acid  ;  iiroving  that  lime,  which  is  so 
essential  to  these  animals,  must  have  existed  in  the  waters  of  that  period. 
About  six  miles  east  of  Big  Pond  Station,  a  well-marked  bed  of  reddish 
clay  is  exposed,  which  can  be  seen  extending  across  the  country,  over 
the  sides  of  the  bluft'-like  hills,  for  many  miles.  I  call  attention  to 
this  red  band  of  clay,  from  the  fact  that  it  seems  to  mark  the  appear- 
ance of  the  lower  portion  of  the  middle  tertiary,  and  increases  or  dimin- 
ishes in  importance  in  different  localities.  On  the  east  side  of  Green 
Eiver,  opposite  the  mouth  of  Henry's  Fork,  these  clays,  with  a  reddish 
tinge  and  bands  of  light  brown,  reach  a  thickness  of  one  hundred  to  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  weather  into  quite  regular  and  picturesque 
forms. 

Ou  the  west  side  of  the  South  Pass  these  light-red  clays  are  well  dis- 
played near  the  base  of  the  middle  tertiaries,  and  in  some  calcareous 
layers  above  them  are  multitudes  of  fresh-water  shells.  This  band  is 
also  seen  at  the  eastern  terminus  of  the  Green  Eiver  group,  near  Eock 
Springs,  and  near  the  sources  of  the  Muddy  west  of  Bridger's  Pass.  It 
also  gives  name  to  the  station  ou  the  Union  Pacific  Eaikoad,  "Eed  Des- 
ert," from  the  fact  that  the  contiguous  hills  receive  their  color  from  it. 

Whether  these  formations  are  connected  geographically  or  chrono-  . 
logically  with  the  vast  series  of  red  beds  west  of  the  eastern  rim  of 
the  Great  Salt  Lake  Basin,  a  more  extended  Gxploration  must  determine. 
The  shell  beds  lie  above  this  in  all  the  localities  that  I  have  examined 
except  near  the  South  Pass,  where  a  bed  of  very  porous  sandstone 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY   OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  73 

occurs  near  the  base  of  the  series,  made  up  of  casts  of  Unios,  Lym-neas, 
&c. 

Between  LaClede  and  Barrel  Springs  the  strata  are  very  nearly  hori- 
zontal. The  surface  is  less  rng'ged ;  still  to  the  south  of  the  road  are  high, 
rather  abrupt  ridges,  and  in  the  distance  are  quite  pointed  ridges  three 
hundred  feet  high,  composed  of  the  somber,  hard,  indurated,  rusty 
arenaceous  clays  which  characterize  the  Bridger  groui).  Indeed,  from  its 
form  and  style  of  weathering,  and  the  color  of  its  sediments,  it  could  not 
be  distinguished  from  the  high  ridges  of  Bridger  beds  west  of  our  road 
from  Henry's  Fork  to  Green  Itiver  Station.  Although  I  have  hitherto 
regarded  the  group  of  beds  which  I  have  denominated  the  "  Washakie 
group,"  as  separated  from  those  of  Greeen  Eiver  and  to  the  westward, 
yet  I  am  now  inclined  to  believe  that  the  upper  series  is  either  an  exten- 
sion eastward  of  the  Bridger  group  or  synchronous  with  it.  Fragments 
of  turtles  and  other  vertebrate  remains  are  not  uncommon. 

Near  Barrel  Springs  a,  very  good  section  of  the  laminated,  chalky 
clays  is  exposed  in  the  valley  of  the  Muddy ;  seams  of  shells  as  Unio  tel- 
linoldes,  Goniohasis  tenera,  G.nochdifera,  and  G.  Carteri,  four  inches  thick, 
occur  above  and  below  thin  layers  of  rotten  vegetable  matter.  These  shells 
occur  through  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  of  these  chalky  beds.  Eemains 
of  turtles,  also  vertebra?  of  fishes  and  reptiles,  are  found ;  a  few  obscure 
plants,  like  blades  of  grass,  stems  of  rushes,  &c.,  occur  in  the  clays  5  still 
higher  on  the  tops  of  the  hills  that  border  the  stream,  are  some  thin, 
chalky  clays,  crowded  full  of  plants,  as  ferns,  rushes,  grasses,  palms,  «&c., 
finely  preserved. '  Fragments  of  palm-wood  and  those  of  deciduous  trees 
are  scattered  over  the  surface  in  great  profusion.  I  think  I  have  never 
seen  vegetable  remains  more  abundant  or  more  easily  obtained  in  any 
portion  of  the  West  than  at  this  locality.  There  was  about  two  feet  of 
strata  composed  of  them,  and  they  split  into  very  thin  regular  layers, 
as  light  as  dry  vegetable  matter  could  be,  and  each  side  of  the  thin 
layers  was  covered  with  beautiful  impressions  of  leaves  in  a  remarkably 
fine  state  of  preservation.  Upon  these  weathered  hills  were  literally 
bushels  of  very  pretty  Goniohasis  and  Unios,  which  one  could  gather  to  his 
entire  satisfaction.  I  regretted  very  much  that  my  party  could  not 
remain  a  day  in  this  interesting  region ;  but  the  almost  eutire  absence 
of  grass  and  the  alkaline  water  compelled  us  to  hasten  on  with  our  half- 
starved  animals. 

From  Barrel  Springs  we  descend  geologically,  the  dip  of  the  rocks  being 
reversed,  and  the  same  beds  rise  to  \'iew  that  we  saw  in  traveling  east- 
ward from  Black  Buttes.  As  we  descend  into  the  valley  toward  Duck 
Lake,  the  pinkish  bed  makes  its  appearance,  and  on  the  left  of  the  road  is 
an  isolated  mass  of  sandstone,  about  twenty  feet  cube,  which  forms  a  sort 
of  landmark.  Although  this  red  layer  is  a  conspic*ious  feature  in  this 
region  for  miles  along  the  valley  of  the  Muddy,  yet  this  isolated  mass  is 
the  onlj^  example  of  liardened  rock  connected  with  the  red  baud  in  this 
region.  There  must  have  been  some  local  cause  originally  for  the  greater 
tenacity  of  the  cementing  material  in  this  restricted  locality. 

The  water  divide  of  this  region  is  undoubtedly  Bridger's  Pass,  but  the 
geological  divide  I  regard  as  located  between  La  Clede  and  Dug  Spring 
Station.  Here  the  strata  are  nearly  horizontal,  or  from  what  might  be 
called  a  synclinal.  Along  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  at  Dodge's  Sum- 
mit, the  water  and  geological  divide  are  identical.  The  strata  west  of 
this  divide  incline  slightly  northeast,  and  on  the  east  side  southwest. 
As  I  have  already  stated  in  a  preceding  chapter  in  describing  the  tertiary 
formation  fi-om  Bridger  to  Green  Eiver,  they  may  be  separated  provision- 
ally into  four  series. 


74        GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

First  series. — The  coal  strata,  lower  eocene,  cLaracterizecl  by  numerous 
impressions  of  deciduous  leaves,  marine  and  fresh-water  molhisca. 

Second  series. — Arenaceous,  upper  eocene,  characterized  by  a  profusion 
of  fresh-water  shells,  as  Unios,  Goniohasis,  Viviparas,  Lynmeas,  &c. ;  a 
portion  of  these  being  casts. 

Third  series. — Calcareous,  lower  miocene,  'containing  the  greatest 
abundance  of  fresh-water  shells,  plants,  fishes,  &c. 

Fourth  series. — Arenaceous  clays — upper  miocene — turtle  shells ;  no 
other  fossils  observed.  The  third  series  of  beds  contains  the  plants  and. 
shells  that  were  found  in  such  profusion  near  Barrel  Springs  on  the 
Muddy. 

Continuing  our,  way  eastward,  we  descend  across  valleys  and  over 
ridges,  with  the  outcropping  edges  of  bed  after  bed  of  sandstone  and 
clay  rising  to  view,  until  we  come  to  the  coal  strata  near  Washakie 
Station,  on  a  branch  of  the  Muddy  flowing  down  from  Bridger's  Pass. 
The  dip  is  hardly  i)erceptible  at  first,  but  gradually  it  reaches  5°. 

Through  the  eocene  and  cretaceous  beds,  even  to  the  granites, 
the  inclination  may  increase,  or  iu  some  cases  diminish.  In  some 
instances  the  eocene  beds  are  vertical,  while  the  carboniferous  strata 
beneath,  incline  at  a  small  angle.  There  is  no  apparent  discordancy 
between  the  four  series  of  tertiary  beds  noted  above.  Along  Green 
River,  at  Eock  Springs,  Black  Buttes,  and  west  of  Bridger's  Pass, 
no  want  of  conformability  could  be  ascertained.  Yet  there  must  be 
some  discordance  between  the  upi)er  tertiaries  and  the  older  beds, 
from  the  fact  that  the  Bridger  group  and  the  Monument  Creek  group, 
as  well  as  the  upper  portions  of  the  White  Eiver  group,  jut  up  against 
the  older  beds  in  many  places  in  a  horizontal  position  or  incline  at  an 
angle  of  3°  to  5°.  This  is  the  case  along  the  eastern  flanks  of  the  Laramie 
range,  and  ou  the  sides  of  other  mountains  in  numerous  localities.  Near 
Fort  Laramie  the  White  Eiver  beds,  which  may  possibly  be  of  pliocene 
age,  have  been  deposited  high  up,  in  the  ravines,  on  granites,  or  on  the 
upturned  edges  of  carboniferous  limestones,  and  yet  in  the  plains  these 
same  beds  seem  to  conform  perfectly  to  the  old  tertiaries,  and  the  latter 
conform  perfectly  to  the  cretaceous,  Jurassic,  triassic,  carboniferous,  and 
Silurian  beds. 

After  passing  Duck  Lake  Station  we  ascend  barometrically,  although 
we  descend  geologicall}',  lower  and  lower  beds  rising  to  view  continu- 
ally, and  just  before  reaching  Washakie  Station  the  lower  tertiaries  or 
lignite  beds  make  their  appearance,  with  a  dip  of  about  10^.  I  think 
the  fresh- water  shells  that  occur  here  in  sandstones  so  abundantly  be- 
long to  the  third  series  of  upper  eocene  beds  that  gradually  pass  down  into 
the  coal  strata.  About  a  mile  west  of  Washakie  the  beds  of  coal  are  ex- 
posed, and  the  examples  of  the  baking,  and  even  the  melting,  of  the 
adjacent  rocks  by  the  spontaneous  ignition  of  the  coal-beds,  are  very 
common.  The  ridges  are  covered  with  these  red  or  burnt  i)laces,  which 
look  like  piles  of  cinders.  In  some  beds  of  gray  calcareous  sandstone 
over  the  coal  I  collected  great  quantities  of  large  deciduous  leaves  of 
trees  belonging  to  the  genera  Platamis,  Foptdus,  Tilia,  &c.,  evidently  the 
same  species  as  those  found  in  other  localities  connected  with  the  coal 
formations.  The  coal  strata  reach  a  great  thickness  around  Bridger's 
Pass,  and  are  composed  of  alternate  beds  of  sandstone  with  layers  and 
concretions  of  calcareous  sandstone.  In  the  upper  i^ortious  the  clays 
predominate  and  contain  the  coal  seams,  which  vary  in  thickness  from 
a  few  inches  to  ten  or  twelve  feet.  As  we  descend  toward  the  creta- 
ceous beds,  the  sandstones  begin  to  predominate,  until  they  rise  on  our 
left  hand,  as  we  ascend  the  "  pass,"  in  lofty,  nearly  vertical  walls.    The 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        75 

trend  of  the  ridges  is  about  northeast  and  southwest.  The  branch  of 
the  Muddy,  wliich  rises  in* the  "  pass,"  seems  to  form  the  line  of  separa- 
tion between  the  coal-beds  and  those  of  well-known  cretaceous  age. 
A  bed  of  massive  sandstone  forms  a  wall  on  the  north  side  nearly  to  the 
head  of  the  JMuddy,  where  the  softer  clays  of  the  cretaceous  seem  to  rise 
from  beneath  it.  On  the  south  side  of  the  road  is  a  high,  rugged  group 
of  hills,  which  weather  into  rounded  forms,  which  are  plainly  upper 
cretaceous.  Since  leaving  Washakie  there  has  been  a  decided  im- 
Ijrovement  in  the  vegetation ;  grass  grows  quite  abundantly'  on  the  hills 
and  in  the  valleys,  and  the  shrubs  and  trees  have  the  healthy  growth 
peculiar  to  the  foot-hills  of  the  mountains. 

Between  Bridger's  Pass  and  Pine  Grove  the  wall  on  the  north  side 
continues  much  the  same,  but  the  cretaceous  clays  seem  to  underlie  the 
sandstone ;  but  on  the  south  side  the  cretaceous  beds  rise  up  abruptly 
to  the  height  of  about  eight  hundred  feet  above  the  road ;  and  on  the 
summit  is  a  broad  plateau,  covered  with  a  deposit  of  drift  material,  and 
well  grassed  over.  Here  and  there  we  see  beautiful  groves  of  aspen 
and  pine.  The  belt  of  cretaceous  beds  is  very  wide.  In  the  vicinity  of 
Bridger's  Pass  there  is  an  enormous  thickness  of  the  coal  strata,  which  I 
have  estimated  at  three  thousand  to  live  thousand  feet.  The  inclina- 
tion is  10°  to  15°.  The  cretaceous  clays  are  also  very  largely  developed 
fifteen  hundred  to  two  thousand  feet.  Near  Aspen  Grove  I  found  Baac- 
lites  ovatKS  and  some  undetermined  marine  shells.  At  Pine  Grove  the  wall 
on  the  north  side  extends  across  the  country,  towards  Eawlings'  Springs, 
in  one  of  the  most  handsome  and  symmetrical  anticlinals  I  have  ob- 
served in  the  West.  The  valley  is  about  four  miles  wide  between  the 
outcropping  walls,  and  forms  a  sort  of  rolling  prairie,  which  shows  the 
style  of  surface  weathering  when  underlaid  by  the  soft,  yielding,  creta- 
ceous clays.  The  trend  of  the  valley  is  northeast  and  southwest,  and 
forms  an  extension  of  the  axis  of  elevation  of  some  range  of  moun- 
tains near  Bear  Eiver. 

About  northeast  of  Pine  Grove  there  is  a  small  lake  in  this  valley, 
half  a  mile  long  and  nearly  the  same  width,  the  shores  of  which  are 
covered  with  an  alkaline  elSorescence.  This  anticlinal  valley  is  of  the 
same  character  as  the  one  that  forms  the  extension  of  the  axis  of  the 
Uinta  range  at  Salt  Wells,  on  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad.  Here  we  see 
the  same  smooth,  rounded  aijpearauce  to  the  surface  from  Rock  Springs  to 
a  point  about  two  miles  east  of  Salt  Wells,  where  the  outcropping 
edges  of  the  coal-bearing  rock  appear.  Passing  up  the  South  Fork  of 
Bitter  Creek,  we  have  the  more  modern  tertiary  beds  inclining  at  a 
small  angle.  Near  La  Clede  Station  is  a  high  ridge,  extending  across 
the  country  like  a  low  range  of  mountains,  composed  of  the  somber  indu- 
rated, sandy  clays  of  the  upper  miocene,  of  which  Haystack  Butte  forms 
a  part.  Continuing  our  way  eastward,  we  descend  again  across  the  edges 
of  the  same  beds  we  saw  on  Bitter  Creek,  and  gradually  passing  through 
a  tremendous  thickness  of  eocene  coal  strata,  reach  the  soft  clays  of 
the  cretaceous  group.  The  exact  line  of  separation  between  the  true  cre- 
taceous and  tertiary  beds  in  this  region  I  cannot  positively  determine. 
We  know  that  fossils,  brackisli  and  sometimes  purely'  fresh-water,  char- 
acterize the  upper  eocene  above  the  thickest  coal  beds ;  that  at  Hallville, 
in  the  dark  clays  or  slates,  abo\'e  one  of  the  most  valuable  coal  beds,  there 
is  a  profusion  of  Cyrenas  and  other  brackish- water  fossils  5  that,  as  we  de- 
scend in  the  coal  strata,  beds  of  several  species  of  Ostrca  are  found  5 
showing  clearly  that  the  great  lake  at  this  time  had  access  to  the  salt  sea. 
I  am  not  able  to  draw  the  exact  line  of  separation  between  the  tertiary  and 
the  cretaceous  beds  in  this  region,  and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  there 


76        GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 

is  a  considerable  thickness  of  what  may  properly  be  called  transition  beds, 
or  beds  of  passage,  which  will  probably  remain  a  long  time  in  doubt. 

From  Piue  Grove  we  continue  on  our  course  to  the  eastward,  with  the 
high  wall  of  sandstone  on  the  left  and  the  plateau  on  the  right.  Nearly 
opposite  Pine  Grove  Station  the  anticlinal  that  extends  off  toward 
Bawlings'  Springs  forms  a  notch  or  triangular  area,  in  which  the  cre- 
taceous clays  are  worn  into  three  singular,  terrace-like  ridges  on  the 
west  side,  with  a  strike  southwest  and  northeast,  and  on  the"  east  side, 
northwest  and  southeast. 

The  valley  of  Sage  Creek  is  three  to  six  miles  wide.  On  the  North 
Platte  there  is  a  fine  exhibition  of  the  sandstones  or  transition  beds. 
Near  the  crossing  of  the  old  stage  road  there  are  vertical  bluffs  eighty 
to  one  hundred  feet,  composed  of  grayish-brown  sandstone,  which  exhib- 
its, in  the  most  remarkable  degree,  the  various  signs  of  shallow-water 
depositions,  as  ripple,  rain,  and  mud-markings,  with  what  appear  to  be 
trails  of  worms,  &c.  Broad,  flat  masses  of  sandstone  lie  at  the  base  of 
the  bluff  fifteeu  or  twenty  feet  square,  with  the  surface  covered  with 
these  peculiar  markings;  oblique  layers  are  not  uncommon.  The  in- 
durated clays  of  well-known  cretaceous  origin  are  well  shown  here,  ex- 
tendiug  up  the  North  Platte  for  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  to  the  south- 
ward, while,  to  the  north,  ridge  after  ridge  extends  as  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach.  There  are  alternate  beds  of  sandstone  and  a  steel-brown  indu- 
rated clay.  In  the  second  bed  of  sandstone  from  the  bottom  are  great 
quantities  of  a  species  of  Ostrea.  As  we  pass  up  in  the  series  we  find 
irregular  concretionary  beds  of  rusty  calcareous  sandstone,  with  some 
fossils,  especially  Ostrea,  and  a  few  other  marine  or  brackish-water  spe- 
cies. Everywhere  in  the  West  the  oldest  or  lowest  coal  beds  contain 
more  or  less  marine  fossils,  most  of  which  belong  to  the  genus  Ostrea. 
They  are  found,  in  about  the  same  position,  from  latitude  49°  to  New 
Mexico.  Where  the  beds  are  studied  with  some  care,  in  a  favorable 
locality,  we  soon  find  that  the  marine  evidences  disappear,  and  the 
organic  remains  are  purely  fresh-water  or  terrestrial. 

On  the  morning  of  October  23  we  left  our  camp  on  the  North  Platte 
and  wound  across  the  plains  a  little  north  of  east  to  Pass  Creek.  To 
the  west  and  southwest,  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  there  is  a  rolling 
or  partial  plain  country,  occupied  by  cretaceous  beds.  From  the  high 
ridges  on  the  east  side  of  Platte  we  can  cast  a  glance  back  along  the 
route  we  have  traveled,  over  one  of  the  most  comprehensive  views  I  have 
observed  in  the  West.  On  the  north  side  is  the  continuous  wall  of  sand- 
stone, from  Bridger's  Pass  to  Medicine  Bow,  extending  up  the  Platte 
Eiver,  and  retreating  with  a  gentle  dip  northeast,  like  descending  steps, 
or  rather  like  chopped  waves.  The  clays  underneath  the  sandstone 
ridges  are  undoubtedly  of  cretaceous  age ;  but  I  have  been  inclined 
to  regard  the  group  of  alternate  beds  of  sandstones  and  clays,  which  are 
so  consi)icuous  from  Bridger's  Pass  to  Medicine  Bow  Eiver,  and  give 
the  characteristic  surface  features  to  a  very  large  area,  as  transition 
beds  or  beds  of  passage  from  the  true  cretaceous  era  to  the  tertiary. 
It  is  true  that  we  find  here  and  there  a  specimen  of  Inoceramus  or  BacuUte 
and  numerous  beds  of  several  species  of  Ostrea;  yet  the  time  AA^hich 
must  haA^e  been  required  to  bring  about  the  changes  in  the  sediments 
and  animal  life,  from  a  i^urely  marine  condition  to  that  of  purely  fresh- 
water, must  haA^e  been  immense.  That  a  few  of  the  more  hardy  marine 
forms  of  mollusca  should  have  lingered  on  up  into  the  period  of  the 
coal,  would  not  and  need  not  surprise  geologists.  So  consecutiA^edothe 
different  beds  appear  to  be,  that  I  am  of  the  opinion  that,  however 
minutely  they  may  be  studied  hereafter,  the  line  of  separation  between 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        77 

the  true  cretaceous  aud  tertiary  beds  will  be  arbitrary.  There  are 
many  localites  in  the  West  where  the  line  of  demarkation  is  so  well 
defined  by  the  absence  of  some  beds  that  it  cannot  be  mistaken,  but  I 
will  discuss  this  (juestion  more  fully  hereafter. 

Through  the  broad  valley  winds  the  North  Platte  Eiver  with  re- 
markably picturesque  beauty,  with  grassy  bottoms,  and  here  aud  there 
a  group  of  large  bitter  cottouwoods.  To  the  south  and  southeast  is  a 
snow-covered  range  of  mountains,  walling  in  the  North  Park,  and  form- 
ing a  portion  of  the  water-shed  of  the  continent.  Far  up  the  Platte 
Valley,  for  thirty*or  forty  miles,  the  surface  is  slightly  broken,  with  the 
ap]>earance  that  the  soft  cretaceous  clays  would  give  it. 

There  is  a  broad  belt  of  the  cretaceous  beds  extending  along  the  base 
of  the  mountains  and  running  across  the  course  of  the  Platte.  To  the 
eastward  rise  the  four  rounded  mountains  of  the  Medicine  Bow  range, 
of  which  Elk  Mountain  forms  a  part.  To  the  north  and  west  the  ridges 
of  transition  sandstone  pass  into  the  true  tertiary  toward  Fort  Steele  on 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad. 

The  bottoms  of  the  North  Platte  are  quite  fertile,  and  produce  excel- 
lent grass.  The  timber  is  not  abundant,  but  taken  in  the  aggregate 
there  is  enough  to  supply  the  sparse  population  that  will  be  likely  to 
settle  in  this  region.  The  mountains  would  furnish  a  most  abundant 
supply. 

The  sandstones  as  seen  along  the  Platte  are  somewhat  variable  in 
color  and  texture.  The  three  lowest  and  most  massive  beds,  fifty  to 
eighty  feet  in  thickness,  are  drab  brown  ;  the  fourth  one  is  yellowish 
gray,  very  friable,  separated  into  thin  layers,  and  weathered  into  some- 
what fantastic  forms,  one  of  which  resembles  a  human  face.  This  bed 
of  sandstone  is  full  of  large,  rusty-brown,  concretionary  masses,  which 
are  also  divided  into  thin  layers,  but  are  calcareous,  really  arenaceous 
limestones.  In  looking  at  the  surface  features  of  this  portion  of  the 
country,  these  four  beds  of  sandstone  mentioned  above  stand  out  in 
relief,  and  give  force  to  the  scener^^  Between  them  are  some  thin 
layers  of  sandstone  and  arenaceous  limestone,  with  seams  of  dark-brown 
siliceous  clay,  more  or  less'  slaty.  The  dip  of  these  beds  is  persistently 
northeast. 

Leaving  the  North  Platte  we  traveled  in  a  northeast  direction  over 
ui)lifted  ridges  for  a  time.  Soon  they  are  so  worn  down  that  they  are 
only  faintly  shown  above  the  surface,  and  for  about  twelve  miles  before 
reaching  Pass  Creek  our  road  was  over  a  level  plain  covered  with  a 
thick  deposit  of  drift.  The  evidences  of  erosion  are  very  conspicuous 
between  the  North  Platte  and  Pass  Creek.  The  broad,  level  plain  was 
once  covered  with  ridges  of  cretaceous  beds  inclining  at  a  large  angle. 
On  the  east  side  of  the  plain  the  ridges  dip  west  and  northwest  from 
the  mountains.  On  the  southwest  side  of  Elk  Mountain  are  very  higli 
ridges  of  sedimentary  rocks,  but  they  are  only  a  few  miles  in  extent. 
The  main  ridge,  which  lies  next  to  the  granite,  is  comi^osed  of  carbonifer- 
ous limestone.  The  valley  near  it,  is  formed  by  the  scooping  out  of  the 
soft,  red,  arenaceous  clays  of  the  triassic;  then  comes  Jurassic,  cretace- 
ous, and  lastly  the  tertiary  beds,  gently  inclining  toward  the  plains. 

These  formations  are  more  or  less  conspicuously  shown,  depending 
upon  the  texture  of  the  materials.  The  granite  mountains  rise  up  about 
two  thousand  feet  above  the  base ;  the  ridge  of  carboniferous  limestone 
is  fi.ve  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet;  the  third  ridge  is  cretaceous,  one 
hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  while  the  drab  sandstones  of  the 
transition  group  pass  oft*  northward  in  a  series  of  low  ridges. 

Leaving  Pass  Creek,  W'C  enter  Rattle  Snake  Pass,  with  the  drab  sand- 


78        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

stones,  luulerlaid  by  ^ell  kuowri  upper  cretaceous  clays,  outcropping  on 
the  left  baud,  and  tbe  rather  curious,  mound-like  ridges  of  the  dark  plastic 
clays  of  tbe  lower  cretaceous,  on  tbe  right.  Along  tbe  Hanks  of  the 
mountains  it  is  quite  seldom  that  all  the  formations  are  clearlj"  shown. 
Sometimes  portions  have  been  removed  by  erosion  or  concealed  by  drift 
deposits ;  or  all  the  beds  are  so  crushed  together  that  only  two  or  three  of 
them  are  exj)osed  to  the  eye.  At  tliis  locality  for  a  short  distance, 
perhaps  one  or  two  miles,  the  lower  cretaceous  clays  are  remarkably 
well  shown,  lying  on  the  sides  of  the  mountains;  while  the  Jurassic,  red- 
beds,  and  carboniferous  are  scarcely  seen  or  are  concealed  entirely.  We 
know  that  they  must  exist  here  in  their  full  development,  for  just  west 
of  Eattlesnake  Creek  all  these  formations  are  very  clearly  shown  in 
lofty,  well-defined  ridges,  inclining  at  an  angle  of  20°  to  40°.  These  facts 
show  the  importance  of  careful  detailed  study  of  the  geology  of  all  the 
mountain  districts,  and  the  necessity  also  for  the  construction  of  a  suita- 
ble topographical  map  on  a  sufiiciently  large  sc'ale  to  show  these  changes 
clearly. 

Near  Fort  Halleck  the  carboniferous  limestones  rise  high  up  on  the 
sides  of  the  mountains,  resting  upon  the  granite.  All  the  more  recent 
beds  are  worn  away  or  so  concealed  as  not  to  be  visible.  East  of 
Fort  Halleck  the  ridges  of  sandstone  bend  oft'  to  the  northwest,  while 
to  the  east  and  southeast  the  sedimentarj'  rocks  jut  up  against  the  sides 
of  the  foot-hills  of  the  mountains. 

From  Elk  Mountain  to  Little  Laramie  River  there  are  no  remarkable 
exhibitions  of  the  uplifted  sedimentary  rocks.  For  the  most  part  the 
foot-hills  near  the  base  of  the  mountains  are  quite  smoothly  rounded 
off,  and  covered  with  grass ;  and  only  here  and  there  are  any  of  the  beds 
exposed.  High  up  in  the  mountains,  toward  the  sources  of  the  Big  and 
Little  Laramie  rivers,  are  some  fine  exposures  of  the  entire  series  of  sed- 
imentary beds ;  but  these  will  be  described  more  fully  in  a  subsequent 
portion  of  this  report. 

Along  the  flanks  of  Elk  Mountain  there  is  exposed,  in  one  or  two 
localities,  a  vertical  ridge  of  gray  sandstone  and  quartzite,  which  I  have 
regarded  as  No.  1,  or  lower  cretaceous.  The  rock  does  not  differ  in  tex- 
ture from  the  same  formations  as  seen  along  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
Laramie  range  from  Eed  Buttes  to  Cache  a  la  Poudre  and  southward ; 
but  in  this  instance  it  forms,  for  a  short  distance,  a  high  vertical  wall, 
pressing  up  close  to  the  granite  nucleus,  while  the  carboniferous  lime- 
stones are  carried  up  on  the  tops  of  the  granite  to  the  summit  of  the 
mountain. 

Our  camp  on  the  Medicine  Bow  Creek  was  a  pleasant  one,  with  an 
abundance  of  timber,  and  the  greatest  supply  of  grass  for  our  animals. 
The  bottoms  are  wide  and  of  inexhaustible  fertility.  The  vallej's  of  all 
the  little  branches  furnish  the  most  extensive  and  valuable  pastoral 
districts  for  stock.  Beaver  dams  occur  everywhere,  and  sometimes  flood 
a  space  half  a  mile  in  width.  In  the  branches  of  the  Medicine  Bow  the 
plastic  clays  of  the  lower  cretaceous  prevail,  in  a  horizontal  position.  All 
the  formations  seem  to  jut  up  agaiust  the  mountain  sides  with  very 
little  inclination.  The  river  emerges  from  a  sort  of  jog  in  the  range, 
ten  miles  or  more  south  of  Elk  Mountain,  and  the  cretaceous  beds,  nearly 
horizontal,  extend  down  into  the  plains  in  long,  grassy,  bench-like  ridges. 
On  the  Wagon  Hound  Creek  are  some  beds  of  sandstone  in  a  nearly 
vertical  position,  or  inclining  at  a  high  angle  from  the  mountains,  which 
are  intercalated  with  beds  of  clay  and  coal  seams,  evidently  the  beds  of 
passage  to  the  tertiary. 
After  passing  the  Medicine  Bow  Creek  eastward,  the  country  assumes 


GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY    OF    THE    TEKrwITOEIES.  79 

a  more  clieerful  aspect;  tlic  water  is  as  pure  as  crystal,  and  grass  covers 
the  surface  very  thickly.  Dense  groves  of  aspeu  are  abundant  among 
the  foot-hills,  and  the  little  streams  are  all  fringed  with  timber.  From 
the  summit  of  a  high  hill  on  the  west  side  of  Kock  Creek  we  have  the 
finest  view  of  the  Laramie  Plains  I  have  ever  seen.  We  reached  Ixock 
Creek  on  one  of  those  clear  days  after  a  raiustorm,  when  the  sun  shines 
out  with  that  Avonderful  brightness  which  is  pecnliar  to  this  country. 
The  entire  area  of  the  Laramie  Plains  was  spread  out  before  us  like  a  pan- 
orama. The  Laramie  range  forms  a  perfect  wall  on  the  east  and  north 
side,  and  marks  the  horizon  from  the  east,  around  to  northwest,  and 
apparently  dies  out.  To  the  north,  Laramie  Peak  is  as  plainly  visible  as 
it  is  from  Fort  Laramie  ou  the  opposite  side  of  the  range,  and  rises  high 
above  any  other  portion.  The  entire  surface  of  the  phains  east  of  the 
Medicine  Bow,  encircled  by  the  main  Rocky  Mountains  ou  the  south, 
and  the  Laramie  range  ou  the  east  and  north,  has  been  smoothed  oft' by 
deuudation  and  grassed  over,  so  that  it  forms  one  vast  pasture-ground 
about  sixty  miles  in  extent  from  east  to  west,  and  nearly  the  same  dis- 
tance from  north  to  south.  From  the  mountains  on  the  south  side  de- 
scend, parallel  with  the  valleys  of  the  streams,  beautiful  benches, 
with  smooth,  table-like  summits;  while  forming  a  iiortion  of  the  foot-hills 
of  the  mountains  are  numerous  rounded  hills,  grassed  over,  and  paved 
ou  the  tops  and  south  side  with  the  differeut  kinds  of  rocks  which  con- 
stitute the  nucleus  of  the  mountain  rauge,  as  garnetiferous  gneiss, 
quartzites  of  all  colors,  red  and  gray  granites,  with  quartz,  trap  rocks 
of  various  textures,  fibrous  gneiss,  &c.  These  rocks  are  quite  well  worn, 
and  they  seem  to  lie  ou  the  summits  of  the  hills  as  they  were  dropped 
by  an  iceberg,  and  present  the  appearance  of  leaning  to  the  northward 
as  if  ou  the  move.  The  shape  of  the  hill  and  the  position  of  the  stray 
masses  impresses  one  with  the  thought  that  they  were  only  delayed  for 
a  time  on  their  way  from  the  mountains  to  the  plains.  These  examples 
of  local  drift  or  erratic  blocks  are  very  common  and  well  defined  in  the 
Laramie  Plains.  Indeed,  I  have  never  seen  any  evidences  in  the  Eocky 
Mountain  region  of  any  foreign  drift.  All  the  superficial  deposits  belong- 
ing to  the  quarternary  period,  seem  to  me  to  be  local  in  their  origin. 

Eock  Creek  Valley  is  very  beautiful  and  picturesque.  The  stream 
emerges  from  a  very  narrow  gorge  in  the  mountains,  which  is  tiovered 
with  a  dense  growth  of  pines.  As  we  look  down  the  stream  from  the 
gorge  the  valley  seems  to  expand  to  two  or  three  miles  in  width,  and  there 
are  three  belts  of  trees  winding  through  it  as  if  there  were  as  many 
separate  streams.  The  other  portions  of  the  valley  are  like  a  meadow. 
About  half  a  mile,  along  the  old  stage  road,  on  Eock  Creek,  the  meta- 
mori)hic  rocks  are  well  shown,  holding  a  nearly  vertical  position.  There 
are  gray  and  reddish  feldspar  beds,  inclining  60°.  There  are  also  beds 
of  what  ap])ears  to  be  ancient  trap.  These  ridges  form  steps  which  lead 
up  to  the  Snowy  rauge.  o^o  sedimentar}"  rocks  older  than  the  creta- 
ceous are  seen  in  the  vallej"  of  Eock  Creek.  The  valley  is  literally  cov- 
ered with  water-worn  boulders  of  all  kinds,  mostly  metamorphic,  and 
hence  its  name.  These  boulders  diminish  in  size  as  we  descend  the 
creek  until  they  nearly  or  quite  disappear.  All  the  hills  ou  either  side 
show  accumidatious  of  these  worn  rocks  on  the  side  facing  the  moun- 
tains. On  the  east  side  of  Eock  Creek  the  yellow  sandstone  which  un- 
derlies the  long  bench  is  undoubtedly  cretaceous  No.  5,  and  contains  a 
few  fossils,  among  which  are  the  usual  Inoceramus  and  BacuUtes  ovatus. 

On  the  east  side  of  Cooper's  Creek  there  is  a  long,  high  ridge,  with  its 
abrupt  side  toward  the  mountains,  and  covered  thickly  with  the  rounded 
boulders — a  marked  illustration  of  the  direction  from  which  the  bould- 


80  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TEERITOKIES. 

ers  were  derived.  The  valley  of  Cooper's  Creek  is  a  broad,  meadow-like 
expansion,  and  produces  a  thick  growth  of  grass,  which  supplies  an. 
abundant  provision  for  stock  in  the  winter.  All  these  streams  emerge 
from  the  mountains  through  narrow  cafious.  From  Elk  Mountain  to 
Big  Laramie  I  doubt  whether  any  rocks  older  than  the  cretaceous  are 
exi)osed  on  the  flanks  of  the  mountains,  and  these  in  many  places  are 
obscured  by  heavy  deposits  of  drift. 

The  valley  of  the  Little  Laramie  is  now  mostly  occupied  by  ranches. 
Thousands  of  cattle  wander  over  its  broad  meadows  and  on  the  up- 
land plains,  and  hundreds  of  tons  of  hay  are  prepared  every  year.  It 
is  probable  that  this  region  is  destined  to  become  celebrated  as  one  of 
the  finest  pastoral  districts  in  America. 

Leaving  Big  Laramie  we  ascended  the  western  slope  of  the  Laramie 
range  by  way  of  Cheyenne  Pass,  across  the  cretaceous,  Jurassic,  and 
triassic  or  red  beds.  The  latter  gives  a  bright  brick -red  appearance  to 
a  wide  belt  along  the  east  side  of  the  road  for  30  to  40  miles.  A  bed 
of  bluish  limestone  covers  the  western  slope  of  the  Laramie  range  with 
remarkable  uniformity,  like  the  roof  of  a  house,  inclining  10°  t'o  15°. 
Underneath  this,  toward  the  summit,  a  bed  of  yellowish-white  limestone 
appears,  with  well-marked  carboniferous  fossils.  Toward  the  summit 
of  the  range  we  pass  over  a  depression  or  valley  of  considerable  depth, 
which  seems  here  to  separate  the  changed  from  the  unchanged  rocks. 
We  then  come  to  reddish  micaceous  feldspathic  granites.  Indeed,  all 
varieties  and  textures  of  granitic  rocks  occur  on  the  summit  of  this 
range.  We  continue  to  travel  over  ridge  after  ridge  of  metamorphic 
rocks — some  very  fine  in  texture,  others  quite  coarse, — until  we  come  to 
the  smooth,  plain-like  area  which  forms  the  central  portion.  This  grassy 
belt  constitutes  the  real  crest  or  divide,  and  after  passing  this  we  travel 
over  ridge  after  ridge  of  metamorphic  rocks  similar  to  those  on  the 
west  side,  but  with  a  reversed  dip,  showing  a  distinct  anticlinal ;  and 
at  the  east  end  of  the  pass,  at  the  sources  of  Lodge  Pole  Creek,  the 
metamorphic  rocks  rise  up  from  beneath  the  red  sands  and  limestones 
in  perfect  conformity,  so  far  as  they  are  visible  to  the  eye.  On  the 
east  slope  are  broken  ridges,  which  show  the  carboniferous  limestones 
inclining  3°  to  10°.  Curiously  rounded  ravines,  carved  out  of  the 
ridges  by  water,  separate  them  into  picturesque  fragments.  The  road 
through  Cheyenne  Pass  is  excellent,  and  is  paved  with  crystals  of  feld 
spar.    The  soil  is  fertile  and  the  grass  is  good. 

South  of  Laramie  Peak  there  is  a  great  scarcity  of  timber  on  this 
range,  so  that  it  does  not  deserve  the  name  of  "Black  Hills,"  which  is 
often  applied  to  it. 

Just  south  of  Crow  Creek  there  is  an  illustration  of  the  granite  rocks 
carrying  up  the  carboniferous  limestones  on  their  summits  in  a  nearly 
horizontal  position.  The  tertiary  beds  jut  up  against  the  base  of  the 
range,  entirely  concealing  all  traces  of  older  rocks,  so  that  larger  areas 
of  older  formations  are  broken  oft  and  lifted  up  far  above  the  plains  on 
the  summits  of  the  mountains.  This  is  not  an  uncommon  occurrence 
along  the  flanks  of  all  the  mountain  ranges.  It  only  shows  how  interest- 
ing and  complicated  are  the  details  of  the  study  of  these  ranges,  however 
simple  their  structure  may  seem  to  be  in  the  aggregate. 

Leaving  Cheyenne  Pass,  we  cross  over  a  remarkable  parallel  valley, 
or  one  which  has  been  scooped  out  near  the  base  of  the  mountains  and 
extends  along  parallel  with  it.  It  extends  from  the  ridge  south  of  the 
drainage  of  Crow  Creek  to  the  Chugwater.  The  modern  tertiary  beds 
extend  down  to  Cheyenne,  a  distance  of  fifteen  miles. 

We  ha.ve  now  (November  1,)  reached  our  point  of  departure  on  the  6th 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        81 

of  August  last.  Two  belts  of  country  have  been  explored :  1.  North  of 
the  railroad  by  way  of  North  Platte,  Eed  Buttes,  Sweetwater,  South  Pass, 
to  Fort  Bridger.  2.  South  of  the  railroad,  from  Fort  Bridger  via  Henry's 
Fork,  Green  River,  Bitter  Creek,  Bridger's  Pass,  Medicine  Bow  Moun- 
tains, Cheyenne  Pass,  to  Cheyenne  again. 

We  shall  occupy  ourselves  next  with  a  description  of  the  third  or  mid- 
dle belt  connecting  the  two  already  described,  extending  from  Cheyenne 
to  Salt  Lake  Valley  along  the  line  of  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad. 

We  shall  also  gather  up  some  of  the  fragments  from  point  to  point 
which  may  have  been  omitted,  or  not  fully  explained,  in  the  preceding 
portions  of  this  report. 
6  G 


I>_A.IIT    II. 


Chapter— 
VII.  GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  GEOLOGY  OF  THE  MISSOUEI  VALLEY. 
Vm.  FROM  OMAHA  TO  CHEYENNE. 
IX.  OVER  THE  FIRST  RANGE. 
X.  THE  LARAMIE  PLAINS. 
XL  WESTWARD  TO  BEAR  RIVER. 
XII.  BEAR  RIVER  TO  GREAT  SALT  LAKE  VALLEY. 
Xni.  GENERAL  REVIEW  OF  THE  GEOLOGY  OF  THE  COUNTRY  FROM  OMAHA 

TO  SALT  LAKE  VALLEY. 
XIV.  OBSERVATIONS  ON  MINES.— ANALYSES  OF  COALS,  ORES,  AND  SAI.TS. 


GflOLOGY  OF  THE  MISSOURI  VALLEY. 


CHAPTER  yn. 

GENERAL  VIEW  OF  THE  GEOLOGY  OF  THE  MISSOUEI  VALLEY. 

Ill  order  that  our  description  of  the  geology  of  that  belt  of  country 
bordering  the  line  of  the  IJnion  Pacific  Eailroad  may  be  more  clearly 
understood,  we  may  in  this  chapter  take  a  somewhat  hasty  glance  at  the 
l)riucipal  geological  features  of  the  vast  area  drained  by  the  Missouri 
Elver  and  its  tributaries.  The  geologist  is  dependent  for  his  knowledge 
of  the  earth's  crust,  either  on  natural  sections  formed  by  the  channels 
of  rivers,  or  the  upheavals  of  mountain  chains,  or  on  the  artificial  cuts 
along  railways,  or  artesian  borings.  The  great  Missouri  cuts  a  section 
from  its  source  in  the  mountains  to  the  Mississippi,  a  distance  of  nearly 
3,000  miles,  affording  an  excellent  opportunity  for  studying  the  various 
geological  formations  which  occur  in  the  ISTorthwest.  The  branches  also, 
which  make  their  way  from  distant  points  on  either  side  of  the  Missouri, 
cut  the  country  up  in  every  direction,  so  that  it  is  hardly  possible  to  fail 
in  obtaining  at  least,  an  approximately  correct  interpretation  of  the 
records.  The  cuts  along  the  line  of  the  railroad  are,  as  it  were,  slices 
in  the  earth's  crust  which  often  reveal  the  nature  of  the  underlying 
formations  with  wonderful  clearness,  throwing  a  flood  of  light  upon  ob- 
scure points.  Many  of  the  observations  also,  which  were  made  for  prac- 
tical purposes  by  the  engineers,  as  well  as  the  exploration  for  useful 
minerals  in  the  vicinity  of  the  road,  may  be  brought  into  the  service  of 
science.  Thus  the  elevations  which  have  been  taken  with  great  care 
across  the  continent  from  Omaha  to  San  Francisco  are  very  useful. 
Along  a  well-known  line  of  travel,  the  attention  of  the  student  of 
geology  will  most  likely  be  attracted  toward  the  principal  geological 
features,  and  on  this  account  I  hope  to  make  the  succeeding  chapters  a 
sort  of  guide  in  this  respect.  My  observations,  which  have  extended 
over  a  period  of  about  three  years,  may  be  regarded  as  correct  in  the  main, 
though  eveiy  year  new  facts  will  be  added. 

Before  starting  on  our  westward  tour  let  us  study  for  a  little  time  the 
wonderful  section  which  is  revealed  to  us  along  the  channel  of  the  Mis- 
souri Eiver.  It  has  long  been  known  that  the  northeastern  portion  of 
Nebraska  is  underlaid  by  rocks  of  the  upper  coal  measures.  These 
rocks  are  well  shown  from  the  south  line  of  the  State  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Platte  Eiver,  where  they  are  partially  concealed  by  a  great  thick- 
ness of  recent  deposits.  They  gradually  disappear  beneath  the  water- 
level  near  De  Soto,  about  thirty  miles  aboveOmaha.  If  we  ascend  the 
Platte  River  for  a  short  distance  we  shall  find  the  carboniferous  lime- 
stones finely  exposed,  and  the  opportunities  for  their  study  are  very 
much  aided  by  the  numerous  quarries  which  have  been  opened.  They, 
in  their  turn,  pass  beneath  the  water-level  of  the  river,  near  the  mouth 
of  the  Elkhorn,  and  are  not  again  visible  until  they  are  exposed  along 
flanks  of  the  mountain  ranges.  So  far  as  Nebraska  is  concerned,  the 
carboniferous  rocks  seem  to  be  directly  overlaid  by  the  rusty  sandstones 
of  the  lower  cretaceous,  No.  1.    In  the  valley  of  the  Big  and  Little  Blue 


86        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Elvers  some  yellow  and  buff  magnesiau  limestones  occur,  which  are  sug- 
gestive of  permian  relations,  but  it  is  quite  doubtful  whether  rocks  of 
that  age  extend  up  into  Nebraska,  although  they  occur  in  Kansas.  On 
my  geological  map  I  have  usually  colored  a  small  strip  of  permian 
extending  up  into  Southern  Nebraska,  but  our  present  knowledge  would 
indicate  that  it  might  be  omitted.  Although  some  of  the  fossils  seem 
to  possess  permian  affinities,  they  all  extend  down  into  the  coal  measures, 
and  therefore  are  not  peculiarly  characteristic.  As  we  have  before  re- 
marked, the  carboniferous  rocks  along  the  Missouri  Eiver  are  immediately 
overlapped  by  formations  of  cretaceous  age.  These  rocks  as  revealed 
along  the  Missouri,  have  been  separated  into  five  well-marked  divisions, 
which  have  been  designated  by  numbers  1,  2,  3,  4,  and  5,  and  by  groups, 
as  Dakota  Group,  Fort  Pierre  Group,  and  Fox  Hills  Group.  Inasmuch 
as  we  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  to  these  groups  in  describing  rocks  in 
the  cretaceous  epoch  in  other  portions  of  the  West,  we  will  introduce  here 
a  general  section  of  the  cretaceous  rocks  along  the  Missouri  Eiver,  as  pre- 
pared by  Mr.  Meek  and  the  writer  several  years  since,  and  published  in 
previous  reports.  There  are  so  many  students  of  western  geology 
scattered  over  the  country  at  the  present  time,  most  of  whom  cannot 
gain  access  to  the  memoirs  in  which  these  sections  have  been  pub- 
lished, that  this  will  be  a  sufficient  reason  for  reproducing  them  in 
this  connection.  Not  only  in  this  report,  but  also  in  subsequent  reports, 
we  shall  have  constant  occasion  to  refer  to  these  sections,  and  the  differ- 
ent groups  of  rocks.  The  sections  were  based  on  characters  obtained 
from  a  careful  study  of  the  groups  as  exposed  along  the  Missouri  Eiver, 
and  it  is  here  that  their  typical  characters  are  found.  As  we  depart 
from  this  center  in  any  direction  these  characters  are  modified  more  or 
less.  As  we  go  southward  into  the  Laramie  Plains,  Colorado,  or  New 
Mexico,  these  divisions  are  not  as  well  defined,'  and  Drs.  Newberry  and 
Leconte  have  very  properly  divided  the  whole  cretaceous  group,  as 
there  developed,  into  upper,  middle,  and  lower  cretaceous.  Yet,  to 
one  familiar  with  the  typical  divisions  as  seen  on  the  Upper  Missouri, 
geographical  extension  never  modifies  them  so  that  they  do  not  still 
possess  some  traces  of  their  original  characters. 

Formation  No.  1,  as  seen  all  along  the  flanks  of  the  mountains  from 
the  Big  Horn  and  Wind  Eiver  ranges  to  New  Mexico,  has  never  yielded 
a  single  characteristic  fossil,  and  the  lithological  characters  are  quite 
different  in  many  respects  from  those  which  are  peculiar  to  the  group, 
as  shown  near  Sioux  City  and  southward  into  Kansas.  Again,  in  their 
southward  extension,  the  division  into  upper  and  lower  cretaceous 
groups  would  probably  best  accord  with  the  facts  as  we  know  them  at 
the  present  time. 


GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 
General  section  of  tlie  cretaceous  rocJcs  of  the  Northwest. 


87 


Divisions  aucl  subdivisions. 


Localities.* 


8^ 


1^ 


f^a 


CS.2 


^Ig 

^1 


O  a 

J  o 
O  rt 


fGray,  ferruginous,  and  yellowish  sandstone, 

I     and  arenaceous  clays,  containing  Bdemni- 

'     tella  bulbosa,  Nautihis  Bckaxji,  Ammonites 

1     placenta,  A.  lobatus,  Scaphites  Conradi,  S. 

I     Nicollctti,  BacuUtcs  firandis,  Busyeon  Bairdi, 

Fusus  Culbertson,  F.  Neioberryi.  Aporrhais 

Americana,  Pseudo-bucclnum,  yebrascetisis, 

Mactra  Warrenana,    Cardium   subquadra- 

turn,  and  a  great  number  of  other  molluscoua 

fossils,  together  with  bones  of  ITosasaurus 

Missouriensis,  die. 

Dark-gi-ayahd  bluish  plastic  clays,  containing, 

near  the  upper  part.  Nautilus  Dekayi,  Ain- 

monites  placenta,  BacuUtcs  ovatus,  B.  com,- 

presstis,  Scaphites  nodosus,  Dentalium  gra- 

die,  Crassat-illa  Evansi,  Cucullcea  Ncbrascen- 

sis,  Inoceramus  Sagensis,  I.  Ncbrasccnsis,  I. 

Yanuxevii,  bones  of  Mosasaurus  Missouri- 

ensis,  <£c. 

Middle  zone  nearly  barren  of  fossils 

Lower  fossiliferous  zone,  containing  Ammon- 
ites complcxus,  Baculites  ovatus,  B.  compres- 
sus,  Helioceras  Mortoni,  H.  tortum,  H.  um- 
bilicatum,,  H.  cochleatuni,  Ptychoceras  Mor- 
toni, Fusus  vinculum.  Anisomyon  borealis, 
Amauropsis  paludiniformis,  Inoceramus 
.  sublcevus,  I.  tenui-lineatus,  bones  of  Mosa- 
saurus Missouriensis,  die. 
Dark  bed  of  very  fine  unctuous  clay,  contain- 
ing much  carbonaceous  matter,  with  veins 
and  seams  of  gypsum,  masses  of  sulphuret 
iron,  and  numerous  small  scales,  fishes, 
local,  filling  depressions  in  the  bed  below. 
'  Lead-gray  calcareous  marl,  weathering  to  ayel- 
lowish  or  whitish  chalky  appearance  above, 
containing  large  scales  and  other  remains  of 
fishes,  and  numerous  species  of  Ostrea  con- 

festa  attached  to  fragments  of  Inoceramus. 
'assing  down  into  light  yellowish  and 
whitish  limestone,  containing  great  num- 
bers of  Inoceramus problematicus,  I.  pseudo- 
m,ytiloides,  I.  aviculoides,  and  Ostrea  con- 
gesta,  fish  scales,  &c. 
'Dark-gray  laminated  clays,  sometimes  alter- 
nating "near  the  upper  part  with  seams  and 
layers  of  soft  gray  and  light-colored  lime- 
stone, Inoceramus  problematicus,  I.  tcnuiros- 
tratus,  I.  latiis,  I.  fragilis,  Ostrea  congesta, 
Yenilia  Mortoni,  Pholadomya  papyracea, 
Ammonites  Mullani,  A.  percarinatus,  A. 
vespertinus,  Scaphites  Warreni,  S.  larvce- 
formis,  S.  ventricoaus,  S.  vermiformis,  Nauti- 
lus elegans,  (?)  &c. 

'Yellowish,  reddish,  and  occasionally  white 
sandstone,  with,  at  places,  alternations  of 
various  colored  clays  and  beds  and  seams 
of  impure  lignite;  also  silicified  wood  and 
great  numbers  of  leaves  of  the  liigher  types 
of  dicotyledonous  trees,  with  casts  of  Phar- 
ella  (?)  Bakotensis,  Axinaca  Siouxensis,  and 
Cyprina  arenarea. 


Fox  Hills,  near  Moreau  Riv- 
er, near  Long  Lake,  above 
Fort  Pierre,  along  base 
Big  Horn  Mountains,  and 
on  ^N'orth  and  South  Platto 
Kivers. 


Sage  Creek,  Cheyenne  Elver, 
and  on  White  Eiver  above 
the  Mauvaises  Terres. 


Fort  Pierre  and  out  to  Bad 
Lands,  down  the  Missouri, 
on  the  high  country,  to 
Great  Bench 

Great  Bend  of  the  Missouri, 
below  Fort  Pierre. 


Near  Bijou  Hill,  on  the  Mis- 
souri. 


BlujBfs  along  the  Missouri, 
below  the  Great  Bend,  to 
the  vicinity  of  Big  Sioux 
Kiver;  also  below  there 
on  the  tops  of  the  Mils. 


Extensively  developed  near 
Fort  Benton,  on  the  Upper 
Missouri ;  also  along  the 
latter  from  ten  miles  above 
James  River  to  Big  Sioux 
River,  and  along  the  east- 
ern, slope  of  tile  Rocky 
Mountains  as  well  as  at 
the  Black  Hills. 


Hills  back  of  the  town  of 
Dakota ;  also  extensivelv 
developed  in  the  surround- 
ing country,  in  Dakota 
County,  below  the  mouth 
of  Big  Sioux  River,  thence 
extending  southward  into 
northeasteyn  Kansas  and 
beyond. 


Feet. 
500 


70tt 


200 


800 


2ba 


The  names  which  are  given  to  these  groups,  both  in  the  cretaceous 
and  tertiary  rocks,  are  always  provisional,  and  are  intended  as  specific 
points  around  which  to  group  such  facts  as  may  add  to  our  own  knowl- 
edge from  year  to  year ;  and  when  it  shall  have  been  found  that  any  of 
theui  have  served  their  purpose,  and  are  no  longer  needed,  they  will  be 
dropped  from  the  list.  Objections  may  be  made  to  the  use  of  local  geo- 
graphical names,  but  they  have  been  found  by  experience  to  serve  our 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 


purpose  best.  lu  Nebraska  the  sandstones  of  the  Dakota  Group  rest 
directly  upon  rocks  of  the  age  of  the  coal  measures.  Although  they  do 
not  appear  in  full  force  until  we  reach  a  point  near  De  Soto  and  beyond, 
yet  remnants  of  the  sandstones  make  their  appearance  within  five  or 
ten  miles  of  Omaha  at  any  point  north  of  the  Platte  Eiver.  It  is  quite 
probable  that  they  once  extended  all  over  Nebraska,  passing  across  into 
Iowa,  and  how  much  further  eastward  we  have  not  definite  data  to  de- 
termine. The  coal-measure  limestones  are  thus  exposed  in  northeastern 
Nebraska  by  the  erosion  of  the  cretaceous  rocks.  This  is  a  very  import- 
ant matter  in  a  practical  point  of  view,  for  the  sandstones  of  the  cretace- 
ous group  are  seldom  of  much  value  for  building  ijurposes,  aud  the  ex- 
posure of  large  areas  of  the  carboniferous  rocks  in  the  most  fertile  por- 
tions of  the  State  is  a  fact  of  inestimable  value. 

Fig.  X. 


Chalk  Bluff?,  Cretaceous  No.  1,  near  Blackbird  Hill,  Nebraska. 

Along  the  banks  of  the  Missouri  Eiver,  on  the  Indian  Eeserve,  is  a 
lofty  escarpment  of  yellow,  rotten,  coarse-grained  sandstone,  sometimes 
called  Chalk  Bluffs,  from  their  whitish  chalky  appearance  in  the  dis- 
tance. They  are  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in 
height,  and  about  half  way  up,  or  at  least  fifty  feet  above  the  water,  and 
as  much  from  the  toj)  of  this  peri)endicular  wall,  are  carved  out  numer- 
ous Indian  hieroglyphics,  as  pipes,  canoes,  various  kinds  of  animals,  rude 
representations  of  the  Indians  themselves,  &c.  The  question  at  once 
arises,  who  carved  them  here  1  The  Indians  now  living  cannot  account 
for  them,  and  call  the  rocks  "Medicine,"  a  term  which  they  apply  to 
all  things  that  are  mysterious  to  them.  The  characters  closely  resemble 
those  on  their  robes  worn  at  the  present  day,  and  are  doubtless  emblem- 
atical of  some  important  event  in  Indian  history.  These  figures  must 
have  been  carved  here  many  centuries  ago,  when  that  portion  of  the 
escarpment  was  accessible  from  beneath  in  someway,  all  trace  of  which 
has  been  effaced  by  the  water.  Similar  ones  are  still  to  be  seen  in  other 
localities,  especially  in  the  mountains.  A  small  creek,  whicli  flows  into 
the  Missouri  a  few  miles  below  the  "  Eunning  Water,"  has  an  Indian 
name  which  signifies  "  Where  the  dead  have  worked,"  from  the  fact, 
that  upon  the  high  chalky  walls  that  form  its  banks  are  some  of  the 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        89 

same  mysterious  carviugs.    These  soft  sandstones,  or  chalky  limestones, 
are  well  adapted  for  recording  tlieir  bieroglyphical  history. 

But  these  rocks  bear  upon  them  far  plainer  characters  than  those  de- 
scribed above,  and  characters  which  carry  the  history  of  events  infi- 
uitely  farther  back  into  the  past  than  any  ever  carved  upon  stone  by  hu- 
man hands.  Near  the  Blackbird  Mission,  and  in  other  localities  above 
and  below  this  phice,  has  been  found  a  remarkable  series  of  fossil  plants 
embedded  in  the  sandstones  and  quartzites,  which  has  thrown  much 
light  upon  the  ancient  tiora  of  this  region.  These  sandstones  all  belong 
to  the  lower  cretaceous  or  chalk  period,  and  it  is  now  well  ascertained 
that  with  the  beginning  of  that  era,  began  upon  our  continent  the  dawn 
of  existing  deciduous  fruit  and  forest  trees,  as  did  also  the  present  race 
of  edible  "fishes,  as  the  herrring,  perch,  &c.  We  find  impressions 
of  leaves  in  rocks,  remarkably  well  preserved,  representing  the  genera 
Platanus,  Po2)ulus,  Fagus,  Liriodendron,  Sassafras,  Magnolia,  Ficus,  and 
others.  Some  of  these  plants  indicate  a  warmer  climate  at  one  time  in 
this  region  than  at  present,  though  hardly  tropical,  or,  as  Dr.  Newberry 
has  shown,  not  even  sub-tropical,  although  on  the  Pacific  coast  species 
of  the  palm  and  cinnamon,  indicative  of  a  tropical  climate,  are  found. 
It  may  be  that  when  these  rocks  are  more  thoroughly  studied,  plants 
of  a  tropical  or  sub-tropical  character  will  be  found.  I  take  pleasiu-e 
in  transcribing  the  following  paragraph  from  Dr.  Newberry's  able  report 
on  these  plants: 

At  tlie  base  of  the  cretaceous  series  in  New  Jersey,  occiir  a,  coarse,  soft  saudstone 
aud  beds  of  saudy  clay  which  coiitaiu  a  lart;-e  uumber  of  fossil  leaves,  niauy  of  which, 
collected  by  Professor  George  H.  Cook,  of  New  Briinswick,  by  Messrs.  Meek,  Haydeu, 
and  others,  have  been  submitted  to  me  for  exaniinatiou.  Unfortuuatcly  most  of  these 
leaves  are  inclosed  in  a  material  so  coarse  and  friable  that  they  have  been  much  broken 
and  are  scarcely  susceptible  of  accurate  study.  They  form,  however,  quite  a  rich  flora, 
which  includes  a  number  of  species  not  yet  obtained  from  the  cretaceous  beds  of  the 
West,  with  others  that  are  apparently  identical  with  some  obtained  by  myself  on  the 
banks  of  the  Whetstone  Creek  in  Western  Kansas.  Among  these  plants  is  a  beautiful 
conifer,  generieally  new,  as  indicated  T)y  its  cones,  which  are  in  a  good  state  of  preser- 
vation. The  plants  from  this  district  have  not  as  j'et  been  carefnily  studied,  and  they 
form  an  attractive  subject  for  future  investigation.  In  the  circumstances  of  their  fos- 
sihzatiou  they  resemble  the  plants  of  the  We.st,  and  a^jparently  indicate  an  invasion 
of  the  ocean,  occasioned  by  a  subsidence  by  which  the  limits  of  tlie  continent  Avere  con- 
tracted, but  to  what  extent  on  its  eastern  margin,  we  have  no  means  of  determining 
accurately. 

By  referring  to  the  list  of  plants  on  a  preceding  page  it  will  be  seen  that  the  cre- 
taceous strata  of  the  west  coast  include  some  forms  not  yet  discovered  in  the  Kansas 
and  Nebraska  beds.  Among  these,  SaUsl}iiria,  SahaJ,  Ci.iDiamomum,  &c.,  are  indicative 
of  a  warm  climate.  Possibly  these  genera  may  hereafter  be  detected  in  the  plant  beds 
of  Kansas,  Nebraska  and  New  Mexico,  but  as  yet  we  have  no  intimation  of  their  exist- 
ence, and  there  is  nothing  now  known  in  the  cretaceous  flora  of  that  region  which 
gives  it  a  tropical  or  even  sub-tropical  character. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  this  vegetation  grew  upon  a  broad  continental  surface 
of  which  the  central  portion  was  considerably  elevated.  This  would  give  us  a  physical 
condition  not  unlike  that  of  the  continent  at  the  present  day,  and  it  would  seem  to  be 
inevitable  that  the  isothermal  lines  should  be  curved  over  the  surface  somewhat  as 
they  are  at  present.  It  may  very  well  hax>peu,  therefore,  that  we  shall  find  the  palms 
aud  cinnamons  restricted  to  the  western  margin  of  the  cretaceous  continent.  It  will 
be  seen  by  the  notes  now  given  of  the  tertiary  flora  of  out  continent  that  at  a  later 
date  palms  grew  in  the  same  region  where  these  cretaceous  plants  are  found,  but  cin- 
namon and  other  tropical  plants  seem  to  be  entirely  wanting  in  the  tertiary  flora  of  the 
central  parts  of  the  continent,  while  on  the  west  coast  both  palms  and  cinnamons 
lived  during  the  tertiary  period  as  far  north  as  the  British  line.  Wo  have,  therefore, 
negative  evidence  from  these  facts — though  it  may  be  reversed  at  an  early  day  by 
further  observations — that  the  climate  of  the  interior  of  our  continent  during  the 
tertiary  age  was  somewhat  warmer  than  during  the  cretaceous  period,  aud  that  during 
both  the  same  relative  differences  of  climate  prevailed  between  the  central  and  western 
portions  that  exist  a-t  the  present  day. 

Near  the  entrance  of  the  Big  Sioux  Eiver  into  the  Missouri  the 


90        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Dakota  Group  disappears  beneath  the  water-level,  and  is  succeeded  by 
a  series  of  black,  plastic,  laminated  clays,  with  lighter-colored  arenaceous 
partings  and  thin  layers  of  sandstone.  Near  the  mouth  of  the  Ver- 
million Eiver  the  upper  portion  becomes  more  calcareous,  and  gradually 
passes  up  into  the  next  group.  This  formation  has  been  called  No.  2, 
or  Fort  Benton  Group.  It  is  often  immensely  thickened  in  the  vicin- 
ity of  the  mountains  from  the  north  line  to  New  Mexico,  but  on  the 
Lower  Missouri,  where  it  was  first  observed  by  geologists,  it  never 
reaches  a  thickness  of  more  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  two  hun- 
dred feet.  In  New  Mexico  it  occurs  as  the  most  conspicuous  of  the 
cretaceous  divisions,  and  along  the  line  of  the  Kansas  Pacific  Eailway, 
in  Kansas,  it  has  yielded  large  quantities  of  the  most  remarkable  rep- 
tilian remains.  In  the  chapter  on  the  geology  of  that  route  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  dwell  more  minutely  on  the  interesting  facts  connected 
with  this  group.  On  the  Missouri  Eiver  it  has  yielded  a  number  of 
species  of  Inoceramus,  Scaphites,  Amonites,  and  some  thin  layers  are 
made  up  of  remains  of  the  scales  and  teeth  of  fishes.  Farther  up  the 
Missouri  Eiver,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Niobrara,  and  resting  on  these 
sandstones  and  clays,  is  a  thick  bed  of  chalky  limestone,  containing 
vast  quantities  of  a  small  species  of  oyster,  and  a  large  bivalve,  Ino- 
ceramus  problematicus^  which  is  identical  in  species,  or  closely  allied 
with  one  found  in  many  portions  of  Europe.  Some  remarkable  forms  of 
fishes,  not  unlike  our  shad  or  herring,  also  sharks'  teeth,  have  been 
found  in  abundance.  A  few  other  shells  have  been  described  in  various 
localities  in  this  chalk,  and  all  of  them  are  of  a  strictly  marine  charac- 
ter Much  of  this  limestone,  though  colored  extensively  with  oxide  of 
iron,  is  soft,  and  leaves  a  mark  on  a  blackboard  or  cloth  like  our  com- 
mon chalk  of  commerce.  It  is  also  composed  largely  of  infusorial 
remains,  as  distinctly  shown  under  the  microscope.  This  formation,  as 
well  as  the  sandstone,  is  very  widely  distributed  over  the  plain  country 
in  Nebraska,  Dakota,  and  Kansas,  and  its  influence  on  the  agricultural 
prosperity  of  these  regions  is  very  great.  The  fertility  of  the  soil  is 
largely  due  to  the  calcareous  matter  of  the  one  mingled  with  the  silica 
derived  from  the  other.  The  bluff-like  character  of  these  chalky  lime- 
stones, as  shown  along  the  channel  of  the  Missouri  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Niobrara  to  the  mouth  of  White  Eiver,  is  well  illustrated  by  Figure  2. 

Fijr.  2. 


Bluifs  of  Niobrara  Group,  or  Cretaceous  No.  3. 

This  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  cretaceous  divisions.    It  is 
found  in  some  form  wherever  the  cretaceous  beds  occur,  from  the  north 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TEREIT OKIES.  91 

line  to  New  Mexico,  and  probably  much  farther.  As  it  is  developed  on 
the  Lower  Missouri,  and  southward  through  I^Tebraska,  Kansas,  into 
Texas  and  the  Indian  Territory,  it  coctains  thick,  massive  beds  of 
chalky  limestone.  On  the  Kansas  Pacific  Railway,  at  Forts  flays  and 
Wallace,  this  limestone  is  sawed  into  blo(;ks  of  any  desirable  size  with 
a  common  saw,  and  used  for  building  purposes  ;  but  along  the  flanks  of 
the  mountains,  or  in  the  far  West,  it  never  reveals  its  chalky  character. 
It  is  found  in  thin,  slaty,  calcareous  layers,  but  universally  character- 
ized by  the  presence  of  the  oyster,  Ostrca  congcsta,  and  also  some 
form  of  Inocerarmis,  or  a  few  fish  remains,  but  the  little  oyster  is 
ubiquitous.  We  have  spoken  briefly  of  the  lower  series  of  cretaceous 
rocks,  as  shown  in  the  section.  In  these  three  divisions  there  seems  tp 
be  no  well-marked  line  of  separation,  and  the  more  we  study  them  the 
more  intimately  do  they  seem  to  be  blended  together.  We  shall  here- 
after refer  to  the  seams  of  coal  that  have  been  found  in  the  Dakota 
Group ;  and  we  will  state  just  here  that  one  local  bed  of  carbonaceous 
clay,  which  was  used  to  some  extent  as  fuel,  was  found  in  No.  2,  on  the 
Nebraska  side  of  the  Missouri,  about  thirty  miles  above  Sioux  City. 
In  no  other  portion  of  the  West  have  we  ever  seen  anything  that  ap- 
proached coal  in  this  group. 

The  Fort  Pierre  Group  begins  to  overlap  the  Niobrara  Group  below 
the  mouth  of  the  Niobrara,  and  above  that  point,  although  the  river  cuts 
deep  down  into  the  chalk  limestone,  and  long  lines  of  cone  like  bluffs 
extend  up  nearly  to  the  Great  Bend,  yet  the  distant  hills  on  either  side  of 
the  river  show  plainly  the  dark,  shaly  clays  of  No.  4.  This  formation  cov- 
ers a  vast  area  of  country,  perhaps  fifty  thousand  square  miles  or  more, 
and  wherever  it  prevails  it  gives  to  the  surface  the  aspect  of  desolation. 
The  entire  thickness  of  the  grouj)  is  filled  with  the  alkaline  material 
which  is  so  well  known  in  the  West,  and  wherever  the  water  accumulates 
in  little  depressions  and  evaporates  the  surface  is  covered  with  a  deposit 
of  the  salt  varying  from  an  inch  to  several  inches  in  thickness.  The 
water  that  flows  through  these  clays  is  usually  impregnated  with  these 
salts  and  thus  rendered  unfit  for  use.  Although  these  clays  seem  to  be 
so  sterile,  and  in  the  dry  season  are  typical  of  extreme  aridity,  yet  they 
are  by  no  means  destitute  of  vegetation.  The  various  species  of  cJien- 
opodiaceous  shrubs  and  herbs  that  are  peculiar  to  the  West  find  their  natu- 
ral habitat  in  these  clays,  and  grow  most  luxuriantly.  The  sarcobatus 
reaches  its  highest  growth  in  this  region.  It  is  probable,  however,  that 
the  country  underlaid  by  rocks  of  this  grouj)  will  prove  fertile  when 
it  can  be  irrigated.  The  somber  appearance  given  to  the  country  by 
the  black  clays  is  unfavorable  to  it.  Nowhere  except  on  the  Upper 
Missouri  have  I  seen  this  formation  so  well  defined  or  so  fruitful  in  or- 
ganic remains.  The  two  zones  mentioned  in  the  section  may  be  said  to 
exist  geographically  as  well  as  geologically.  At  the  Great  Bend  there 
is  a  large  thickness  of  the  strata  filled  with  concretions  that  are  made 
up  mostly  of  an  aggregate  of  fossils,  as  Ammonites,  Baculites,  &e.  Near 
Chain  de  Roche  Creek  these  concretions  have  been  swept  down  into  the 
Missouri  by  the  swift  current  during  the  sjmng  floods,  and  in  the  low 
water  of  autumn  they  present  a  picturesque  appearance,  as  is  shown  in 
Fig.  3. 

This  fossil  zone  extends  across  the  country  in  a  nearly  east  and  west 
direction.  Passing  above  this  point  very  few  fossils,  except  here  and 
there  a  baculite  or  bones  of  the  Mosasa^iriis,  are  found  for  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  miles,  when  another  belt  or  zone  of  fossils  ex- 
tends across  the  country  in  the  same  direction.  These  zones  undoubtedly 
represent  certain  depths  of  the  waters  in  the  great  cretaceous  sea,  which 


92 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 


were  peculiarly  favorable  for  the  production  and  existence  of  animal 
life.  Although  the  rivers  cut  deep  channels  through  the  different  forma- 
tions, we  do  not  meet  with  the  Fox  Hills  Group  along  the  Missouri  until  we 
reach  nearly  up  to  the  mouth  of  Cannon  Ball  Eiver,  yet  fifty  miles  or 

Fig.  3. 


Concietions  in  Mi'-'^ourn  River,  ucar  Chain  cle  Roclic  Creek. 

more  before  reaching  that  point  it  has  overlapped  the  Fort  Pierre 
Group.  In  traveling  across  the  plain  country  westward  from  Fort 
Pierre  we  find  it  occupying  the  entire  area.  Very  soon  after  passing 
west  of  the  Big  Cheyenne  Eiver  the  traveler  will  readily  recognize 
its  i)resence  by  the  more  cheerful  appearance  that  it  gives  to  the  surface, 
as  well  as  by  the  greatly  increased  growth  of  vegetation.  The  water  is 
jjure  and  good,  and  springs  become  quite  common  in  the  hills.  In  this 
group  also  there  is  a  remarkable  zone  of  fossils,  exending  across  the 
country  in  either  direction  from  the  Missouri  Eiver.  Near  the  mouth 
of  the  Cannon  Ball  Eiver,  the  surface  is  covered  with  rounded  concre- 
tions of  rusty-brown  arenaceous  limestone,  crowded  with  beautiful  mo- 
luscous  fossils.  This  belt  is  quite  narrow  and  extends*  eastward  toward 
the  Coteau  de  Prairie,  and  westward  between  the  Big  Cheyenne  and 
Grand  Elvers,  along  the  north  side  of  the  Black  Hills.  I  have  thus 
given  the  typical  features  which  those  groups  assume  on  the  Missouri 
Eiver.  As  we  recede  from  this  region  southward  there  are  many 
modifications,  especially  lithologically ;  yet  to  one  familiar  with  them 
they  never  lose  all  their  characters,  so  that  they  cannot  be  detected. 
Like  the  human  face,  neither  time  nor  distance  can  so  change  it  that 
it  does  not  retain  some  trace  of  its  original  features.  In  my  explora- 
tions I  have  traced  these  groups  over  hundreds  of  miles  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  I  have  no  doubt  that  they  extend  from  the  Arctic  Circle  to 
the  -Isthmus  of  Darien;  and  that  at  some  future  period  they  will  be  so 
carefully  studied  at  different  points  that  thcj^  may  be  connected  into 
one  harmonious  group.  All  the  facts  that  I  have  been  able  to  gather 
up  to  this  time  tend  toward  the  unity  and  simplicity  of  the  geology  of 
the  entire  Eocky  Mountain  system. 

If  the  reader  has  the  patience  and  interest  to  follow  me  through  this 
report,  he  will  find  frequent  allusions  to  all  these  groups  in  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  geology  of  various  localities.    Some  of  these  groups  come 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 


93 


to  the  surface  very  often,  not  unfrequently  in  unexpected  localities,  as 
is  observed  on  the  Yellowstone,  where  the  fossiliferous  beds  of  No.  4  are 
exposed  in  the  channel  of  the  stream  for  a  distance  of  sixty  miles. 
Nowhere  south  of  the  Missouri  Eiver  have  I  seen  any  locality  where  a 
distinct  line  of  separation  could  be  drawn  between  the  upper  and  lower 
series,  and  it  is  probable  that  this  line  will  be  best  shown  on  the  Upper 
Missouri  of  any  portion  of  the  West.  The  break  here  is  qnite  plain, 
lithologically,  and  so  far  as  the  organic  remains  are  concerned,  our  ex- 
plorations have  not  yet  been  able  to  secure  a  single  species  that  passes 
from  one  to  the  other.  The  next  important  feature  in  the  geology  of 
the  West  are  the  great  lake  basins,  which  seem  to  set  in  the  older  forma- 
tions and  in  each  other  like  dishes,  and  these  are  most  properly  called 
basins.  The  principal  one  is  the  Fort  Union,  or  Great  Lignite  Group, 
which  forms  the  transition  group  from  the  strictly  marine  condition  of  the 
cretaceous  period  to  the  epoch  of  the  numerous  fresh- water  lakes  which 
were  scattered  all  over  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Now  that 
the  attention  of  explorers  has  been  called  to  this  remarkable  system  of 
lakes,  I  have  no  doubt  they  will  be  found  to  have  existed  all  over  the 
western  portion  of  the  continent,  from  the  extreme  north  to  the  far 
south.  In  the  chapter  by  Dr.  Newberry  on  the  ancient  lakes  of  the 
West  there  is  a  most  graphic  description,  to  which  the  reader  is  referred. 
The  following  general  section  conveys  a  clear  idea  of  the  different  groups, 
so  far  as  they  were  known,  up  to  the  time  of  its  first  publication  in  the 
proceedings  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  December,  18G1.  As 
these  groups  will  be  frequently  referred  to  in  this  report  as  well  as  suc- 
ceeding reports,  and  as  each  year's  explorations  extends  their  area  or 
adds  new  facts  to  our  knowledge  of  them,  it  will  be  a  matter  of  interest. 

Genei'al  section  of  the  tertiary  rocks  of  Nebraska. 


CO 

o 

4 

Names. 

Subdivisions. 

a 

p 

3 

H 

Localities. 

11 

1 

Feet. 

Loup  River 

Fine  loose  sand,  -with  some  layers  of  lime- 

300 to  400 

On  Lonp  fork  of  Platte  Eiver, 

1 

beds. 

stone;  contains  bones  of  Ca?us,  Felis,  Cas- 

extending north  to  Niobrara 

o 

tor,  Equus,  Mastodon,  Testudo,  <£c.,  some 

River,  and  soutli  to  an  un- 

^ 

of  which  are  scarcely  distinguishable 

known  distance  beyond  the 

V     ^ 

from  living  species.    Also  Helix,  Physa, 

Platte. 

o 

Succinea,   probably  of  recent  species. 

s 

All  fresh-water  and  land  types. 

White  Riv- 

White and  lisht-drab   clays,  with  some 

1,000 

Bad  Lands  of  White  River, 

er  Group. 

beds  of  sandstone  and  local  layers  of 

or  more. 

under  the  Loup  River  beds. 

limestone.    Fossils:  Oreodon,  Tiianotlie- 

on  Niobrara,  and  across  the 

6 

rium,  Charopotamus,  Hhinoccros,  Anchi- 

country  to  the  Platte. 

g 

therium,  Hycenodon,      Machairodus,  Tri- 

o 

onyx,  Testudo,  Helix,  Planorbis,  Limnoea, 

ii 

petrified  wood,   <fcc.    All  extinct.    No 
brackish-water  or  marine  remains. 

"Wind  River 

Light-gray  and    ash-colored   sandstones. 

1,500 

Wind  River  Valley;  also  west 

deposits. 

with  more  or  less  argillaceous  layers. 
Fossils  :  fragments  of  Trionyx,  Testudo, 
with   largo   Helix,  Vivipara,    petrified 
wood,  &c.    No  marine  or  brackish-water 
types. 

to 
2,000 

of  Wind  River  Mountains. 

1 

1 

>.? 

Fort  Union 

Beds  of  clay  and  sand,  with  round  ferru- 

2,000 

Occupies  the  whole  country 
around  Fort  Union,  extend- 

or Great 

ginous  concretions,  and  numerous  beds. 

or  more. 

Lignite 

seams,  and  local  deposits  of  lignite,  great 

ing  north  into  the  British 

Group. 

numbers     of    dycotyledonous    leaves. 

possessions  to  unknown  dis- 

C 

stems,  ttc,  of  the  genera  Platanus,  Acer, 

tances;   also  southward  to 

o 

TJlmus,  Populus,   die,  with  very  largo 

Fort  Clark.    Seen  under  the 

>g 

leaves  of  true  fan  palms.    Also  Helix, 

WhiteRi ver  Group  on  North 

o 

Melania,  Vivipara,  Corbicula,  JJnio,  Os- 

*     Platte    River   above    Fort 

N 

trea,  Corbula,    and   scales    of    Lepido- 

Laramie.    Also  on  west  side 

tus,  with  bones  of  Trionyx,  Emys,  Comp- 

of  Wind  River  Mountains.    • 

temys,  Crocodilus,  ttc. 

94        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

"  The  passage  from  tlie  brackish  to  the  fresh-water  beds  in  the  oldest 
member  of  the  tertiary  of  this  region  seems  not  to  be  marked  by  any 
material  alteration  in  the  nature  of  the  sediments.  Nor  have  we,  so 
far  as  is  yet  known,  any  reasons  for  believing  that  any  climatic  or  other 
important  physical  changes  beyond  the  slow  rising  of  the  land,  and  the 
consequent  recession  of  the  salt  and  brackish  water,  took  i^lace  during 
the  deposition  of  the  whole  of  the  oldest  member  of  the  tertiary  here, 
since  we  find  a  considerable  proportion  of  the  species  of  fresh- water 
mollusca  ranging  through  this  whole  lower  member.  The  i)rincipal  dif- 
ference between  the  fossils  of  its  upper  and  lower  beds  consists  in  the 
gTadual  disappearance  of  strictly  brackish-water  types  as  we  ascend  from 
the  inferior  strata.  The  entire  series  of  Nebraska  tertiary  rocks  con- 
sists of  three  or  four  groups,  three  of  which,  at  least,  (and  probably 
four,)  evidently  belong  to  separate  and  distinct  epochs.  They  usually 
occur  in  isolated  basins,  but  have,  with  one  exception,  all  been  seen  in 
such  connection  as  to  leave  no  doubts  in  regard  to  their  order  of  super- 
position." 

The  most  important  thought  evolved  from  the  study  of  this  Fort 
Union  Group  is  the  fact,  which  we  now  believe  is  well  established,  that 
it  contains  the  history  of  the  growth,  step  by  step,  of  a  most  important 
period  of  our  continent.  The  area  which  it  occupies  is  not  yet  known, 
but  every  year  it  is  extended  north,  south,  and  west.  It  is  also  charac- 
terized by  numerous  beds  of  coal,  or  lignite  as  it  was  formerly  called, 
and,  so  far  as  the  Upper  Missouri  is  concerned,  most  of  the  coal  is  true 
lignite.  It  is  quite  probable  that  the  coal-making  period  began  in  the 
latter  portion  of  the  cretaceous  era,  and  extended  up  into  the  tertiary. 
The  observations  of  geologists  in  New  Mexico  and  Utah  j)oint  to  the 
conclusion  that  large  deposits  of  excellent  coal  occur  in  the  upper  cre- 
taceous series.  The  field  for  minute  study  in  this  direction  is  immense, 
and  we  must  await  the  results  of  future  explorations  before  we  can  de- 
cide positively.  Another  interesting  feature  connected  with  this  group 
is  the  splendid  series  of  fossil  plants  which  it  has  yielded,  showing  the 
existence  during  the  early  tertiary  ijeriod,  on  these  now  treeless  j)lains,  of 
forests  of  almost  subtropical  character  and  luxuriance.  Dr.  Newberry,  the 
celebrated  geologist  and  botanist,  has  already  described  more  than  fifty 
species  of  x)lants  from  this  gToup,  which  were  collected  on  the  Yellow- 
stone and  Missouri  Elvers,  many  of  them  indicating  forests  of  huge 
growth.  Among  them  are  not  less  than  eight  species  of  Popiilus,  (pop- 
lars,) four  species  of  Platanus,  a  sycamore,  and  a  species  of  fan  palm, 
the  leaves  of  which  must  have  had  a  spread  of  nearly  twelve  feet.  The 
very  interesting  remarks  of  Dr.  Newberry  in  this  connection  will  be  read 
with  pleasure  and  instruction  by  every  student  of  geology : 

TJiese  fossils  are  generally  well  preserved  in  a  calcareo-argillaceous  rock  of  a  light- 
drab  color,  upon  -wliich  the  leaves  are  delineated  with  a  distinctness  that  renders  them 
pleasant  objects  of  study,  as  well  as  attractive  specimens  for  the  cabinet.  They  are 
usually  detached  with  their  petioles  in  such  numbers  and  forms  as  indicate  maturity, 
and  a  common  cause  of  fall,  such  as  an  annual  frost.  The  mollusks  associated  with 
them  show  that  they  were  deposited  in  the  sediment  which  accumulated  at  the  bottom 
of  some  fi-esh-water  stream  or  lake,  aud  tliey  are  generally  spread  out  so  smoothly  and 
so  entire,  that  it  is  evident  no  violence,  not  even  the  action  of  a  rapid  current,  could 
have  been  attendant  upon  their  deposition.  The  sediment  which  inclosed  them  was 
usually  very  fine  ;  a  fact  also  indicative  of  a  tranquil  state  of  the  water  in  which  they 
were  suspended. 

The  explorations  of  Dr.  Hayden  prove  that  this  miocene  lignite  formation  occupies 
the  beds  of  extensive  lakes,  which  filled  deep  basins  on  the  surface  of  the  continent 
when  it  had  but  recently  emerged  from  the  cretaceous  sea.  As  has  been  remarked 
elsewhere,  the  lower  members  of  the  series  contain  a  few  estuary  shells,  showing  the 
access  of  salt  water  at  the  period  of  their  formation  ;  but  during  the  deposition  of  by  far 
the  greater  portion  of  these  beds,  the  water  of  the  ocean  was  entirely  excluded  &om 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        95 

the  basins  in  wliicli  they  aeciimnhiteil.  By  tracing  tlie  ontliuo  of  these  deposits,  Dr. 
Haydeu  has  demonstrated  that  sheets  of  fresh  water  once  covered  surfaces  in  this  por- 
tion of  the  continent  which,  in  extent,  rivaled  the  great  chain  of  fresh-water  lakes 
which  exist  elsewhere  in  our  country  at  the  present  day.  There  is,  therefore,  every  rea- 
son to  believe  that  the  remains  of  ligneous  plants  which  compose  this  collection  were 
derived  from  trees  which  grew  along  the  shores  of  the  lakes  and  streams  of  the  tertiary 
continent ;  that  then,  as  now,  alternations  of  seasons  prevailed,  by  which  the  foliage 
of  these  trees  was  periodically  detached,  and  that,  falling  into  the  waters  beneath,  or 
near  them,  and  sinking  to  the  bottom,  they  were  enveloped  in  mud  precisely  as  leaves 
of  our  sycamores,  willows,  oaks,  &c.,  accumulate  at  the  bottom  of  our  streams  and 
lakes  at  present. 

In  comparing  the  group  of  plants  here  presented  to  us  with  those  now  living  upon 
the  surface  of  the  earth,  any  one  will  be  at  once  struck  with  the  resemblance  Avhicli 
they  present  to  the  flora  of  the  temperate  zone,  and  more  particularly  with  that  of  our 
own  country.  In  their  study  I  have  constantly  found  that  on  making  comparisons 
with  the  plants  of  remote,  and  especially  tropical  countries,  an  entire  want  of  resem- 
blance or  affinity  at  once  discovered  itself,  and  the  only  instj'uctive  comparisons  made 
have  been  with  the  present  vegetation  of  our  country,  that  of  the  miocene  tertiarics  of 
Europe,  and  with  the  living  iilauts  of  China  and  Japan.  There  is  every  reason  to  be- 
lieve that  future  observations  will  make  immense  additions  to'  this  flora,  and  satis- 
factory comparisons  and  generalizations  will  only  be  possible  when  a  far  more  com- 
jilete  series  of  its  plants  can  be  subjected  to  study.  It  is  also  true  that  as  yet  little 
other  than  the  leaves  of  these  plants  have  been  collected  and  enijiloyed  in  the  deduc- 
tions made  from  them.  From  the  character  of  the  sediments  which  inclose  these  leaves, 
it  is  quite  certain  that  the  fruit  and  seeds  are  also  preserved  in  the  strata  from  which 
they  were  derived ;  but  as  they  are  less  conspicuous  and  noticeable  than  the  leaves,  they 
are  little  likely  to  be  found  unless  especially  sought,  and  it  will  only  be  when  they  are 
made  the  special  objects  of  search  that  they  will  be  discovered,  and  lend  their  import- 
ant assistance  in  the  solution  of  the  problems  which  the  leaves  present.  For  the 
want  of  such  information  as  these  organs  would  supply,  some  of  the  material  included 
in  the  collection  does  not  now  admit  of  satisfactory  classificatiou,  and  the  references  of 
some  of  the  leaves  to  the  genera  under  which  they  are  jilaced  must  be  regarded  as  pro- 
visional and  liable  to  modification  by  further  research.  Quite  a  number  of  these  plants 
are,  however,  so  largely  represented  in  the  collection,  so  well  preserved,  and  so  clearly 
allied  to  the  genera  and  species  with  which  we  are  fiimiliar,  that  they  constitute  fair 
material  from  which  to  infer  the  general  characters  and  affinity  of  the  flora  of  which 
they  form  a  part.  In  this  list  may  be  mentioned  the  Ghiptostrobus,  of  which  the  stems, 
bearing  the  leaves  of  different  forms,  the  cones  and  the  sterile  capitula  are  all  present, 
and  so  closelj-  resemble  the  siiecimens  described  by  Professor  Heer  from  the  miocene  of 
Europe,  that  they  might  also  be  considered  the  originals  from  which  his  figures  were 
taken.    The  living  analogue  of  this  is  G.  heterophyUus  of  China. 

The  Taxodium  now  described  is  evidently  a  close  analogue  of  Taxodium  dnUum  of  the 
miocene  of  Europe ;  difi'ering  from  that  well-known  species  only  in  the  uniform  round- 
ing of  the  bases  and  summits  of  the  leaves. 

The  fossil  which  has  been  doubtfully  referred  to  Sequoia,  Langsdorfii  would  probably 
be  regarded  by  foreign  botanists  as  identical  with  that  species,  but  for  the  reason  given 
in  the  remarks  upon  that  i^lant,  it  seems  to  me  quite  doubtful  whether  it  was  a  Sequoia, 
and  more  i>robable  that  it  was  a  Taxodium  allied  to  our  deciduous  cypress. 

The  great  fan  palm  (Sahal  CampheUi)  collected  by  Dr.  Hayden  seems  to  be  a  repre- 
sentative oi  Sabal  major  of  the  European  tertiaries,  and  Sahal  palmetto  of  our  Southern 
States.  From  both  these,  however,  it  is  distinguished  by  the  large  number  of  folds  in 
the  leaves,  and  from  S.  major  by  its  flat,  unkeeled  petiole.  The  plate  now  given  of  this 
species  represents  the  under  surface  of  the  leaf  and  petiole,  but  the  collection  also  con- 
tains fragments  showing  the  upper  surface ;  and  in  the  collections  of  the  northwestern 
boundary  commission  are  specimens  obtained  from  the  coast  near  Frazer's  River,  which 
exhibit  in  fine  preservation  the  upper  surface  of  the  base  of  the  leaf  and  a  large  jDortion 
of  the  petiole.  From  these  latter  specimens  the  si^ecies  was  originally  described  in  the 
journal  of  the  Boston  Natural  History  Society. 

The  numerous  species  of  PopuJus,  of  which  figures  are  now  given,  will  not  fail  to 
attract  the  attention  of  those  whose  interest  runs  in  this  direction.  Several  of  them 
seem  to  be  new  to  science,  and  show,  for  the  most  part,  a  greater  affinity  with  the  for- 
eign poplars,  P.  alba,  &c.,  than  with  the  specimens  more  common  on  this  continent, 
though  a  single  one,  F.  gcnatrix,  evidently  belongs  to  the  group  of  which  our  balsam 
poplar  may  be  taken  as  a  type.  The  little  species  described  under  the  name  F.  roiun- 
difoJia  presents  some  anomalies  in  form  and  structure  as  compared  Avith  most  of  our 
poplars,  but  its  resemblance  to  another  species  contained  in  this  collection,  F.  eUipiica, 
?md  one  contained  in  the  collection  of  the  Northwest  Boundary  Commission,  which  I 
described  under  the  name  P.flahellum,  have  induced  me  to  class  them  together.  Among 
living  species  it  has  a  striking  analogue  in  Fopulus  pruinosa  now  growing  in  Songaria. 

The  several  species  oi  Flatanus  which  the  collection  contains  form  a  striking  and  in- 


96  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITOEIES. 

teresting  portion  of  this  group  of  plants,  and.  all  seem  to  be  quite  (listincfc  from  the 
fossil  species  hitherto  described,  or  any  now  living.  Of  our  American  sycamores,  the 
leaves  of  P.  occidentalis  are  much  more  toothed,  Avhile  those  of  P.  raccmosa  are  more 
deeply  lobed  than  any  of  these.  P.  aceroides,  a  species  from  the  tertiaries  of  Europe,  is 
more  closely  allied  to  our  living  ones  than  these  seem  to  be.  The  largest  and  finest  of 
those  now  described  (P.  nohlUs,)  in  its  smoothness  of  surface,  crowded  and  parallel 
nervation,  departs  more  widely  from  the  typical  species  of  Platanus  than  the  others, 
and  has  more  the  appearance  of  a  tropical  plant.  An  extensive  series  of  comparisons 
has,  however,  suggested  no  affinities  closer  than  those  with  the  living  Platanus,  and 
I  have  little  doubt  that  in  these  leaves,  of  Avhich  the  collection  contains  a  large  num- 
ber, we  have  representatives  of  the  noblest  and  most  beautiful  species  of  the  genus. 

Two  of  the  species  of  Corylm  present  no  characters  by  -which  they  can  bo  distin- 
guished from  the  two  now  distributed  over  the  temperate  portions  of  our  continent  (  C. 
rostrata  and  C.  Americana,)  and  I  have,  therefore,  not  felt  justified  in  considering  them 
distinct.  The  Carya,  figured,  seems  to  mo  clearly  to  belong  to  this  genus,  and  to  be 
closely  allied  to  one  of  our  living  species.  The  Tilia  also  is  not  far  removed  from  T. 
Tieteropliylla,  one  of  our  southern  living  species ;  while  the  Negundo,  Sapindus,  &c.,  seem 
to  be  the  representatives  of  the  genera  and  species  now  growing  near  the  regions  from 
which  these  fossils  come. 

From  this  flora,  considering  it  the  analogue  and  progenitor  of  that  which  now  occu- 
pies our  territory,  we  miss  some  important  elements,  and  such  as  we  may  confidently 
expect  will  bo  supplied  by  future  collectors.  Among  the  most  striking  of  these 
deficiencies  may  be  mentioned  Acer,  Quercus,  Magnolia,  Liriodendron,  Liquidamhar,  Sassafras 
&c.,  some  of  which,  as  we  know,  began  their  life  upon  the  continent  during  the  creta- 
ceous period,  and  all  of  them  were'members  of  the  miocene  flora  of  the  Old  World. 
Liquidamhar,  Quercus,  and  Magnolia  occur  in  the  pliocene  beds  of  New  Jersey,  Magnolia 
and  Quercus  in  the  miocene  strata  of  the  Mississippi  Valley ;  Fagus  also,  which  is  want- 
ifng  in  the  collection,  has  been  obtained  from  the  eocene  by  Mr.  Lesquereux. 

On  comparing  this  flora  with  that  of  the  miocene  rocks  of  the  west  coast,  we  find 
Smilax,  Quercus,  Salix,  Oreodaplme,  Acer,  and  Cinnamomum — all  of  which  are  represented 
there — to  be  wanting  here,  while  the  Saial,  Glyptosh'ohus,  and  Taxodium  are  common  to 
the  two  floras. 

Until  further  collections  shall  be  made  from  the  plant  beds  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  it 
is  evident  that  the  deductions  from  the  negative  evidence  of  absent  genera  and  species 
must  be  regarded  as  unsatisfactory,  but  it  is  a  fact,  not  without  its  significance,  that 
the  genus  •  Cinnariomum,  which  was  largely  represented  in  both  the  cretaceous  and  ter- 
tiary deposits  of  the  west  coast,  and  in  the  eocene  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the  conti- 
nent, should  bo  entirely  absent  from  the  large  amount  of  material  collected  by  Dr. 
Hayden.* 

We  are  at  least  justified  in  saying  that  from  the  evidence  now  before  us,  wo  must 
conclude  that  the  flora  of  the  banks  of  these  inland  lakes  of  the  miocene  period  was 
that  of  a  temperate  climate,  not  warmer  than  that  of  the  middle  portion  of  our  South- 
ern States,  and  somewhat  less  warm  than  that  of  the  eastern  portion  of  our  continent 
during  the  eocene  period,  or  the  western  during  the  miocene  age. 

The  notes  on  some  of  the  species  contained  in  the  collection  made  by  Dr.  Hayden, 
Sequoia  Langsdorfii,  Sahal  camphelUi,  Onoclea  sensihilis,  &c.,  have  a  bearing  on  the  general 
questions  to  which  reference  has  been  made  in  the  preceding  pages,  but  the  occurrence 
of  an  Onoclea  among  these  miocene  plants,  and  a  species  which  I  cannot  distinguish 
from  the  living  one,  seems  to  me  a  fact  of  so  much  importance  as  to  require  some  addi- 
tional comments. 

The  fern  frond  found  by  the  Duke  of  Argyle  in  the  leaf  beds  of  the  Island  of  MuU, 
and.  figured  by  Professor  E.  Forbes  in  the  Journal  of  the  Geological  Society  of  London, 
(vol.  vii,  1851,  p.  103 ;  PI.  II,  Figs.  2a,  21),)  and  named  by  him  Fclicites  (?)  hebridictis,  is 
unquestionably  identical  with  this.  The  specimen  from  which  the  figures  I  have  re- 
ferred to  were  taken  seems  to  have  puzzled  Professor  Forbes  somewhat,  for  he  doubted 
if  it  was  a  fern  ;  and  Professor  Heer,  in  his  reference  to  the  fossil  plants  of  the  Island 
of  Mull,  (Flor.  Tert.,  Helvet.,  vol.  iii,  p.  314,)  says:  "The  most  remarkable  species  is 
Felicites  (?)  hebridicus,  a  fern  which  by  its  nervation  differs  greatly  from  those  of  the 
continent."  All  these  facts  give  this  fossil  special  interest,  for,  in  addition  to  its  rela- 
tions to  its  living  representatives — of  which  we  cannot  but  consider  it  the  progenitor — 
it  adds  another  to  the  list  of  plants  common  to  the  miocene  strata  of  Europe  and 
America. 

Of  these — either  representative  or  identical  species — the  number  is  now  so  great  that 
they  plainly  indicate  a  land  connection  between  the  continents  at  that  period ;  and 
since  many  genera,  and  this,  with  probably  some  other  species,  at  that  time  common 
to  the  Old  and  New  Worlds,  have  disappeared  from  Europe  while  they  continue  to 
flourish  here,  it  would  seem  to  follow  that  these  were  American  types  which  had  colo- 

*I£  it  is  true,  as  now  seems  probable,  that  a  large  part  of  the  Bellingham  Bay  deposits  are  cretaceous, 
that  would  account  for  this  marked  differenco  between  the  plants  collected  by  Dr.  Evana,  Mr.  Gibbs, 
&c.,  from  those  collected  by  Dr.  Hayden. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.         97 

nizccl  Enropo  l)y  niigratiou  ;  avd  that  when  tlicir  connection  vriih  their  mother  conutry 
was  severed  they  were  OA'^erpowered  and  exterminated  by  the  present  tlora  of  Europe, 
which,  as  Professor  Gray  has  shown,  is  mainly  of  North  Asiatic  origin. 

The  fact  to  Avhich  reference  has  just  been  made,  viz,  the  occurrence  of  Onoclea  senai- 
bilis  on  the  Ishxnd  of  Mull,  otf  the  west  coast  of  Scotland,  while  it  has  not  been  found 
in  the  tertiary  beds  of  other  parts  of  Europe,  is  indicative,  so  far  as  it  goes,  not  only 
of  an  American  connection  during  the  mioceuo  period,  but  of  an  American  origin  for 
that  species ;  and  so,  by  inference,  of  the  other  genera  and  species  common  to  the  two 
continents  during  that  epoch. 

If  this  inference  should  be  confirmed  by  future  observations,  we  should  then  see  how 
the  eocene  tropical  or  subtropical  tlora  of  Europe  was  crowded  oft'  the  stage  by  the 
temperate  flora  of  the  miocene,  which  latter,  accompanying  a  depression  of  tempera- 
ture, had  migrated  from  America,  while  the  eocene  tlora  retreated  south  and  east,  and 
is  now  represented  by  the  living  Indo-Australian  liora — characterized  by  its  Haheos, 
Diinandroc,  Uealjipii,  &c.,  &c.,  which  form  so  conspicuous  an  element  in  the  eocene  flora 
of  Europe.  This  theory  would  account  for  the  presence  of  these  tropical  forms  in 
the  lower  miocene  of  Europe,  while,  so  far  as  yet  observed,  they  are  entirely  absent 
from  the  miocene  flora  of  America.  In  Europe  a  tvw  of  the  eocene  forms  lingered  be- 
hind in  the  grand  exodus  of  that  flora,  and  mingled  with  the  more  boreal  and  occi- 
dental barbarians  by  which  the  country  was  overrun,  while  in  America  these  which 
wo  now  call  Asiatic  forms  never  had  an  existence. 

That  this  bridge  between  America  and  Europe  was  in  a  temperate  climate  is  jiroved 
by  the  character  of  the  plants  which  passed  over  it.  On  referring  to  a  terrestrial  globe 
it  will  be  seen  that  by  way  of  Greenland,  Iceland,  and  tho  Hebrides,  there  are  no  very 
wide  ga^is  to  be  spanned ;  but  a  connection  by  that  rotate  would  carry  ns  so  far  into  the 
Arctic  ^one  that  none  of  the  plants  Avhich  we  suppose  to  have  made  that  journey  could 
have  withstood  the  cold  if  the  climate  bad  been  the  same  as  at  present.  We  have  con- 
clusive evidence,  however,  that  it  was  not  so,  for  on  McKenzie's  River,  Disco  Island, 
on  Iceland  and  the  Island  of  Mull,  we  have,  in  the  recurrence  of  parts  of  the  very  flora 
under  consideration,  proof,  not  only  of  a  warmer  climate  at  the  far  north  during  the 
miocene  epoch,  but  that  a  part  of  the  plants  which  formed  the  miocene  flora  of  Europe 
actually  did  traA^l  that  road;  at  least,  that  they  visited  all  these  localities,  and,  in  the 
buried  remains  of  generations  which  were  never  to  see  the  x^romised  land,  left  us  imper- 
ishable records  of  the  reality  of  this  migration. 

That  wo  cannot,  without  further  study,  assign  a  cause  for  this  great  change  of  climate 
in  the  northern  j)art  of  our  continent,  is  no  proof  against  its  existence,  for  the  facts 
still  remain  ;  the  cause  of  the  phenomena  is  simply  a  thing  to  be  learned.  Several  pos- 
sible causes  might  be  mentioned,  but  of  those  which  suggest  themselves,  the  deflection 
of  the  Gulf  Stream  seems  to  mo  the  most  natural,  simple,  and  best  to  account  for  an 
elevation  of  the  temperature  of  Greenland,  Iceland,  &c.  Whether  this  cause  would  be 
sufficient  to  account  for  all  the  phenomena  is  at  least  doubtful.  A  diminution  of  the 
land  surface  at  the  north,  if  it  could  be  proved,  Avould  help  to  solve  the  enigma.  Prob- 
ably several  causes  conspired  to  produce  this  etfect,  but  they  were  apparently  local,  or 
at  least  terrestrial,  as  a  cosmical  cause,  producing  a  general  elevation  of  temperature 
on  the  earth's  surface,  would  have  given  us  a  tropical  flora  on  the  Upper  Missouri, 
whereas  we  find  in  the  miocene  flora  there,  as  yet,  really  no  tropical  j)lauts. 

There  is  one  other  basiu  near  the  sources  of  the  Missouri  River  which 
has  ah^eady  yielded  many  fossils  of  great  interest,  but  which  seems  to  be 
isolated  from  the  others.  This  is  what  1  have  called  the  Judith  basin, 
and  inasmuch  as  it  seems  to  be  one, of  the  ancient  lake  deposits,  and 
characterized  by  a  i)eculiar  group  of  organic  remains,  I  will  designate 
the  strata  as  the  Judith  Group.  The  sediments  do  not  differ  materially 
from  those  of  the  Fort  Union  Group,  and  they  contain  impure  beds  of 
lignite,  fresh  water  mollusca,  and  a  few  leaves  of  deciduous  trees.  But 
the  most  remarkable  feature  of  this  group  is  the  number  and  variety  of 
the  curious  reptilian  remains,  of  which  we  have  only  yet  caught  a 
glimpse.  There  is  probably  no  portion  of  the  West  that  furnishes  such 
a  harvest  of  fossil  remains  and  instructive  geological  facts  as  the  coun- 
try bordering  on  the  Missouri  Eiver,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone 
to  the  foot  of  the  mountains  above  tlie  great  falls  of  the  Missouri;  and 
as  this  country  is  reserved  for  examination  the  coming  season,  1 
will  leave  the  obscurity  which  now  invests  it  to  be  cleared  in  the  next 
annual  report. 

All  the  groups  of  rocks  now  known  to  occur  iv  the  Northwest  are  well 
shown  along  the  flanks  and  among  the  foot-hiUs  of  the  mountains.  The 
7  G 


98        GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

smaller  ranges,  as  the  Little  Eocky,  Judith,  Bear's  Paw,  and  Belt  ranges, 
form  the  most  interesting  studies.  As  a  rule,  a  central  mass  or  nucleus 
of  metamorphic  rocks  is  elevated  above  the  surrounding  plain,  and 
around  these  nuclei  are  exposed  the  Jurassic,  triassic,  carboniferous,  and 
Potsdam  rocks,  in  their  order  of  sequence.  But  nothing  short  of  a  topo- 
graphical survey,  in  connection  with  the  geology,  will  make  the  struc- 
ture of  this  region  clear  to  the  scientific  world. 

The  Black  Hills  of  Dakota  will  form  one  of  the  most  interesting 
studies  on  this  continent.  There  is  so  much  regularity  in  the  upheaval 
that  all  obscurity  is  removed  and  all  the  formations  known  in  the  West 
are  revealed  in  zones  or  belts  around  the  granitic  nucleus  in  their  fullest 
development.  A  careful  detailed  topographical  and  geological  survey 
of  this  I'ange  would  be  a  most  valuable  contribution  to  science.  In  all 
the  western  country  I  have  never  seen  the  cretaceous,  Jurassic,  triassic,  or 
red-beds,  the  carboniferous  and  Potsdam  rocks,  so  well  exposed  for  study 
as  around  the  Black  Hills. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

*  FEOM  OMAHA  TO  CHEYENNE. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  I  have  given  a  brief  review  of  the  geologi- 
cal formations  of  the  Northwest,  as  revealed  by  that  grand  natural  sec- 
tion, the  valley  of  the  Missouri  Eiver.  We  are  now  prepared  to  pro- 
ceed on  our  journey  westward. 

The  city  of  Omaha  is  most  beautifully  located  on  the  western  bank  of 
the  Missouri  River,  on  a  second  terrace,  about  fifty  feet  above  the  water- 
level  of  the  riveri  Terraces  of  the  kind  alluded  to  form  a  peculiar  fea- 
ture along  the  Missouri  River  and  its  tributaries,  and  are  found  from 
the  foot  of  the  mountains  to  its  mouth,  and  in  many  instances  they  seem 
to  afford  most  beautiful  natural  sites  for  cities.  I  will  not,  at  this  time, 
enter  into  an  explanation  of  the  causes  which  produce  these  terraces, 
but  simply  remark  that  they  perhaps  indicate  oscillations  of  level  in 
the  surface,  or  the  gradual  recession  of  the  waters  toward  the  sea, 
and  that,  far  back  in  the  past,  each  one  of  them  has  at  one  time  formed 
the  bed  of  the  river.  They  also  seem  to  indicate  that  formerly  the  Mis- 
souri carried  to  the  ocean  a  vastly  greater  volume  of  water  than  at  pres- 
ent. Another  feature  ^v'ill  at  once  catch  the  eye  of  the  observing  trav- 
eler, and  that  is  the  marvelous  fertility  of  all  this  region.  The  wide 
grassy  bottoms  are  black  with  rich  vegetable  matter  to  an  almost  inde- 
finite depth,  while  the  upland  terraces  and  hills  are  covered  Avith  a  de- 
posit of  yellow  marl,  varying  from  twenty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet 
in  thickness.  There  seems  to  be  evidence  that  the  ocean  or  a  lake  once 
extended  up  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  and  up  the  Missouri  beyond 
the  reach  of  tidal  influences  nearly  to  Fort  Pierre,  and  that  the  myriads 
of  mountain  streams  poured  their  fresh  waters  into  the  great  arm  of 
the  sea,  or  estuary.  These  numerous  streams,  flowing  through  the  soft 
marls,  sands,  and  clays  of  the  great  plain  country,  mingling  their  sedi- 
ments in  the  waters,  and  deposited  them  in  the  bottom  of  this  estuary. 

*  lu  cliai)ters  VHI  to  XIII  inclusive,  nninerous  extracts  have  been  taken  from  tlie 
text  of  a  volume  entitled  "Sun-Pictures  of  Eocky  Mountain  Scenery,"  and  an  article 
published  in  the  jtroccedings  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society,  Philadelphia,  Feb- 
ruary 19,  1869,  by  the  writer.  These  papers  necessarily  have  a  very  limited  circulation, 
and  as  these  official  reports  are  designed  for  distribution  far  and  wide  among  the  people, 
this  "will  be  a  sufficient  excuse  for  introducing  them  in  this  connection. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.         99 

The  charinels  of  all  the  larger  rivers  had  been  marked  out  prior  to  this 
time,  for  ^e  fiud  that  these  superficial  deposits  reach  their  greatest 
thickness  in  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Missouri  River  and  thin  out  as 
we  pass  up  the  valleys  of  its  tributaries  on  the  east  and  west  side,  while 
they  almost  cease  to  appear  near  the  mouth  of  White  Earth  River. 

The  question  at  on(;e  occurs,  at  what  time  did  this  geographical  con- 
dition of  the  country  exist  ?  We  believe  that  it  forms  a  part  of  what 
is  called  the  quarternary  period  in  geology,  which,  though  very  modern, 
geologically  speaking,  really  extended  far  back  in  the  past  before  the 
existence  of  man  on  this  continent,  judging  from  the  evidence  we  have 
been  able  to  secure  up  to  the  present  time.  If  we  examine  the  numer- 
ous cuts,  or  washed  bluffs,  Avhich  we  find  everywhere,  we  shall  discover 
a  great  variety  of  fresh-water  and  land  shells,  as  Helices,  Paludinas, 
Succinueas,  &g.,  and  here  and  there  the  remains  of  the  mastodon  and 
elephant.  In  the  year  1807,  while  prosecuting  the  geological  survey  of 
Nebraska,  under  the  General  Government,  I  obtained  from  these  marls 
fine  specimens  of  the  molar  teeth  of  the  Eleplias  americamis  or  Ameri- 
can elephant,  and  the  mastodon,  M.  americamis.  These  remains  of 
gigantic  extinct  animals  are  mingled  with  those  of  animals  existing  in 
this  region  at  the  present  time,  such  as  rabbits,  mice,  gophers,  beavers, 
buffaloes,  deer,  &c.,  which  have  been  found  in  great  quantities.  Nearly 
all  the  shells  are  identical  with  living  species  which  are  abundant  in 
some  of  the  streams  flowing  into  the  Missouri  and  the  Mississippi.  In 
the  banks  of  some  of  the  little  streams,  oftentimes  buried  ten  to  twenty 
feet  beneath  the  surface,  are  large  accumulations  of  shells,  as  snails,  fresh- 
water mussels,  &c.,  while  very  few  and  j)erhaps  none  exist  at  the  present 
time  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  Sometimes,  in  the  fine  vegetable  matter 
that  accumulates  along  the  Missouri  River  from  the  annual  floods,  can 
be  seen  bushels  of  minute  snail  shells,  yet  not  a  snail  can  now  be  found 
alive  anywhere  in  that  region.  We  account  for  this  by  some  change 
in  the  physical  conditions  Avhich  were  once  very  favorable  for  their  exist- 
ence and  increase.  The  waters  of  the  little  streams  were  far  clearer 
and  purer  tban  at  present.  Now,  at  certain  seasons  of  the  year,  they 
become  so  charged  with  sediment  that  molluscous  life  cannot  exist. 
This  is  the  case  with  the  Missouri  River  from  the  foot  of  the  mountains 
to  its  mouth,  and  scarcely  a  shell  can  be  found  in  its  waters  ;  but  in 
some  of  its  tributaries,  as  the  Big  Sioux,  James,  Vermillion,  &c.,  that 
flow  in  from  the  north,  there  is  the  greatest  abundance. 

The  traveler  will  very  naturally  inquire,  why,  with  all  this  wonder- 
ful fertilitj^  of  soil,  these  broad,  grass-covered  iflains  do  not  contain  a 
suitable  su^Dply  of  forest  trees.  We  will  endeavor  to  answer  this  ques- 
tion in  another  place.  He  will  find,  as  he  travels  over  the  State  of  Ne- 
braska, that  the  time  is  not  very  distant  w^hen  i)ortions  of  the  country 
will  be  covered  with  beautiful  artificial  forests,  and  we  will  attempt  to 
show  that  this  is  only  a  restoration  of  conditions  that  once  existed  far 
in  the  geological  i)ast. 

Before  leaving  the  Missouri  River  I  will  refer  briefly  to  an  interesting 
phenomenon  which  I  shall  work  up  in  detail  at  some  future  time.  The 
proofs  of  glacial  action  in  the  West  are  not  common  or  very  remarka- 
ble in  their  character;  still  they  are  shown  to  a  certain  extent,  not  only 
in  the  mountains  but  also  in  the  plains.  Along  the  Platte  River,  below 
Omaha,  and  on  the  Missouri,  near  the  city,  the  carboniferous  limestones 
have  had  their  upper  surface  so  thoroughly  smoothed  by  glacial  action 
that  they  can  be  quarried  out  and  used  for  ca])s  and  sills  without  any 
further  finish  to  them.  And  the  process  seems  to  have  been  carried  on 
with  wonderful  uniformity,  for  the  upper  surface  seems  to  be  as  level  as 


100       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 

if  it  had  been  wrought  with  a  i)Uimb  line.  There  are  a  few  small  gTOovea 
or  scratches,  aud  by  means  of  a  compass  I  ascertained  the  direction  to 
be  about  27°  west  of  north,  or  about  northeast  and  southwest.  There 
seem  also  to  be  two  sets  of  scratches  crossing  each  other  at  different 
angles. 

It  would  appear,  from  the  evidence  we  have,  that  all  the  limestones 
underneath  the  yellow  marl  and  pebble  deposits  around  Omaha,  and 
south  to  the  Platte  Eiver,  were  smoothed  or  planed  oif  by  imniense 
masses  of  ice  passing  over  them,  for  wherever  these  suiDerficial  deposits 
have  been  strijjped,  the  upper  rocky  layers  are  i)laned  off  with  remark- 
able smoothness.  In  the  mountains  proper,  the  evidences  of  glacial 
action  are  not  uncommon,  especially  on  the  sides  of  the  deep  valleys  and 
gorges,  but  the  causes  were  local  and  operated  when  the  temperature  of 
the  climate  was  much  lower  than  it  is  at  present. 

Westward  from  Omaha  we  wend  our  way  among  the  rounded  grassy 
hills  which  rise  in  wave  like  undulations  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  in 
every  direction.  The  first  glance  at  such  a  scene  strikes  the  stranger 
with  astonishment  at  its  wonderful  beauty,  but  it  soon  becomes  so  mon- 
otonous that  any  flat  plain  or  rugged  mountain  is  a  relief.  About  thirty 
miles  to  the  westward  the  road  passes  out  of  the  hills  into  the  valley  of 
the  Platte,  and  the  journey  westward  is  one  gradual  ascent  to  the  moun- 
tains, walled  on  either  side  by  more  or  less  abrupt  hills  or  bluffs.  Here 
we  may  stop  for  a  while  to  discuss  some  of  the  more  important  geologi- 
cal features  for  the  first  one  hundred  miles  of  our  route.  The  surface 
deposits  over  this  area  possess  no  small  degree  of  interest,  both  in  an 
economical  as  well  as  scientific  i^oint  of  view,  bnt  I  have  already  suffi- 
ciently explained  their  character.  They  seem,  however,  to  occupy  a 
very  large  area  in  this  portion  of  Nebraska,  concealing  almost  entirely 
the  underlying  or  basis  rocks.  The  geology,  therefore,  becomes  some- 
what obscure,  and  can  be  studied  only  at  a  few  ontcro^ipings,  from  point 
to  point.  The  principal  exposures  are  along  the  Platte,  where  the  river 
has  cut  a  wide  and  deep  channel  through  the  surface  of  the  country. 
The  fact,  however,  that  the  strata  are  very  nearly  horizontal,  that  there 
are  no  upheavals  nor  mountain  elevations  to  disturb  the  original  posi- 
tions of  the  beds,  aids  us  much  in  our  investigations.  We  believe  that 
the  whole  of  Douglas  County  is  underlaid  by  the  limestones  of  the  ui>per 
coal  measures,  with  i)erhaps  a  moderate  thickness  of  the  rusty  sand- 
stones of  tlie  lower  cretaceous  or  Dakota  Group  lying  above  them  in  the 
western  portion  of  the  county.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Platte  these  coal- 
measure  limestones  are  very  conspicuous,,  and  supply  the  greater  ])ot- 
tion  of  the  building  stones  of  this  region.  The  dip,  if  any,  is  quite  gen- 
tle toward  the  northwest,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Elkhorn  Eiver  the 
carboniferous  limestones  have  passed  beneath  the  water-level  of  the 
Platte,  not  to  be  seen  again  until  we  arrive  at  the  eastern  margins  of 
the  Eocky  Mountains.  Overlying  these  are  the  ferruginous  sandstones 
which  contain  the  imi^ressions  of  deciduous  leaves.  Near  the  mouth  of 
Elkhorn  are  some  of  the  abrupt  bluffs  of  this  sandstone,  and  the  soft, 
yielding  nature  of  the  rock  has  enabled  the  Indian  to  record  on  it  his 
curious  hieroglyphical  history. 

Fig.  4  illustrates  the  sandstone  bluffs  as  they  occur  on  Little  Blue 
Eiver  in  the  southern  portion  of  Nebraska. 

The  question  often  arises  in  the  minds  of  visitors  to  this  region,  how 
the  law  of  compensation  suj)i3lies  the  want  of  fuel  in  the  absence  of  trees 
for  that  use.  Many  persons  have  taken  the  position  that  the  Creator 
never  made  such  a  vast  country,  with  a  soil  of  such  wonderful  fertility, 
and  rendered  it  so  suitable  for  the  abode  of  man,  without  storing  in  the 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    TPIE    TERRITORIES.  101 

earth  beds  of  carbon  for  bis  needs.  If  this  idea  could  be  shown  to  be 
true  in  any  case,  we  wonld  ask  why  are  the  immense  beds  of  coal  stored 
away  in  the  mountains  of  Pennsylvania  and  Virginia,  while  at  the  same 
time  the  surface  is  covered  with  dense  forests  of  timber?    We  now  know 

Fig.  4. 


Cretaceous  No.  1,  ou  Little  Blue  River,  Nebraska. 

that  this  law  does  not  apply  to  the  natural  world,  and  if  it  did,  this 
western  countrj^  would  be  a  remarkable  exception.  The  State  of  Ne- 
braska seems  to  be  located  on  the  western  rim  of  the  great  coal  basin 
of  the  "West,  and  only  thin  seams  of  poor  coal  will  probably  ever  be 
found.  But  in  the  \Ticiuity  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  in  Wyoming  and 
Colorado,  coal  in  immense  quantities  has  been  hidden  away  for  ages, 
and  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad  has  now  brought  it  near  the  door  of 
every  man's  dwelling. 

These  Eocky  Mountain  coal  beds  will  one  day  supply  an  abundance 
of  fuel  for  more  than  one  hundred  thousand  square  miles  along  the  Mis- 
souri Eiver  of  the  most  fertile  agricultural  laud  in  the  world.  Every 
acre  of  land  in  Eastern  ISTebraska  is  already  in  possession  of  the  thriv- 
ing farmer,  and  some  of  the  most  beautiful  farms  in  the  West  can  now 
be  seen  there.  Although  comiDaratively  new,  it  looks  like  an  old  settled 
country.  Farm-houses  and  small  villages  meet  the  eye  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  the  great  interest  which  the  more  intelligent  and  enterprising 
citizens  have  taken  in  tree-planting  is  covering  the  once  naked  hills  with 
the  most  elegant  artificial  groves.  The  time  is  not  far  distant  when 
Nebraska  will  be  noted  all  over  the  world  for  the  grandeur  and  beauty 
of  its  agricultural  portions.  Being  composed  entirely  of  plain  country, 
with  rocks  of  comparatively  modern  age,  all  holding  a  horizontal  posi- 
tion, or  nearly  so,  without  a  single  mountain  range  within  its  bounda- 
ries, Nebraska  can  never  be  remarkable  in  any  way  for  its  mineral  re- 
sources. It  is  true  that  it  has  its  salt  springs,  which  are  annually  be- 
coming more  important  and  valuable.  These  springs  are  located  near 
Lincoln,  the  capital  of  the  State,  and  the  saline  water  flowing  froju  them 
into  Salt  Creek  has  given  character  to  quite  an  important  tributary  of 
the  Platte  for  thirty  miles  or  more.  This  stream  flows  through  a  most 
beautiful,  rolling,  fertile  region,  covered  with  splendid  farms,  and  has  a 


102       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEERITOEIES. 

deep  channel,  with  steep  muddy  banks,  a  kind  of  forbidden  object.  Kot 
a  being  can  drink  its  waters,  nor  until  near  its  entrance  into  the  Platte 
do  they,  by  accession  of  little  streams  and  springs,  become  sufficiently 
freshened  for  the  use  of  animals. 

The  valley  of  the  Platte  is  a  natural  avenue  through  the  country, 
from  the  foot  of  the  mountains  to  the  Missouri,  and  all  the  earthy  mate- 
rials which  could  possibly  have  existed  over  this  vast  area,  from  the 
summits  of  the  highest  hills  on  either  side,  and  I  know  not  how  much 
more,  have,  in  the  lapse  of  ages,  been  swept  down  into  the  Missouri 
Eiver  aid  then  conveyed  to  the  ocean,  to  be  distributed  over  its  bottom 
to  form  layers  for  the  study  of  future  geologists.  We  may  arrive  ap- 
proximately at  the  number  of  square  miles  of  sediment  which  have  been 
removed  from  this  valley.  It  is  at  least  five  hundred  miles  in  length, 
and  from  bluff  to  bluff  will  average  more  than  four  miles  in  width  for 
the  entire  distance.  Taking  this  low  estimate  as  a  basis,  we  have  two 
thousand  square  miles  of  area  literally  carved  out  and  carried  away. 
We  cannot  compute  the  thickness  of  the  sediment  at  less  than  one  thou- 
sand feet,  and  it  is  altogether  probable  that  it  was  much  more.  This  vast 
change  gives  evidence  of  the  tremendous  forces  of  nature  that  have  been 
continually  at  work  all  over  this  region.  West  of  the  mouth  of  the  Elk 
Horn  Eiver  the  valley  of  the  Platte  expands  widely.  The  hills  on  either 
side  are  quite  low,  rounded,  and  clothed  with  a  thick  carpet  of  grass. 
But  we  shall  look  in  vain  for  any  large  natural  groves  of  forest  trees,  there 
being  only  a  very  narrow  fringe  of  willows  or  cottonwoods  along  the 
little  streams.  The  Elk  Horn  rises  far  to  the  northwest  in  the  prairie 
near  the  Niobrara,  and  flows  for  a  distance  of  nearly  two  hundred  miles 
through  some  of  the  most  fertile  and  beautiful  lands  in  Nebraska. 
Each  of  its  more  important  branches,  as  Maple,  Pebble,  and  Logan 
Creeks,  has  carved  out  for  itself  broad,  finely-rounded  valleys,  so  that 
almost  every  acre  may  be  brought  under  the  highest  state  of  cultiva- 
tion. The  great  need  here  will  be  timber  for  fuel  and  other  economical 
purposes,  and  also  rock  material  for  building.  Still  the  resources  of 
this  region  are  so  vast  that  the  enterprising  settler  will  devise  plans  to 
remedy  all  these  deficiencies.  He  will  plant  trees,  and  thus  raise  his 
own  forests  and  improve  his  lands  in  accordance  with  his  wants  and 
necessities. 

These  valleys  have  always  been  the  favorite  places  of  abode  for  nu- 
merous tribes  of  Indians  from  time  immemorial,  and  the  sites  of  their  old 
villages  are  still  to  be  seeu  in  many  localities.  The  buffalo,  deer,  elk, 
antelope,  and  other  kinds  of  wild  game,  swarmed  here  in  the  greatest 
numbers,  and  as  they  recede  farther  to  the  westward  into  the  more  arid 
and  barren  plains  beyond  the  reach  of  civilization,  the  wild  nomadic 
Indian  is  obliged  to  follow.  Geese,  ducks,  and  other  kinds  of  wild  fowl, 
with  now  and  then  a  stray  antelope  or  red  deer,  may  yet  be  seen,  and 
the  enterprising  hunter  may  treat  himself  to  a  large  amount  of  toil  and 
a  small  amount  of  game.  The  underlying  rocks,  as  far  west  as  Colum- 
bus and  beyond,  though  very  seldom  visible,  are  well  known  to  belong 
to  the  chalk  period,  and  consist  of  yielding  sands,  clays,  and  chalky  lime- 
stones. These  soft  rocks,  so  readily  crumbling  under  the  atmospheric 
influences,  have  given  a  very  gently -undulating  and  rounded  appearance 
to  the  entire  surface.  One  may  travel  for  days  in  this  region  and  not 
find  a  stone  large  enough  to  toss  at  a  bird,  and  very  seldom  a  bush  suf- 
ficient in  size  to  furnish  a  cane.  Yet  this  region  is  settling  up  with 
emigrants  with  great  rapidity ;  railroads  are  now  in  progress  of  con- 
struction, or  are  in  contemplation,  and  villages  are  springing  up  in  nu- 
merous localities.    The  principal  ones  at  the  present  time  are  Fremont 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        103 

and  Columbus.  The  latter,  from  its  supposed  central  geographical  posi- 
tion, has  been  regarded  as  the  possible  seat  of  the  capital  of  the  United 
States  in  case  of  its  removal  to  the  West. 

Soon  after  leaving  Columbus  we  cross  Loup  Fork  or  Wolf  Eiver,  an 
important  branch  of  the  Platte,  which  rises  in  the  Sand  Hills,  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  to  two  hundred  miles  to  the  northwest,  and  drains  a  large 
area  of  country.  In  the  summer  of  1857  I  had  the  opportunity  of  fol- 
lowing it  up  from  mouth  to  source  in  connection  with  an  expedition 
under  the  command  of  Lieutenant  (now  General)  G.  K.  Warren,  United 
States  Army.  Its  lower  portion  passes  through  an  extremely  fertile 
region,  but  above  the  Pawnee  Eeservation  the  Sand  Hills  begin  to  mo- 
nopolize the  country  and  render  it  unfit  lor  settlement. 

We  now  pass  the  eastern  shore  of  one  of  the  most  interesting  and 
most  wonderful  of  those  great  lake  basins  which  are  found  all  over  the 
West  from  the  Missouri  Eiver  to  the  Pacific  coast;  there  is  no  water 
in  it  at  the  present  time,  and  its  existence  is  only  known  to  the  student 
of  geology.  During  the  tertiary  period  it  occupied  an  area  of  at  least 
one  hundred  thousand,  and  very  possibly  one  hundred  and  fifty  thou- 
sand, square  miles.  It  will  thus  be  seen  that  our  greatest  northern 
lakes,  of  which  we  so  proudly  boast,  are  but  ponds  in  comparison  with 
some  that  once  existed  in  this  mountain  region.  The  close  observer 
will  notice  at  once  that  he  is  passiug  into  a  district  the  rock  formations 
of  which  are  quite  different  from  any  that  he  has  seen  before.  He  finds, 
also,  that  he  is  passing  beyond  the  signs  of  great  fertility,  luxuriant 
vegetation,  fine  farms,  and  fields  of  grain,  to  a  comparatively  arid,  sterile 
region;  still,  the  broad  bottoms  of  the  Platte  are  covered  with  a  fair 
growth  of  grass,  but  the  chances  for  the  successful  cultivation  of  crops 
of  any  of  the  cereals  are  very  small.  The  soil  becomes  too  thin,  sandy, 
and  arid  for  the  growth  of  anything  more  than  a  scanty  vegetation. 

We  might  linger  bere  for  a  moment  and  inquire  into  some  of  the 
causes  that  have  produced  this  scantiness  of  vegetation  and  almost 
entire  absence  of  trees  over  so  large  an  area.  There  is  quite  a  remark- 
able belt  or  zone  of  country  along  the  eastern  base  of  the  Eocky  Mount- 
ains, extending  from  the  Arctic  Sea  far  south  to  Mexico,  upon  which 
but  a  small  amount  of  moisture  ever  falls.  This  has  often  been  denom- 
inated the  Great  American  Desert.  In  years  past  this  belt  was  sup- 
posed to  comprise  the  greater  portion  of  the  area  lying  between  the  Mis- 
souri Eiver  and  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  but  every  year  as  we  know 
more  and  more  of  the  country  this  belt  becomes  narrower  and  narrower, 
and  as  a  continuous  area  it  has  already  ceased  to  exist,  even  in  imagina- 
tion. There  are,  however,  large  portions  of  the  country  that  are  com- 
paratively worthless  and  arid,  which  may  be  called  barren  or  sterile. 
It  is  now  ijretty  well  understood  that  the  cause  of  the  absence  of  timber 
in  this  great  region  is  want  of  moisture.  A  very  clear  explanation  of 
this  sulyect,  and  one  which  seems  in  accordance  with  the  facts,  is  given 
by  Professor  Dana  in  Silliman's  Journal,  vol.  40,  page  393.  If  we  were 
to  examine  a  rain  chart  we  should  find  that  where  the  forests  are  most 
luxuriant,  as  along  the  Atlantic  coast  in  the  southern  portion  of  the 
Mississippi  Valley,  the  greatest  amount  of  rain  falls  annually — say  fifty 
to  sixty-five  inches  ;  and  as  soon  as  we  approach  any  of  the  interior  basins 
of  the  western  continent,  or  any  portion  of  this  dry  belt,  we  observe  that 
the  amount  of  moisture  diminishes  to  thirty,  twenty,  fifteen,  ten,  and  in 
some  cases  to  as  low  as  five  inches,  annually.  Again,  along  the  Mis- 
souri Eiver,  where  the  vegetation  is  quite  extensive  and  the  forest  trees 
abundant,  we  have  twenty  to  thirty  inches  of  rain  ;  but  as  soon  as  we 
pass  to  the  westward  three  hundred  miles  we  have  but  ten  or  fifteen 


104  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

inches.  Ou  tlie  Pacific  coast  of  Oregon  and  Washington,  whose  gigantic 
forests  are  celebrated  all  over  the  world,  we  find  that  from  fifty-iiv*  to 
sixty-five  inches  of  rain  fall  annually.  We  might  multiply  these  illus- 
trations, but  the  evidence  seems  to  be  conclusive. 

There  is  another  point  that  may  be  worthy  of  note  here,  and  that  is 
the  ijrevailing  impression  among  all  the  inhabitants  of  the  West  of  a 
gradual  change  of  climate  by  settlement  and  the  cultivation  of  the  soil. 
It  is  true,  that  over  a  width  of  one  hundred  miles  or  more  along  the 
Missouri  liiver  the  little  groves  of  timber  are  extending  their  area;  that 
springs  of  water  are  continually  issuing  from  the  ground  where  none 
were  ever  known  before;  and  that  the  distribution  of  rain  throughout 
the  year  is  more  equable.  Such  being  the  case,  time  may  work  import- 
ant changes,  and  settlements  may  at  some  time  cause  a  large  i^ortion 
of  that  belt  which  has  hitherto  been  regarded  as  given  up  to  sterility  to 
become  of  value  for  the  abode  of  man. 

The  valleys  of  the  Loup  Fork  and  the  Niobrara  Eivers,  although 
largely  uninhabitable,  are  full  of  interest  to  the  geologist.  Located 
along  these  rivers  is  one  of  those  grand  cemeteries  of  extinct  animals 
whicb  have  excited  the  wonder  of  intelligent  men  all  over  the  world. 
Further  to  the  northwest,  on  White  Earth  Eiver,  is  another  of  these* 
far-famed  bone  deposits.  These  two  interesting  localities  bear  such  a 
relation  to  each  other  in  the  order  of  time  and  the  relationship  of  the 
animals  preserved  in  them,  that  they  should  be  described  in  the  same 
connection.  I  will  therefore  take  the  reader  at  once  to  the  valley  of 
White  Earth  Eiver,  near  the  southwestern  base  of  the  Black  Hills,  and 
there  we  shall  behold  one  of  the  wildest  regions  on  this  continent.  It 
has  always  gone  by  the  name  of  "Bad  Lands;"  by  the  Canadian 
French  as  '■'■  Mauvaises  Terres  ;''''  in  the  Dakota  tongue,  '■'•  Ma-lcoo-si-tclia.^'' 
These  words  signify  a  very  difficult  country  to  travel  through,  not  only 
from  the  ruggedness  of  the  surface,  but  also  from  the  absence  of  any 
good  water  and  the  small  supply  of  wood  and  game.  In  the  summer 
the  sun  pours  its  rays  on  the  bare  white  walls,  which  are  reflected  on  the 
weary  traveler  with  double  intensity,  not  only  oppressing  him  with  the 
heat,  but  so  dazzling  his  eyes  that  he  is  not  unfrequently  affected  with 
temporary  blindness.  I  have  spent  many  days  exploring  this  region 
when  the  thermometer  was  112°  in  the  shade  and  there  was  no  water 
suitable  for  drinking  purposes  within  fifteen  miles.  But  it  is  only  to 
the  geologist  that  this  place  can  have  any  permanent  attractions.  He 
can  wind  his  way  through  the  wonderful  canons  among  some  of  the 
grandest  ruins  in  the  world.  Indeed,  it  resembles  a  gigantic  city  fallen 
to  decay.  Domes,  towers,  minarets  and  spires  may  be  seen  on  every 
side,  which  assume  a  great  variety  of  shapes  when  viewed  in  the  distance. 
Not  unfrequently  the  rising  or  the  setting  sun  will  light  up  these  grand 
old  ruins  with  a  wild,  strange  beauty,  reminding  one  of  a  city  illumin- 
ated in  the  night  when  seen  from  some  high  point.  The  harder  layers 
project  from  the  sides  of  the  valley  or  canon  with  such  regularity  that 
they  appear  like  seats,  one  above  the  other,  of  some  vast  amphitheater. 
It  is  at  the  foot  of  these  apparent  architectural  ruins  that  the  curious 
fessil  treasures  are  found.  In  the  oldest  beds  we  find  the  teeth  and 
jaws  of  a  Hyopotamus,  a  river  horse  much  like  the  Hippopotamus,  which 
must  have  si>orted  in  his  pride  in  the  marshes  that  bordered  this  lake. 
So,  too,  the  Titauotheriam,a  gigantic  pachyderm,  was  associated  with  a 
species  of  hornless  Ehinoceros.  These  huge  rhinoceroid  animals  ap))ear 
at  first  to  have  monopolized  this  entire  region,  and  the  plastic,  sticky 
clay  of  the  lowest  bed  of  this  basin,  in  which  the  remains  were  found, 
seems  to  have  formed  a  suitable  bottom  of  the  lake  in  which  these  thick- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES.       105 

skinned  monsters  could  wallow  at  pleasure.  As  we  pass  higher  up  in 
the  sediments,  we  find  the  remains  of  a  great  variety  of  land  animals 
mingled  with  those  that  were  aquatic  in  their  nature.  In  a  bed  of  flesh- 
colored  marl  which  is  visible  for  a  great  distance,  hke  a  broad  band  in 
the  sides  of  these  washed  hills,  thousands  of  turtles  wore  imbedded,  and 
are  preserved  to  the  present  time  with  surprising  perfection,  the  hard 
portions  of  them  being  as  complete  as  when  they  were  swimming  about 
in  these  tertiary  waters  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years  ago.  They 
vary  in  size  from  an  inch  or  two  in  length  across  the  back  to  three  or 
four  feet.  But  one  species  has  ever  been  discovered  in  this  basin,  and 
so  far  as  we  Ivuow  these  reptiles  made  up  in  numbers  what  they  lacked 
in  variety.  Associated  with  the  remains  of  the  turtles,  are  those  of  a 
number  of  ruminants,  all  belonging  to  extinct  genera,  and  possessing 
peculiar  characters  which  ally  them  to  the  deer  and  the  hog.  Indeed, 
Dr.  Leidy  calls  them  runiinatiug  hogs.  Like  the  domestic  species,  they 
were  provided  with  cutting  teeth  and  canines,  but  the  grinding  teeth 
are  constructed  after  the  same  pattern  as  those  of  all  living  ruminants. 
The  feet  of  these  animals  were  also  provided  with  four  toes  as  in  the 
Jiog,  and  none  of  them  possessed  horns  or  antlers.  They  appear  to 
have  existed  in  immense  numbers,  and  to  have  lived  in  great  herds  like 
the  bison  of  the  West.  Kemains  of  more  than  seven  hundred  individuals 
of  one  species  have  been  already  studied  and  described  by  Dr.  Leidy* 
Their  enemies  were  numerous  wolves,  hy?enodons  and  saber-tooth  tigers. 

If  we  pass  for  a  moment  southward  into  the  valleys  of  the  Niobrara 
and  Loup  Fork,  we  shall  find  a  fauna  closely  allied,  yet  entirely  distinct 
from  the  one  on  White  River,  and  iilainly  intermediate  between  that  of 
the  latter  and  of  the  present  jteriod;  one  appears  to  have  lived  during 
the  middle  or  miocene  tertiary  i^eriod,  aiul  the  other  at  a  later  time  in 
what  is  called  the  pliocene.  In  the  later  fauna  were  the  Temains  of  a 
number  of  species  of  extinct  camels,  one  of  which  was  of  the  size  of  the 
Arabian  camel,  a  second  about  two-thirds  as  large,  also  a  smaller  one. 
The  only  animals  akin  to  the  camels  at  the  present  time  in  the  western 
hemisphere  are  the  llama  and  its  allies  in  South  America.  Not  less  inter- 
esting are  the  remains  of  a  great  variety  of  forms  of  the  horse  family, 
one  of  which  was  about  as  large  as  the  ordinary  domestic  animal,  and 
the  smallest  not  more  than  two  or  two  and  a  half  feet  in  height,  with 
every  intermediate  grade  in  size.  There  was  still  another  animal  allied 
to  the  horse,  about  the  size  of  a  Newfoundland  dog,  which  was  provided 
with  three  hoofs  to  each  foot,  though  the  lateral  hoofs  were  rudimeutal. 
Although  no  horses  were  known  to  exist  on  this  continent  prior  to  its 
discovery  by  Europeans,  yet  Dr.  Leidy  has  shown  that  before  the  age  of 
man  this  was  emphatically  the  country  of  horses.  Dr.  Leidy  has  re- 
ported twenty-seven  species  of  the  horse  family  which  are  known  to  have 
lived  on  this  continent  prior  to  the  advent  of  man — about  three  times 
as  many  as  are  now  found  living  throughout  the  world. 

Among  the  carnivores  were  several  foxes  and  w^olves,  one  of  which 
was  larger  than  any  now  living ;  three  species  of  Hytenodon — animals 
whose  teeth  indicate  that  they  were  of  remarkably  rapacious  habits; 
also  five  animals  of  the  cat  tribe  were  found,  one  about  the  size  of  a 
small  panther,  and  another  as  large  as  the  largest  wolf.  Several  of  the 
skulls  of  the  tiger-like  animals  exhibited  the  marks  of  terrible  conflicts 
with  the  cotemporary  Hytenodons. 

Among  the  rodents  were  a  porcupine,  small  beaver,  rabbit,  mouse,  &c. 

The  pachyderms,  or  thick-skinned  animals,  were  quite  numerous  and 
of  great  interest,  from  the  fact  that  none  of  them  are  living  on  this 
continent  at  the  i^resent  time,  and  yet  here  we  find  the  remains  of  sev- 


106        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

eral  animals  allied  to  the  domestic  hog,  one  about  the  size  of  this  animal, 
another  as  l?.rge  as  the  African  Hippopotamus,  and  a  third  not  much 
larger  than  the  domestic  cat. 

Five  species  of  the  Khinoceros  roamed  through  these  marshes,  ranging 
from  a  small,  hornless  species,  about  the  size  of  our  black  bear,  to  the 
largest,  which  was  about  the  size  of  the  existing  unicorn  of  India.  jSTo 
animals  of  the  kind  now  inhabit  the  western  hemisphere. 

Among  the  thick-skinned  animals  were  the  remains  of  a  mastodon 
and  a  large  elephant,  distinct  from  any  others  heretofore  discovered  in 
any  part  of  the  world.  Dr.  Leidy  says  that  "it  is  remarkable  that 
among  the  remains  of  mammals  and  turtles  there  are  none  of  crocodiles. 
Where  were  these  creatures  when  the  shores  of  the  ancient  Dakotan 
and  Nebraskan  waters  teemed  with  such  an  abundant  provision  of  sa- 
vory ruminating  hogsf  During  the  tertiary  i)eriod  Nebraska  and 
Dakota  were  the  homes  of  a  race  of  animals  more  closely  allied  to  those 
inhabiting  Asia  and  Africa  now,  and  from  their  character  we  may  sup- 
pose that  during  that  period  the  climate  was  considerably  warmer  than 
it  is  at  present.  The  inference  is  also  drawn  that  our  world,  which  is 
usually  called  the  new,  is  in  reality  the  old  world,  older  than  the  easterly 
hemisphere. 

Ever  since  the  commencement  of  creation,  constant  changes  of  form 
have  been  going  on  in  our  earth.  Oceans  and  mountains  have  disap- 
peared and  others  have  taken  their  place.  Entire  groups  of  animal  and 
'vegetable  life  have  passed  away  and  new  forms  have  come  into  exist- 
ence, through  a  series  of  years  which  no  finite  mind  can  number.  To 
enable  the  mind  to  realize  the  physical  condition  of  our  planet  during 
all  these  past  ages  is  the  highest  end  to  be  attained  by  the  study  of 
geological  facts.  It  has  been  well  said  by  an  eloquent  historian  that 
he  who  calls-  the  past  back  again  into  being,  enjoys  a  bliss  like  that  of 
creating. 

We  may  attempt  to  form  some  idea  of  the  i)hysical  geography  of  this 
region  at  the  time  when  these  animals  wandered  over  the  country,  and 
to  speculate  as  to  the  manner  in  which  their  remains  have  been  so  beau- 
tifally  preserved  for  our  examination.  We  may  suppose  that  here  was 
a  large  fresh- water  lake  during  the  middle  tertiary  period ;  that  it  began 
near  the  southeastern  side  of  the  Black  Hills,  not  large  at  first  nor  deep, 
but  as  a  marsh  or  mud-wallow  for  the  gigantic  pachyderms  that  lived 
at  the  time ;  that  as  time  passed  on  it  became  deeper  and  expanded  its 
limits  until  it  covered  the  vast  area  which  its  sediments  indicate.  We 
cannot  attempt  to  point  out  in  detail  all  the  changes  through  which  we 
may  suppose,  from  the  facts  given  us,  this  lake  has  passed,  during  the 
thousands  of  years  that  elapsed  from  its  beginning  to  its  extinction,  time 
long  enough  for  two  distinct  faunce  to  have  commenced  their  existence 
and  passed  away  in  succession,  not  a  single  species  passing  from  one 
into  the  other.  Even  that  small  fraction  of  geological  time  seems  infi- 
nite to  a  finite  mind.  We  believe  that  the  great  range  of  mountains 
that  now  lies  to  the  west  of  this  basin  was  not  as  lofty  as  now ;  that 
doubtless  the  treeless  plains  were  covered  with  forests  or  grassy  meadows 
upon  which  the  vast  herds  of  gregarious  ruminants  cropped  their  food. 
Into  this  great  lake  on  every  side  poured  many  little  streams  from  broad 
valleys,  fine  ranging  ground  for  the  numerous  varieties  of  creatures 
that  existed  at  that  time.  Large  numbers  of  fierce  carnivorous  beasts 
mingled  with  the  multitudes  of  gregarious  ruminants,  constantly  devour- 
ing them  as  food.  As  many  of  the  bones,  either  through  death  by  vio- 
lence or  natural  causes,  were  left  in  the  valleys,  they  would  be  swept 
down  by  the  first  high  waters  into  the  lake  and  enveloped  in  the  sedi- 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  107 

ments  at  the  bottom.  As  the  gregarious  ruminants  came  down  to  the 
little  streams  or  by  the  shores  of  the  lake  to  quench  their  thirst,  they 
would  be  pounced  upon  by  the  flesh-loving  Hyiienodon,  Drepanodon,  or 
Diuictis.  It  was  probably  near  this  place  also  that  these  animals  would 
meet  in  fierce  conflicts,  the  evidences  of  wliich  remain  to  the  present 
time  in  the  cavities  which  the  skulls  reveal ;  one  of  these,  of  a  huge 
cat,  shows  on  either  side  the  holes  through  the  bony  covering  which  had 
partially  healed  before  the  animal  perished,  and  the  cavities  seem  to 
correspond  in  form  and  position  with  the  teeth  of  the  largest  Hyseuodon. 

The  remains  of  those  animals  which,  from  their  very  nature,  could  not 
have  existed  in  great  numbers,  are  not  abundant  in  the  fossil  state, 
while  those  of  the  ruminants  occur  in  the  greatest  abundance  and  are 
widely  diffused  in  the  sediments  not  only  geographically,  but  vertically. 
The  chances  for  the  preservation  of  the  remains  of  a  species  seem  to 
depend  upon  the  number  of  individuals  that  existed.  The  remains  of 
ruminants  already  obtained  comprise  at  least  nine-tenths  of  the  entire 
collection,  while  of  one  species,  portions  of  at  least  seven  hundred  indi- 
viduals have  been  discovered.  We  might  take  examples  from  the  ani- 
mals that  exist  in  this  region  at  the  present  time  that  would  illustrate 
the  point.  The  wolves  watch  the  deer,  antelope,  and  other  feebler  ani- 
mals as  they  go  down  to  the  little  streams  for  water,  and  all  over  the 
wide  bottoms  their  skeletons  are  distributed  in  a  more  or  less  perfect 
condition.  Whenever  a  bison  becomes  too  feeble  by  disease  or  age  to 
offer  a  successful  resistance,  the  wolves  soon  dispatch  him,  and  his  bones 
are  left  bleaching  on  the  ground.  In  most  cases  these  animals  when 
pursued  betake  themselves  to  the  water,  where  they  are  not  unfrequently 
drowned,  or  dispatched  on  a  sand-bar  or  island.  Annually,  thousands 
of  buffaloes,  in  attempting  to  cross  the  Missouri  Eiver  and  some  of  its 
large  tributaries  on  the  ice  as  it  is  breaking  up  in  the  spring,  are 
drowned.  For  many  days  their  bodies  are  seen  floating  down  the  river 
by  Fort  Union  or  Fort  Clark,  and  lodging  on  some  of  the  islands  or 
sand-bars  fill  the  air  with  the  stench  of  their  decay.  In  the  spring  of 
1857  thousands  of  their  bodies  floated  down  the  Kansas  Eiver  past  Fort 
Eiley  and  were  carried  into  the  Missouri  Eiver.  These  animals  are  often 
mired  in  the  marshes  or  the  muddy  shores  of  lakes  or  streams  in  great 
numbers.  We  know  what  vast  numbers  of  the  mastodon  have  been 
preserved  in  the  Big  Bone  Licks  of  Kentucky,  and  of  the  Irish  elk  in 
the  bogs  of  Ireland.  We  might  instance  hundreds  of  examples  to  show 
how  easily  these  animals,  roaming  and  feeding  along  the  numerous 
streams  flowing  into  some  great  lake,  could  be  transported  in  part  or 
entire  into  the  lake,  and  sinking  to  the  bottom  would  be  enveloped  in 
the  muddy  sediments. 

There  is  another  interesting  feature  in  regard  to  these  remarkable 
fossils,  and  that  is  the  beauty  and  perfection  of  their  preservation ;  the 
bones  are  so  clean  and  white  and  the  teeth  so  perfect  that,  when  ex- 
posed upon  the  surface,  they  present  the  appearance  of  having  bleached 
only  for  a  season.  They  could  not  have  been  transported  from  a  great 
distance,  neither  could  the  waters  have  been  swift  and  turbulent,  for 
the  bones  seldom  show  any  signs  of  having  been  water  worn,  and  the 
nice  sharp  points  and  angles  are  as  perfect  as  in  life.  I  have  dwelt  thus 
long  on  the  details  of  this  great  lake  basin,  not  only  on  account  of  the 
universal  interest  that  invests  it,  and  the  wonderful  treasures  of  the 
past  which  it  has  revealed  to  the  world,  but  because  its  history  is  ap- 
plicable in  the  main  to  the  numbers  of  the  other  fresh- water  lake  basins 
of  the  geological  past  which  are  distributed  throughout  the  Eocky  Moun- 
tain region. 


108       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Before  leaving  this  subject,  there  is  another  interesting  topic  of  in- 
quiry :  why  such  a  beautiful  series  of  vertebrate  remains  should  be  so 
j)erfectly  preserved  in  this  Like  deposit,  and  yet  the  remains  of  other 
forms  of  animal  and  vegetable  life  be  almost  entirely  absent.  The  sedi- 
ments seem  to  be  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  preservation  of  a  full  series 
of  documents  bearing  upon  the  history  of  those  times.  And  yet  in  the 
older  beds,  where  the  mammalian  remains  are  most  abundant,  only  one 
small  species  of  snail,  a  land  shell,  is  found  preserved.  Where  is  the 
evidence  of  the  swarms  of  fishes  that  must  have  filled  the  streams  and 
lakes  of  that  time?  Of  the  vegetable  life,  if  any  existed,  only  now  and 
then  a  fragment  of  silicified  wood  is  found,  and  that,  too,  in  the  latest 
deposits.  I  am  prepared  to  believe  that  the  broad  x)lains  were,  even  at 
the  time  of  the  existence  of  these  animals,  as  treeless  as  at  present,  yet 
I  am  quite  unprepared  to  explain  the  almost  entire  absence  of  vegetable 
remains.  We  know  that  fresh-water  shells,  much  like  those  existing  in 
the  little  clear  streams  of  the  present  time,  as  well  as  some  remains  of 
fishes,  are  found  in  some  limestones  on  the  summits  of  hills  near  Pinos 
Spring  on  the  northern  rim  of  the  lake. 

Another  interesting  question  occurs  to  me  in  this  connection,  how' 
was  it  that  a  complete  fauna,  comi)rising  more  than  forty  species  of  ani- 
mals, was  introduced  upon  the  earth,  lived  through  its  legitimate  period, 
entirely  perished  or  was  swept  out  of  existence,  and  an  entirely  new 
fauna,  comprising  about  the  same  number  and  variety,  was  again  intro- 
duced in  the  same  region  ?  It,  too,  lived  out  its  period  of  existence, 
which  must  have  been  hundreds  of  thousands  of  years,  and  yet  every 
one  of  this  grouj)  of  animals  disappeared  from  the  globe,  leaving  no- 
thing behind  to  tell  the  tale  but  fragments  of  their  bony  skeletons,  acci- 
dentally enveloped  in  the  sediment  at  the  bottom  of  an  estuary  or  lake. 

It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  this  is  a  fruitful  topic  for  speculation, 
and  I  leave  it  with  the  reader.  Some  of  the  species  of  animals  found 
in  the  latest  deposits  seem  to  have  lived  very  nearly  up  to  our  present 
period.  The  horns  of  a  deer  and  the  bones  of  a  sand-hill  crane  have 
such  a  modern  aspect  that  the  thought  arises,  where  was  man  when 
these  animals  were  roaming  over  this  region?  Eecent  investigations 
show  quite  conclusively  that  man  was  an  inhabitant  of  Europe  cotem- 
poraneously  with  many  of  the  extinct  animals  of  the  quarternary  period, 
but  it  is  doubtful  whether  we  have  ever  found  any  evidence  that  he  lived 
at  a  very  remote  period  on  this  continent.  Indeed,  so  far  as  we  know 
at  present,  the  West  is  singularly  silent  as  to  the  existence  of  man  in 
what  are  now  understood  as  prehistoric  times. 

But  let  us  move  our  camp  further  south  and  toward  the  Platte  Valley 
again,  and  on  our  way  just  glance  at  a  desolate  and  almost  barren  but 
interesting  region  called  the  Sand  Hills.  They  cover  an  area  of  about 
twenty  thousand  square  miles  on  both  sides  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver,  and 
are  composed  of  loose,  moving  sand,  which  is  blown  by  the  winds  into 
round,  conical  hills  with  considerable  regularity.  As  far  as  the  eye  can 
reach  the  surface  presents  the  appearance  of  a  multitude  of  round  tops, 
some  of  them  scooped  out  by  the  whirling  winds  so  as  to  resemble  era 
ters.  These  sand  hills  have  been  from  time  immemorial  a  favorite  resort 
of  the  bufililo,  which  feeds  upon  the  scanty  but  very  nutritious  grasses 
in  the  little  valleys  and  intervals  among  these  hills.  There  is,  for  the 
most  part,  an  abundant  supply  of  water  in  the  little  lakes  that  are  scat- 
tered throughout  this  region.  Some  of  them  are  alkaline  in  the  highest 
degree,  and  the  fresh  can  be  detected  from  the  salt  lakes  by  the  pres- 
ence or  absence  of  vegetation  in  and  around  the  borders.  These  hills 
are  sometimes  protected  from  the  winds  by  a  considerable  giowth  of 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 


109 


v^eg'etation  on  their  sides,  especially  the  "Yuccas,  or  Spanish  Needles," 
which  seem  to  grow  Inxuriautly  in  these  almost  soilless  regions.  No 
portion  of  the  country  is  so  barren  or  soilless  as  to  be  destitute  of  its 
peculiar  vegetation,  and  even  those  i)ortions  that  appear  most  sterile 


Fis.  5. 


Sand  Hills  on  the  Niobrara  River. 

have  some  forms  which  flourish  there  best,  and  would  X5erhaj)s  perish 
if  transported  to  a  richer  district.  In  the  "Bad  Lands"  the  soft,  suc- 
culent cactus,  which  draws  most  of  its  nourishment  fi'om  the  atmos- 
phere, often  covers  the  bald,  dome-like  hills  as  if  it  would  conceal  their 
nakedness  and  sterility.  These  large  moving  bodies  of  sand  are  not 
uncommon  in  the  West ;  in  the  North  Park  there  is  quite  a  large  area 
completely  covered  with  them,  and  as  the  surface  reflects  the  light  of 
the  sun's  rays,  they  appear  in  the  distance  like  some  extensive  lake. 
Near  the  Mosca  Pass  in  the  San  Luis  Valley  is  another  group  of  sand 
hills  which  is  quite  conspicuous.  The  winds  seem  to  delight  in  i)laying 
their  antics  in  these  places,  throwing  up  the  sand  in  the  most  beautiful 
wave-like  furrows.  Sometimes  the  strong'  winds  that  sweep  over  these 
vast  plains  -^rill  fill  the  air  with  a  storm  of  sand  so  as  to  impede  the 
traveler's  progress  for  the  time,  and  again  they  whirl  it  in  circular  col- 
umns far  out  of  sight. 

We  shall  now  continue  our  way  up  the  valley  of  the  Platte  with  a 
good  deal  of  rapidity.  The  country  is  monotonous,  and  yet  now  and 
then  a  fact  of  some  interest  might  be  gathered.  We  soon  pass  into  what 
is  called  the  alkali  district,  where  the  ground  is  covered  in  places  with  a 
white  efflorescence,  which  looks  in  the  distance  like  snow.  If  the  traveler 
were  to  ascend  the  high  hills  that  border  the  valley  and  cast  his  eyes 
in  every  direction,  he  would  see  nothing  but  a  gently  rolling  prairie, 
without  a  tree  or  shrub  as  far  as  they  could  reach.  No  cozy  farm-houses, 
with  all  the  signs  of  cultivated  fields,  greet  the  eye ;  no  groves  of  timber 
dot  the  landscai)e.  For  more  than  two  hundred  miles  along  the  valley 
of  the  Platte  it  would  be  difficult  to  find  wood  enough  to  kindle  a  fire. 
Fuel  for  the  supjjly  of  Fort  Sedgwick  and  the  city  of  Julesburg,  during 
the  winter  of  18(35-'6,  when  it  was  in  its  glory,  was  hauled  from  the  moun- 
tains near  Denver,  Colorado,  a  distance  of  more  than  two  hundred  miles, 
at  a  cost  from  one  to  two  hundred  dollars  per  cord. 


110       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

The  surface  of  the  country  is  sometimes  weathered  by  atmospheric 
agencies  into  peculiar  fantastic  shapes.  The  rock  formations  are  en- 
tirely composed  of  the  whitish  and  yellowish-white  clays,  marls,  and 
sandstones  of  the  more  recent  beds  of  the  great  tertiary  lake  basin. 

Fig.  6. 


"'f^iw^?^':^nr'^""n-i''nVi'^TIfTW*TmTT(ri'^)  'n 


Fort  Mitcliell— Scott's  Bluff. 

The  most  striking  examples  are  in  the  vicinity  of  Scott's  Bluff  and 
Chimney  Eock,  which  have  been  noted  landmarks  for  years.  The 
surface  is  here  washed  out  into  the  form  of  domes,  towers,  churches,  and 
fortifications,  and  it  is  hardly  possible  to  persuade  oneself  that  the 
hand  of  art  has  not  been  busy  here.  Chimney  Eock  shoots  up  its 
tall,  white  spire  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet.  The 
strata  are  perfectly  horizontal,  and,  therefore,  we  may  infer  that  the 
surface  of  the  whole  country  was  originally  on  a  level  with  the  summit 
at  least,  and  that  these  landmarks  are  monuments  left  afteY  erosion. 
These  picturesque  views  south  of  White  Eiver  are  not  extensive,  although 
on  both  sides  the  north  and  south  forks  of  the  Platte  they  occur  in  cer- 
tain localities.  A  few  fossil  turtles  and  the  bones  of  some  huge  animal, 
probably  the  elephant  or  mastodon,  have  been  washed  from  the  bluffs. 
At  Antelope  Station,  near  Pine  Bluffs,  about  four  hundred  and  seventy 
miles  west  of  Omaha,  a  collection  of  curious  bones  was  taken  out  of  a 
well  sixty-eight  feet  below  the  surface,  which  were  at  once  regarded  by 
the  people  in  the  vicinity  as  human  remains.  These  bones  were  dis- 
tributed throughout  the  country  and  furnished  many  a  sensational  par- 
agraph for  the  daily  press.  About  two  years  ago.  Professor  Marsh,  in 
visiting  this  country,  made  inquiry  for  them,  and  succeeded  in  obtaining 
a  few  fragments,  from  which  he  determined  the  existence  of  a  small 
species  of  horse,  which  must  have  been  originally  about  two  or  two  and 
a  half  feet  high. 

From  a  mass  of  sediment  sixty-eight  feet  below  the  surface,  ten  feet  in 
diameter  and  six  feet  thick,  Professor  Marsh  obtained  a  quantity  of 
fragments  of  bones  belonging  to  seventeen  different  species  of  animals. 
In  it  were  those  of  four  varieties  of  the  horse  family,  one  of  which  was 
as  large  as  the  living  domestic  horse ;  one  or  two  species  of  rhinoceros ; 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       Ill 

an  animal  allied  to  a  camel,  and  one  resembling  a  hog ;  two  carnivores, 
one  about  as  large  as  a  lynx,  tbe  other  greater  than  any  living  carnivore, 
even  the  lion.  Such  a  quantity  of  remains,  so  varied  in  species  and 
stowed  away  in  so  small  a  space,  has  never  been  found  before. 

"What  a  world  of  fossil  treasures  could  be  gathered  if  the  whole  area 
south  of  the  Platte  and  between  the  Platte  and  White  Elvers  were  care- 
fully examined  by  men  of  science !  And  even  then,  only  those  which  are 
exposed  to  the  eye  of  the  geologist  by  atmospheric  agencies  would  be 
found,  while  the  great  mass  of  rock  material  which  underlies  the  entire 
surface  is  equally  filled  with  them,  and  uudoubtedlj' contains  some  forms 
that  will  never  be  recorded  in  the  annals  of  science. 

If  we  now  take  the  cars  we  shall  pass  over  a  similar  i>laiu  country  until 
we  reach  Cheyenne,  an  important  and  rather  remarkable  city,  near  the 
foot  of  the  mountains,  five  hundred  and  sixteen  miles  west  of  Omaha, 
one  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  nine  miles  east  from  Sacramento, 
and  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  north  from  Denver.  This  citj'  is  located 
in  the  open  plain,  near  Crow  Creelc,  a  branch  of  the  Platte,  the  hills  as- 
cending geutlj^  back  to  the  mountains  proper,  which  are  plainly  visible 
from  the  town.  On  the  4th  day  of  July,  18G7,  there  was  but  one  house 
in  this  place ;  within  three  months  there  were  at  least  three  thousand 
inhabitants,  with  the  bustle  and  confusion  of  a  city  of  ten  thousand.  It  is 
now  improving  rapidly,  and  promises  a  successful  future.  Again,  looking 
at  the  profile  section  of  the  railroad,  we  find  that  Omaha  is  nine  hundred 
feet  above  the  sea-level.  At  Cheyenne  we  have  reached  an  elevation  of 
five  thousand  nine  hundred  and  thirty-one  feet,  yet  the  ascent  has  been 
so  gradual  over  an  apparently  level  plain,  that  we  have  not  for  a  moment 
realized  that  we  were  ascending  at  the  rate  of  nearl}^  ten  feet  to  the  mile. 
If  the  traveler  has  observed  closely,  he  will  have  seen  that  nature  had 
already  performed  most  of  the  work  of  the  road,  and  that  there  was  not 
much  more  to  be  done  but  to  lay  the  track,  and  that  for  the  entire  dis- 
tance of  move  than  five  hundred  miles  there  were  no  rock  beds  to  blast. 

Before  concluding  this  chapter,  we  will  throw  a  momentary  glance 
back  upon  the  ground  over  which  we  have  just  passed.  Nebraska  may 
be  divided  into  two  portions — agricultural  and  pastoral.  The  eastern 
.part  contains  some  of  the  most  beautiful,  gently-rolling,  fertile  agricul- 
tural lands  in  America,  the  very  garden  spot  of  the  country.  But  the 
western  part  is  a  treeless,  almost  waterless  plain ;  yet,  thick,  low,  sweet, 
nutritious  grasses  cover  the  entire  surface,  and  for  the  raising  of  large 
herds  of  stock,  as  horses,  cattle  and  sheep,  this  country  is  admirably 
adapted.  Not  more  than  fifteen  to  twenty  inches  of  moisture  fall  here 
annually ;  the  snows  of  winter  are  very  light  and  soon  pass  away,  the 
winds  rapidly  gathering  them  into  the  valleys  or  gorges,  leaving  vast 
areas  entirely  bare.  The  grasses,  instead  of  decaying  as  in  all  countries 
with  a  humid  climate,  slowly  dry  up,  retaining  all  their  nutritious  quali- 
ties, and  thus  continue  until  April  or  May,  so  that  all  kinds  of  stock 
thrive  throughout  the  winter  in  the  open  fields  without  other  care  than 
that  of  the  herdsman.  The  time  cannot  be  remote  when  Western  Ne- 
braska, also  Wyoming  and  Colorado,  will  be  appreciated  as  a  wool- 
growing  region  far  surpassing  any  portion  of  the  East. 

In  the  autumn  many  of  the  streams  of  the  i)lains  dry  up  for  the  most 
part,  although  at  long  intervals  water  may  be  found.  In  ascending  the 
valley  the  water  of  Lodge  Pole  Creek  will  appear  and  disappear  almost 
like  magic.  Here  we  find  it  a  swift-running  stream  several  yards  in 
width,  and  then  for  a  considerable  distance  nothing  is  to  be  seen  but  its 
dry  and  dusty  bed.  Even  the  broad  Platte  has  so  far  forgotten  itself 
for  several  seasons  as  to  cease  to  be  a  running  stream.    It  is  not  uncom- 


112  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

mon  for  a  river  to  be  considerably  larger  toward  its  source  than  at  its 
mouth.  Many  of  the  imi)ortant  streams  that  flow  from  the  Black  Hills 
into  the  Missoiui  are  lost  on  their  way  through  the  plains.  This  is 
especially  the  case  with  rivers  in  the  arid  regions  of  New  Mexico  and 
Arizona. 


CHAPTEE  IX. 

OVER    THE    FIRST  RANGE. 

In  the  preceding  chapter  I  have  endeavored  to  convey  some  idea  of 
the  remarkable  character  of  the  great  fresh- water  lake  basin  which 
occui)ies  so  great  an  area  in  Nebraska.  We  have  seen  that  the  carbon- 
iferous limestones  pass  beneath  the  lower  cretaceous  sandstones  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Elk  Horn,  about  thirty  miles  west  of  Omaha;  that  the 
cretaceous  rocks  extend  westward  about  eighty  miles  farther,  where 
they  are  overlapped  by  the  marls  and  clays  of  the  White  River  Group. 
These  form  an  unbroken  mass  to  the  very  margins  of  the  first  range  of 
mountains  west  of  Cheyenne.  Up  to  this  point  our  ascent  has  been  so 
gradual  that  it  is  hardly  perceptible  to  the  common  observer,  and  yet 
the  grade  has  been  upward  at  the  rate  of  nearly  twelve  feet  per  mile. 
If  we  examine  the  excellent  profile  of  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  con- 
structed under  the  supervision  of  the  distinguished  engineer.  General 
G.  M.  Dodge,  we  shall  find  that  Omaha,  the  eastern  terminus  of  the 
road,  is  nine  hundred  and  sixty-six  feet  above  tide-water.  At  Cheyenne, 
which  is  five  hundred  and  seventeen  miles  west  of  Omaha,  the  eleva- 
tion is  six  thousand  and  seventy-two  feet ;  west  of  Cheyenne  the  as- 
cent increases  with  great  rapidity;  at  Sherman  Station,  near  the 
summit  of  Laramie  range,  the  height  is  eight  thousand  two  hun- 
dred and  forty-two  feet;  so  that  within  a  distance  of  thirty -three 
miles  we  have  a  difference  of  elevation  of  two  thousand  one  hun- 
dred and  seventy  feet,  or  an  ascending  grade  of  nearly  sixty-six 
feet  per  mile.  A  profile  section  across  the  country  east  and  west 
from  the  Missouri  River,  from  the  north  line  to  Mexico,  would  show, 
the  same  graded  ascent,  illustrating  with  great  clearness  the  long- 
continued  but  regular  upheaval  of  the  great  original  plateau  west  of 
the  Mississippi.  If  we  were  to  stand  on  the  spot  where  the  city  of  Den- 
ver is  located,  five  thousand  four  hundred  and  thirteen  feet  above  the  sea, 
and  look  to  the  north,  south,  or  east,  we  shall  see  only  a  broad,  appar- 
ently level  plain,  with  no  perceptible  ascent ;  but  turning  our  eyes  to  the 
westward,  the  ranges  of  the  main  Rocky  Mountain  chain  seem  to  rise 
abruptly  out  of  the  i^lain,  showing  very  clearly  that  when  the  crust  of 
this  great  original  plateau  had  been  stretched  to  its  utmost  tension,  these 
lofty  ranges  burst  through  the  sui^eriucumbent  sedimentary  strata  as  the 
germ  breaks  through  the  hard-trodden  earth  above  it.  The  series  of 
ridges  which  are  so  well  exposed  along  the  base  of  the  mountains  show 
plainly  that  all  the  formations  from  the  summits  of  the  lignite  tertiary  to 
the  granites  extended  uninterruptedly  across  the  area  now  occupied  by 
tliese  ranges  prior  to  their  elevation,  and  probably  up  to  the  close  of  the 
cretaceous  epoch,  and  possibly  somewhat  later.  This  important  fact  is 
better  illustrated  near  Denver  tban  at  any  point  north  along  the  main 
traveled  routes,  because  the  mountains  form  a  iDortion  of  the  great  water- 
shed of  the  continent,  while  the  Laramie  range  west  of  Cheyenne  is  a 
detached  portion,  seldom  rising  over  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  sea. 
This  range,  however,  forms  a  perfect  anticlinal,  and  must  be  studied  in 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        113 

detail  in  order  that  its  beauty  and  regularity  may  be  understood  ;  and 
altlioguli  I  regard  it,  as  well  as  the  Black  Hills  of  Dakota,  a  more  perfect 
illustration  of  my  theory  of  the  elevation  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  liystem, 
yet  it  is  not  as  conspicuous  an  example  to  the  casual  observer  as  he  lofty 
ranges  west  of  Denver. 

From  Cheyenne  to  Granite  Canon,  near  the  summit  of  the  first  range, 
the  grade  of  ascent  is  greater  than  between  any  other  points  along  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad.  The  distance  is  about  nineteen  miles,  and  the 
ditt'erence  of  elevation  between  the  two  places  is  one  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  sixty-seven  feet,  or  a  grade  of  more  than  ninety  feet  per 
mile.  The  recent  tertiary  beds  lie  close  up  to  the  flanks  of  the  moun- 
tains, over  a  belt  of  several  miles,  affording  accomparatively  easy  transi- 
tion from  the  newer  formations  to  the  granite  nucleus. 

For  hundreds  of  miles  either  north  or  south  of  this  line  it  would 
be  difficult  or  fierhaps  impossible  to  build  a  railroad  across  the 
mountains,  but  here  nature  seems  to  have  provided  an  easy  inclined 
plain  to  the  very  margin  of  the  mountain  summit.  The  ridges  are  very 
nearly  concealed,  while  on  either  side  they  can  be  seen  as  formidable 
as  anywhere  along  the  eastern  base. 

Close  up  to  the  sides  of  the  mountains  this  more  recent  formation  is 
composed  of  water-worn  boulders  and  pebbles,  varying  much  in  size, 
but  as  we  recede  eastwaid  toward  the  plain  they  disappear  for  the 
most  part.  The  same  is  the  ease  with  the  drift,  which  shows  clearly 
that  the  causes  which  led  to  the  deposition  of  these  beds  operated  in  the 
vicinity,  and  the  materials  are  derived  from  the  mountains  near  by. 

On  either  side  of  this  inclined  plain,  north  or  south,  we  can  see  the 
upturned  edges  of  the  different  sedimentary  rocks  in  this  region. 
Between  Granite  Caiion  and  Cache  la  Poudre,  about  forty  miles  along 
the  foot  of  the  mountains,  not  only  is  the  scenery  rugged  and  grand  to 
the  eye,  but  the  complications  of  geological  structure  are  very  interest- 
ing. There  seems  here  to  have  been  a  jog  in  the  minor  ranges  wbich 
compose  the  aggregate  range,  and  several  of  these  smaller  ones  disap- 
pear in  the  plains.  The  belt  of  upheaved  ridges  is  here  ten  to  fifteen 
miles  wide,  revealing  all  the  sedimentary  rocks,  from  the  carboniferous 
limestones  to  the  most  recent  tertiary  beds.  The  peculiar  brick-red 
color  of  the  sandstones,  which  are  supposed  to  be  of  the  triassic  age, 
gives  a  singular  appearance  to  the  scenery.  We  have  here  the  carbon- 
iferous limestones  resting  upon  the  granites  ;  then  a  series  of  brick-red 
sandstones  inclining  at  different  angles,  with  beautiful  grassy  valleys 
between  the  ridges,  and  little  streams  cutting  through  nearly  at  right 
angles;  then  a  thin  group  of  sand  and  marls,  which  maybe  Jurassic; 
then  the  whole  series  of  cretaceous  beds  with  their  characteristic 
remains ;  then  the  lignite  tertiary  beds  with  coal,  all  conforming  to  each 
other,  and  all  inclining  from  the  mountains  at  different  angles.  All  the 
beds  just  alluded  to  perfectly  conform  to  each  other,  but  the  light-colored 
rocks,  which  most  attract  the  eye  of  the  traveler  at  Cheyenne,  do  not 
conform,  and  were  of  course  deposited  subsequent  to  the  uplifting  of 
the  mountain  ranges.  We  can  see,  therefore,  that  the  eastern  flanks  of 
these  mountains  formed  a  shore  line  for  a  great  fresh-water  lake. 

If  we  make  our  investigations  still  north  of  this  line,  we  shall  find,  for 
two  hundred  miles  or  more,  that  these  recent  beds  jut  up  against  the  older 
sedimentary  beds,  and  in  many  places  rest  upon  the  granites.  Sometimes 
the  whitish  rocks  have  been  removed  by  erosion,  so  as  to  expose  the 
older  ones,  but  near  Laramie  Peak  they  entirely  conceal  all  but  the 
granites.  In  many  places  these  recent  beds  are  found  high  up  on  the 
flanks  of  the  mountains,  in  a  nearly  horizontal  position,  as  if  many  of 
8  G 


114       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

the  outer  peaks  were  mere  islands  in  this  great  lake,  much  like  those  in 
Salt  Lake  at  the  present  time.  I  have  said  enough  here  to  show  the 
reader  that  from  Cheyenne  to  the  summit  of  the  first  range  he  is  passing 
over  a  thick  shore  deposit  of  an  ancient  lake,  which  once  covered  a  vast 
area  very  much  larger  than  that  of  any  of  onr  fresh-water  lakes  of  the 
present  dav.  The  cuts  along  the  road  do  not  show  all  the  formations 
in  this  vicinity.  The  traveler  must  stop  a  day  and  wander  away  from 
the  line  of  the  road,  if  he  would  make  his  geological  observations  com- 

nlete. 

The  recent  beds  rest  directlv  on  a  stratum  of  while  limestone  of  car- 
boniferous ao-e.  This  limestone  is  very  usetul  to  the  citizens  of  the 
Territory  inasmnch  as  it  can  be  burned  into  lime  of  the  finest  quahty. 
The  walls  of  houses  plastered  with  it  are  as  white  as  snow,  and  it  is  a 
great  favorite  with  masons.  The  supply  is  inexhaustible,  although  it 
is  not  exposed  anywhere  along  the  mountains  in  any  very  great  thick- 

Tliese  limestones  are  regarded  as  of  the  same  age  as  those  we  saw  at 
Omaha  and  along  the  Platte,  and  if  so,  they  must  have  been  concealed 
over  this  long  distance,  at  least  five  hundred  miles,  and  had  it  not  been 
for  the  upheaval  of  these  mountains,  would  never  have  been  exposed  to 

the  eve  of  man.  ^      .  -,  •  i  t  ^    ^ 

Before  leaving  that  portion  of  Wyoming  Territory  which  lies  east  ot 
the  first  range  I  will  say  a  word  in  regard  to  its  aaricnltural  and  pas- 
toral resources.  The  soil  is  fertile  and  must  l)e  quite  productive  where 
it  can  be  irrigated.  Better  pasturage  does  not  exist  in  the  known  world, 
and  sooner  or  later  this  portion  of  the  Territory  must  become  celebrated 
not  only  for  the  quantity  but  the  quality  of  its  stock.  Along  under 
the  mountains  and  in  the  yalleys  of  the  little  streams  that  flow  there- 
from, as  the  Lodge  Pole,  Chugwater,  and  others,  very  little  snow  talis 
all  winter,  and  the  grass  remaius  very  nutritious  until  late  in  the  spring. 
All  the  roots  and  most  of  the  cereals  can  be  raised  on  the  east  side  ot 
the  mountains.  The  city  of  Cheyenne  cannot  hope  for  a  permanency 
until  the  surrounding  country  is  settled  by  a  thriving  fanning  popula- 
tion, and  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  the  valleys  of  Crow  Creek, 
Pole  Creek,  and  others  will  be  occupied  with  tarm-honses  and  the  bot- 
■  toms  covered  with  excellent  crops.  Plans  have  already  been  made  by 
the  citizens  for  irrigating  large  areas  of  the  upland.  The  healthtul  change 
which  will  at  once  be  produced  in  the  country  will  encourage  others,  until 
all  the  available  farming  land  will  be  brought  under  cultivation,  aud  the 
prosperity  of  the  Territory  will  be  rendered  certain.  However  valuable 
rivers  may  be  to  a  country,  and  however  great  the  impulse  a  railroad  may 
give  to  the  first  settlement  of  a  region,  the  basis  of  all  permanent  pros- 
perity seems  to  rest  upon  the  products  of  the  soil. 

The  science  of  geology  continually  shows  how  entirely  dependent  upon 
causes  which  were  in  operation  many  ages  ago  are  the  most  practical 
results  of  man.  Like  the  ripe  fruits  which  so  many  pluck  from  the  tree, 
and  eniov  without  a  further  thought,  so  these  important  benefits  are 
accepted  by  mankind,  and  how  few  are  thoughtful  enough  to  inquire 
from  whence  they  come  ! 

The  stupendous  erosive  agencies  which  have  m  most  cases  scoopert 
out  deep  valleys  inst  at  the  tbot  of  the  mountains,  have  left  this  portion 
remainin.o'  of  the  inclined  plain  which  I  have  described  as  extending  troni 
Cheyenne  to  Granite  Canon,  and  underlying  the-^-estern  shore  ol  a  great 
lake,  and  therobv  rendered  it  possible  for  the  Pacific  liadroad  to  pass 
over  the  range,  saving  to  its  ent-erprising  builders  millions  of  dollars. 
We  shall  endeavor \o  show  along  the  line  of  the  route  that  this  great 


GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TEERITORIES. 


115 


road  was  really  constructed  iu  far  past  geological  times,  aud  it  was  left 
for  man  to  discover  and  avail  himself  of  the  advantages  of  the  secret 
workings  of  nature.  The  summit  of  this  range  presents  some  scenery 
which  is  quite  unique  and  remarkable,  differing  in  many  of  its  features 
from  that  at  any  other  point  along  the  road.  It  would  well  repay  the 
tourist,  and  especially  the  artist,  to  spend  several  days  here ;  the  air  is 
delightfully  exhihiratiiig  and  cool,  the  water  i)ure  as  crystal,  and  all 
])arts  easily  accessible.  The  little  streams  are  fall  of  hsh,  especially 
trout,  aud  game  is  moderately  abundant ;  black-tailed  deer,  red  deer, 
and  antelope  are  yet  found,  though  becoming  less  abundant  every  year, 
and  with  two  or  three  kinds  of  grouse  and  woodcock  will  reward  the 
sportsman.  • 

The  rooks  which  compose  the  nucleus  of  this  range  are  granites,  or, 
inasmuch  as  they  present  a  great  variety  of  texture,  I  have  chosen  to  call 
them  grauitoid.  Sometimes  the  rocks  are  made  of  large  crystals  of  feld- 
spar and  quartz,  with  very  little  or  no  mica,  forming  a  coarse  feldspathic 
granite;  sometimes  the  constituents  will  be  quite  uniform,  and  a  fine- 
grained, compact,  aud  most  durable  rock  will  be  the  result.  Again,  some 
constituent  of  iron  will  i)revail,  and  disintegration  is  rapidly  effected  by 
atmospheric  agencies.  The  surface  of  this  range  is  literally  paved  with 
small  fragments  of  rock,  and  the  natural  roads  that  are  made  in  the 
mountains  are  macadamized  with  feldspar.  Building  materials  are 
abundant,  and  as  extensive  as  the  mountains  themselves.  On  each 
side  are  massive  hills  of  syenite,  which  look  in  the  distance  like  the  ruins 
of  some  gigantic  old  castle.  This  is  a  close,  compact,  massive  granite, 
rather  fine-grained  and  susceptible  of  polish,  much  like  the  Scottish 
Bvenite. 

Fie.  7. 


Granite  Cauon,  near  Syenite  Station,  Union  Pacific  Railroad. 


116 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 


The  directors  of  the  Uuiou  Pacific  Raih^oad  contemijlate  transporting 
this  beautiful  rock  to  Omaha,  to  construct  with  it  the  piers  of  the  bridge 
across  the  Missouri  Eiver.  I  believe  it  will  prove  as  durable  and  far 
more  elegant,  on  account  of  its  brighter  color,  than  Quincy  granite. 

The  cuts  along  the  road  furnish  excellent  opportunities  for  rock  study. 
They  are,  as  it  were,  portions  carved  out  of  the  crust,  and  Ave  can  thus 
obtain  more  accurate  notions  of  its  geology  than  in  any  other  way.  The 
surface  has  often  been  so  changed  by  erosion  that  the  loose  material 
that  has  fallen  down  the  sides  of  natural  gorges,  in  almost  all  cases,  ob- 
scures, to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  the  true  character  of  the  rocks,  and  I 
have  found  these  excavations  of  the  greatest  importance  in  my  exami- 
nations, correcting  many  an  erroneous  view. 

Figure  7  is  an  excellent  illustration  of  a  caiion  through  the  different 
kinds  of  granite.  On  the  right  side  of  the  tract  the  rock  has  been  dis- 
integrated for  a  considerable  distance  down  by  moisture,  and  the  feld- 
spathic  crystals  project  from  its  sides  with  great  distinctness.  A  heavy 
vein  of  quartzite  is  also  distinctly  shown.  In  the  distance  we  catch  a 
faint  glimpse  of  one  of  these  massive  granite  piles,  which  are  so  well 
shown  in  Figure  9.  The  character  of  the  surface  of  this  range  of  moun- 
tains, which  is  about  twenty  to  thirty  miles  in  width,  is  also  well  shown. 
Large  areas  are  comparatively  level,  and  covered  with  a  thick  growth  of 
grass,  with  here  and  there  a  thin  grove  of  pines.  These  trees  are  hardly 
ever  more  than  from  fifty  to  sixty  feet  high,  and  seldom  more  than  two 
feet  in  diameter  at  the  base.  Further  up  in  the  higher  ranges  the  white 
spruce  and  several  other  species  of  coniferous  trees  are  found. 

Fisr.  8. 


Virginia  Dale,  Summit  Laramie  Mountains. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 


117 


Figure  9  forms  an  excellent  rock  study,  and  it  is  a  fine  illustration 
of  the  style  of  weathering  of  the  feldspathic  granites.  These  massive 
pik's,  like  the  ruins  of  old  castles,  are  scattered  all  over  the  summit  of 
the  Laramie  range,  and  the  difference  in  texture  of  the  rock  is  such  as 
to  give  a  most  pk^ising  variety,  hardly  any  of  these  ])iles  being  alike. 
These  rocks  were  once  angular  masses,  probably  nearly  cubical  i)locks, 
and  they  have  been  rouiuled  to  their  present  form  in  the  ])rocess  of  dis- 
integration by  exfoliation.  Nature  seems  to  abhor  jjU  sharp  corners  or 
angics,  and  with  her  the  curve  is  the  line  of  beauty.  Time  wears  oil" 
all  the  sharp  i>oints  in  thin,  spherical  layers  year  after  year.  Skull  Eock 
is  another  example  of  the  tendency  to  wear  into  singular  shapes.  This 
rock,  which  has  given  name  to  one  of  these  striking  rock  masses,  has  been 
peeled  off,  coat  by  coat,  by  the  fingers  of  Time  until  it  presents  a  very 
close  resemblance  to  a  human  cranium.  If  we  were  to  descend  the 
beautiful  valley  of  Dale  Creek  we  should  find  the  scenery  even  more 
romantic,  and  the  granites  worn  into  more  fantastic  forms.  There  is  one 
l)ortion  of  this  valley  which  has  long  been  celebrated  for  the  beauty  of 
its  scenery,  and  known  to  the  country  as  Virginia  Dale. 

The  swifrly-liowing  stream  winds  its  way  through  the  over-hanging 
rocks,  which  sometimes  run  up  a  thousand  feet  or  more,  with  nearly 
vertical  sides,  and  among  these  massive  granite  jules  are  grassy,  oval, 
park-like  areas,  which  must  become  at  some  future  period  favorite 
places  of  resort.  The  character  of  the  scenery  and  the  style  of  weath- 
erine"  of  the  rocks  are  well  shown  in 


Fiff.  9. 


Granite  Rocks,  Sherman  Station,  Laramie  Mountains. 

Sherman  Station,  situated  on  the  summit,  is  well  known  as  the  highest 
point  over  which  the  railroad  passes  between  Omaha  and  Salt  Lake  Val- 
ley, and  appropriately  bears  the  honored  name  of  tlie  Commander-in- 
chief  of  the  Armies  of  the  United  States, 

We  might  linger  for  a  time  here  and  admire  the  beautiful  and  unique 
scenery  which  is  unfolded  to  us  on  everv  side.     We  shall  not  meet  with 


118       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

its  like  again  in  any  otlier  part  of  the  West.  Long's  Peak,  with  its  double 
spires,  rises  a1)ove  the  limits  of  vegetation  into  the  regions  of  perpetual 
snow,  more  than  fourteen  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  All 
around  are  less  lofty  cones,  many  of  them  so  covered  with  pines  that 
they  look  black  and  somber  in  the  distance.  Far  to  the  southwest  are 
the  snowy  ranges  that  surround  the  Nortli  Pai  k,  and  in  the  interme- 
diate space  are  groups  Of  lower  peaks  or  coues,  risnig-like  steps  to  the 
higher  ranges.  There  is  an  interesting  thought  just  here  as  to  the  real 
origin  of  these  granitic,  ruin-like  piles  that  give  the  peculiar  distinction 
to  the  plateau  surface  of  the  Laramie  Mountains.  I  believe  it  is  entirely 
due  to  erosive  forces,  which  have  operated  here  on  a  gigantic  scale,  and 
these  cones  and  natural  temples  are  the  monuments  that  are  left  to  tell 
the  tale.  I  am  convinced  that  the  surface  was  at  one  time  at  least  on 
a  level  with  the  highest  of  them.  How  much  more  has  been  removed 
it  is  now  impossible  to  tell,  but  I  am  convinced  that  comparatively  few 
geologists  have  fairly  estimated  the  immensity  of  the  time  required  and 
the  vastness  of  the  amount  of  material  removed  from  the  surface  by 
erosion. 

Three  miles  west  of  Sherman  we  cross  the  head  of  Dale  Creek,  a 
small  stream  which  flows  through  a  wide,  gorge-like  valley  in  the  gran- 
itic rocks.  Spanning  the  valley  is  a  bridge  six  hundred  and  fifty  feet  in 
length,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  feet  above  the  little  stream. 
This  bridge,  which  is  well  worthy  of  examination,  forms  one  of  the  most 
beautiful  structures  of  the  kind  along  this  road,  and  always  attracts  the 
attention  of  the  traveler,  who  looks  down  from  it  upon  a  beautiful 
grassy  valley,  through  which  winds  a  small  stream,  the  Vvhole  walled  in 
with  massive  granite,  like  that  before  described.  After  crossing  the 
Dale  Creek  bridge  we  descend  rapidly  to  the  plains.  On  the  west  side 
of  the  mountains  we  pass  across  the  inclined  edges  of  foiinatious  which 
appear  to  be  counterparts  of  those  already  alluded  to  on  the  east  side. 
We  find  the  sandstones  resting  upon  the  granite,  and  inclining  at  a 
greater  or  less  angle  westward ;  we  also  find  the  whitish  and  yellowish- 
white  limestones  of  the  carboniferous  i:>eriod ;  also  the  red  sandstones, 
which  have  usually  been  regarded  as  Triassic,  though  I  suspect  that  the 
upper  portion,  at  least,  is  Jurassic;  then  come  loose  red  sands,  extend- 
ing a  considerable  distance  into  the  plains.  If  we  continue  on  toward 
the  Big  and  Little  Laramie  Elvers,  we  shall  find  the  cretaceous  beds,  in 
full  development,  in  a  nearly  horizontal  position,  and  about  thirty  miles 
still  farther  west  the  coal  beds  of  the  tertiary  period  are  seen. 

But  before  we  commence  our  general  remarks  in  regard  to  this 
mountain  range  let  "us  linger  for  ft  time  among  the  singular  and  gro- 
tesque forms  which  nature  has  hewn  out  of  the  sandstones  on  this 
western  slope.  Here  we  may  study  some  excellent  iIlu.stratious  of  the 
wearing  away  of  sandstones  through  atmospheric  agencies.  We  wish 
as  far  as  possible  to  i^resent  to  the  reader  type  examples  of  the  influence 
which  the  atmosphere,  in  its  varied  phases,  has  in  shaping  the  features 
of  the  landscape. 

We  have  illustrated  some  of  the  granitoid  rocks  of  the  mountain's 
nucleus  which  have  been  metamorphosed  by  heat.  Figure  9  is 
exceedingly  instructive  in  many  points  of  view.  The  rock  itself  is  a 
moderately  fine-grained  sandstone,  and  varies  in  color  from  a  yellowish 
white  to  a  light  brick-red,  and  is  jirobably  of  Jurassic  age.  No  organic 
remains  have  ever  been  found  in  the  sandstones,  althougli  I  have  traced 
them  along  the  mountain  sides  from  our  north  line  to  Santa  Fe.  The 
reason  why  I  call  them  Jurassic  is,  that  a  bed  of  limestone,  which 
inclines  from  the  flank  of  the  mountain  higher  up,  seems  to  hold  a  lower 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 


119 


geological  positiou,  and  coutains  the  remains  of  crinoids,  wliieli  Pro- 
fessor Agassiz  reftvis  to  the  genns  Apiocrinites,  which  is  Jurassic-.  To  this 
place  lias  been  given  the  name  of  Dial  Rock,  on  account  of  the  peculiar 
dial-shaped  form  into  which  one  of  the  columns  has  been  worn.  We  see 
at  a  glance  that  these  rocks  are  stratified ;  that  they  hold  a  nearl}'  hori- 
zontal position ;  that  they  stand  out  in  the  plains  nearly  isolated, 
although  in  the  immediate  vicinity  are  other  equally  fantastic  fV)rms, 
covering  quite  an  extensive  area.  Where  are  the  intermediate  portions 
of  the  rock  out  of  which  these  singular  monuments  have  been  carved 
by  the  chisel  of  time  ?  These  level  plains,  covered  now  with  grass  and 
wild  sage,  were  once  on  a  level  with  the  summits  of  these  sandstones  at 
least,  while  the  vast  mass  of  sandstone  which  filled  np  the  general  level 
has  been  swept  away,  Avho  knows  where  "?  Who  can  estimate  the  forces 
that  liave  wrought  this  mighty  work,  or  the  immensity  of  the  time  that 
it  required?  Dow  many  myriads  of  ages  have  the  winds  and  storms 
beaten  against  the  sides  of  these  rocks,  gnawing  out  the  cavities  and 
giving  them  the  fantastic  shapes  they  now  possess  ?  Every  year  smaller 
portions  crumble  off  and  are  mingled  with  the  soil  below,  and  in  time  all 
these  remnants  of  the  past  will  be  removed.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the 
larger  mass  is  worn  into  a  form  that  can  easily  be  imagined  a  human 
face,  and  an  American  might  fancy  he  saw  in  it  some  resemblance  to 
that  of  the  Father  of  his  Country. 

It  is  not  an  uncommon  thing  for  the  rocks  of  all  textures  in  this  coun- 
try to  weather  into  the  forms  which  call  to  mind  human  beings  and 
animals. 

Finr.  10. 


Triassic  sandstones,  west  slope,  Laramie  range. 

These  sandstones  also  afford  a  fine  illustration  of  what  is  called  irreg- 
ular layers  of  deposition,  and  the  materials  are  supposed  to  have  been 
brought  here  and  deposited  in  turbulent  waters.  If  we  were  to  study 
the  actions  of  currents  of  water  along  our  streams,  or  of  the  waves  of 
the  sea  shore,  we  should  continually  find  examples  of  the  deposition  of 


120  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

sandy  material  over  au  iiiclined  plain ;  sometimes  on  one  side  of  a  ridge 
or  elevation,  and  sometimes  on  the  other.  Now,  if  tliis  sand  were 
molded  into  rock,  these  layers  of  deposition  would  show  distinctly 
this  same  irregularity,  i^ot  far  distant  from  this  point  is  another  group 
of  these  weathered  sandstones  which  show  still  more  clearly  these  irreg- 
ular layers.  The  eofter  portions  have  been  worn  away,  causing  each 
thin  layer  to  stand  out  of  the  sides  of  the  rocks  with  great  distinctness. 
Sometimes  the  thin  layers  incline  in  one  direction,  sometimes  in  another. 
These  sandstones  vary  in  height  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fift3'  feet. 
On  their  summits  the  eagles  are  fond  of  building  their  nests,  where  they 
will  be  inaccessible  to  their  human  enemies.  Before  closing  our  descrip- 
tion of  Figure  10, 1  ought  to  allude  to  the  wild  sage  bush,  which  so  pe- 
culiarly characterizes  these  almost  treeless  plains.  We  are  here  more 
than  seven  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  tide-water;  at  this  eleva- 
tion we  find  a  species  of  sage  which  takes  the  place  of  the  one  on  the 
plains  east  of  the  mountains.  It  is  called  Artemisia  tridentata  on  account 
of  its  small,  three-coothed  leaf.  It  grows  about  the  same  size  and  very 
much  resembles  the  other  species.  This  sage,  as  well  as  two  or  three 
kinds  of  shrubs  peculiar  to  the  high  places,  are  well  shown  in  the  figure. 

We  have  now  described  briefly  the  different  sedimentary  formations 
as  they  incline  on  each  side  of  this  mountain  range.  It  may  be  well  to 
remind  the  reader  that  this  range  is  an  excellent  illustration  of  the  plan 
of  development  of  these  mountains.  We  find  a  series  of  formations 
inclining  from  the  eastern  slope  of  the  mountains ;  we  pass  over  the 
range  and  we  again  find  the  corresponding  portions  dipping  in  an  oppo- 
site direction  over  the  western  slope.  We  at  once  come  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  these  formations  at  some  former  period  extended  uninter- 
ruptedly across  the  area  now  occupied  by  the  granitic  rocks,  and  that 
the  intermediate  portions  have  been  removed  by  erosion.  Then  the 
query  arises,  at  what  time  were  these  events  brought  about*?  It  seems 
to  me  it  must  have  occurred  as  the  surface  was  slowly  emerging  from 
the  waters  of  the  ocean.  As  the  bottom  of  the  ancient  sea  along  the 
line  of  this  mountain  range  slowly  arose,  the  waters  became  shallow, 
and  they  would  be  more  easily  disturbed  by  the  winds  and  the  erosive 
forces  be  pro[)ortionately  increased,  and  if  the  rocks  arose  above  the  sur 
face  the  waves  would  dash  against  their  sides  and  jirove  still  more  effec- 
tive. The  sediments  would  be  wafted  away  and  deposited  in  some  other 
part  of  the  ocean,  to  enter  into  the  composition  of  more  recent  rocks. 

The  Laramie  range,  extending  from  a  jjoint  near  Long's  Peak  north- 
ward to  the  Red  Buttes  on  the  North  Platte  and  the  Black  Hills  of 
Dakota,  form  the  most  simple  and  complete  examples  of  true  auticlinals 
on  a  gigantic  scale  that  I  have  ever  met  with  in  my  explorations.  These 
ranges  are  less  complicated  with  basaltic  outbursts  than  any  others. 
Some  of  the  peaks,  like  Laramie  Peak,  are  quite  lofty,  but  as  a  general 
rule  they  are  low  mountains,  and  for  the  most  part  composed  of  a  nuclei 
of  massive  red  feldspathic  granites  inclosed  on  each  side  with  true 
gneissic  strata.  All  these  mountain  ranges  require  a  few  more  detailed 
examinations  than  I  have  ever  been  able  to  give  them,  but  the  statements 
that  I  have  here  made  will,  I  think,  prove  to  be  mainly  correct. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  121 


CHAPTEE  X. 

THE  LARAMIE  PLAINS. 

I'll  our  last  chapter  we  desceucled  the  western  slope  of  tlie  first  moun- 
tain range  to  a  broad,  open  expanse  of  mountain  prairie  known  as  the 
Laramie  Plains.  This  great  area  might  be  called  a  park;  it  is  enclosed 
on  three  sides  by  extensive  mountain  ranges,  but  on  the  west  its  limits 
are  not  well  defined,  inasmuch  as  no  mountain  ranges  of  any  importance 
intervene  until  we  come  to  the  Wasatch  range,  in  Utah.  It  is  usually 
understood  to  extend  westward  almost  to  the  Metlicine  Bow  River,  and 
thus  comprises  an  area  about  fifty  miles  from  east  to  west,  and  one 
hundred  from  north  to  south,  the  Laramie  range  or  Black  Hills  forming 
the  eastern  boundary.  As  we  ride  on  the  cars  through  the  plains,  these 
mountains,  v>ith  their  comparatively  uniform  and  gently  sloping  sides, 
seem  for  many  miles  to  bend  around  so  as  to  inclose  us  within  their 
walls.  On  the  south  side  are  the  Medicine  Bow  Mountains,  which  are 
far  more  formidable  and  lofty  than  the  others;  indeed,  the  ranges  this 
side  are  quite  irregular  and  fragmentary,  and  are  known  by  different 
names,  as  Sheephead  Mountains,  Elk  Mountains,  &c.  Many  of  these 
lofty  peaks  and  ranges  have  not  yet  been  explored  geologically  or  geo- 
graphically, and  these  magnificent  JB.elds  are  ripe  and  waiting  for  the 
harvest  of  science.     The  far  West  is  vast,  but  the  laborers  are  few. 

Before  proceeding,  we  n\ight  for  a  moment  trace  to  their  sources  in 
the  mountains  some  of  the  beautiful  rivers  that  wind  their  way  through 
the  plains.  We  shall  find  to  our  surprise  that,  although  we  have  crossed 
a  range  of  mountains  the  highest  along  the  line  of  the  road,  we  are  still 
in  the  great  valley  of  the  Platte  in  which  we  started  on  our  journey. 

The  main  branch  of  the  North  Platte  rises  iu  the  range  of  mountains 
which  forms  the  north  side  of  the  Middle  Park,  very  near  Long's  Peak. 
It  takes  a  course  a  little  west  of  north,  flows  through  the  middle  of  the 
North  Park,  cutting  its  way  through  immense  caQons  between  the 
North  Park  and  the  Laramie  Plains.  It  then  continues  nearly  a  north 
course,  through  tertiary  as  well  as  cretaceous  rocks,  to  its  junction  with 
the  Sweetwater,  where  it  bends  around  to  the  east,  so  that  near  the  Eed 
Buttes  its  course  is  nearly  southeast  until  it  reaches  the  main  Platte, 
near  longitude  101°. 

The  Sweetwater,  which  is  the  principal  branch  of  the  North  Platte, 
rises  in  the  southern  end  of  the  Wind  Kiver  ]Mountains,  and  flows  nearly 
east  and  unites  with  the  North  Platte  near  Independence  Kock.  These 
streams  flow  through  nearly  every  variety  of  geological  formation 
which  occurs  in  the  West.  Erom  the  junction  of  the  Sweetwater  to  the 
Eed  Buttes  it  flows  through  granite,  carboniferous  limestone,  red  beds, 
Jurassic  marls,  and  White  liiver  tertiary  beds;  and  from  the  Eed 
Buttes  through  lignite  tertiary  to  a  point  about  one  hundred  miles 
northwest  of  Eort  Laramie.  There  the  White  Eiver  tertiary  beds  over- 
lap the  lignite  tertiary,  and  then  continue  to  the  forks  of  the  Platte. 

The  Medicine  Bow  and  the  two  Laramies  are  important  branches  of 
the  North  Platte,  and  take  their  rise  in  the  lofty,  snow-capped  mountains 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Laramie  Plains.  The  region  north  of  the  North 
Platte  is  mostly  a  vast  sage  plain,  and  but  few  small  branches  flow  in 
from  that  direction,  but  a  multitude  of  small  streams  cut  deep  channels 
through  the  sides  of  the  Laramie  range  and  flow  into  the  North  Platte. 

From  Eed  Buttes  to  Fort  Laramie,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles,  many  beautiful  little  streams  rise  in  the  Laramie  range  and  pour  a 
good  volume  of  water  into  the  Platte.    These  creeks  occur  every  few 


122       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

miles,  and  iu  their  passage  from  the  mouutain  they  have  not  only  worn 
a  deep  channel  in  the  steep  side  of  the  mountain,  sometimes  one  thou- 
sand feet  or  more  in  depth,  but  they  have  also  scooped  out  a  wide,  deep 
valley,  which  affords  the  best  of  pasture-ground  for  stock  iu  summer, 
and  warm,  sheltered  places  in  winter. 

The  main  branch  of  the  South  Platte  rises  in  the  range  of  mountains 
which  bounds  the  west  side  of  the  South  Park,  and  flows  about  northeast 
to  Cache  a  la  Poudre,  and  there  bends  around  slightly  toward  the  east  and 
joins  the  main  Platte.  The  little  branches  that  flow  from  the  mountain 
sides  are  very  numerous,  and  each  one  cuts  a  tremendous  channel  through 
the  sides  of  the  mountain,  affording  most  excellent  sections  of  the  strata 
for  the  geologist.  Nearly  all  the  branches  that  rise  in  the  plains  have 
very  wide  valleys,  but  are  mostly  dry,  especially  in  the  latter  part  of 
suiumer  and  autumn.  Although  the  Platte  Eiver  is  never  navigable  at 
any  season  of  the  year,  yet  the  area  drained  by  it  is  immense,  being 
nearly  three  hundred  thousand  square  miles ;  and  yet  it  is  one  of  the 
minor  branches  of  the  Missouri  Elver. 

The  South  Platte  flows  through  the  different  formations  along  the 
flanks  of  the  mountain ;  and  in  its  course  through  the  plains  cuts  the 
lignite  tertiary  for  fifty  miles  or  more,  when  the  White  Eiver  tertiary 
overlaps  the  i)lains  to  the  junction. 

These  brief  remarks  are  intended  principally  to  show  by  the  geography 
the  gigantic  scale  upon  which  everything  in  this  western  country  is 
planned ;  that  even  the  district  drained  by  the  Platte  and  its  branches 
is  larger  than  all  Xew  England,  ISI^ew  York,  and  Pennsylvania. 

Myriads  of  little  streams  rise  in  springs  on  the  summits  of  all  the 
.  mountain  ranges,  and,  flowing  down  the  sides,  gash  out  deep  gorges,  which 
afford  most  splendid  sections  of  the  rocks  for  the  study  of  the  geologist. 
And  as  for  beautiful  scenery,  there  is  no  limjt  to  it.  If  we  were  to  trace 
these  streams  to  their  source  in  the  mountains,  through  gorges  and 
chasms,  into  beautiful  oval  grassy,  valleys,  up  the  precipitous  flanks 
where  they  expand  in  numerous  little  branches,  rushing  and  tumbling 
over  the  rocks,  we  should  involuntarily  pronounce  each  one  at  the  time 
more  grand,  more  beautiful,  and  more  instructive  than  any  we  had  ever 
seen  before.  It  is  impossible  to  describe  to  the  reader  the  pleasure  one 
enjoys  in  wandering  among  these  mountain  valleys,  climbing  the  almost 
vertical  cliff's  and  studying  the  almost  unlimited  variety'  of  forms  which 
the  masses  of  rock  present.  Then,  too,  the  vegetation,  seen  in  summer, 
has  the  green,  fresh  appearance  that  is  so  inviting  and  grateful;  the 
grass,  flowers,  and  trees,  all  wear  that  healthy  look  which  is  only  to  be  met 
in  the  mountains.  Although  the  Laramie  plains  are  at  too  high  an  eleva- 
tion ever  to  become  noted  for  their  agricultural  resources,  yet  the  few 
attempts  to  raise  certain  crops  have  met  with  moderate  success. 

In  the  summer  of  1868  a  few  farmers  in  the  valley  of  Eock  Creek, 
along  the  line  of  the  old  stage  road,  succeeded  in  raising  some  very  good 
vegetables,  as  potatoes,  turnips,  cabbage,  &c.,  and  they  would  have 
remained  there  contented,  had  they  not  been  driven  away  by  the  Indians. 
But  it  is  doubtful  if  these  plains  will  ever  become  a  favorite  abode  for 
farmers,  though  for  the  raising  of  stock  I  believe  they  are  unsurpassed. 
Horses,  cattle,  and  sheep  have  already  been  raised  here  of  the  finest  kind, 
and  in  the  beautiful  sheltered  valleys  they  find  the  most  secure  retreats 
from  the  severity  of  the  winter's  cold.  Thousands  of  tons  of  excellent 
hay  can  be  cut  every  year  along  the  bottoms  of  any  of  these  streams. 

Ther^is  a  beautiful  view  of  the  ])lains  proper,  as  seen  iu  the  valley 
of  the  Little  Laramie,  near  Sheephead  Mountain.  We  see  here  the 
meanderings  of  the  little  stream;  the  fringes  of  cotton  woods,  willows, 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       123 

aud  a-  few  shrubs  in  the  immediate  bottom,  the  level,  lawn-like  terraces 
covered  with  a  thick  carpet  of  grass,  and  gradually  ascending  to  the  hills 
oil  either  side.  The. entire  surface  has  been  so  perlectly  softened  down 
by  time  that  the  beauty  of  the  scene  is  perfect.  It  is  true,  the  plaius  are 
not  at  all  times  as  uniforinly  smooth  as  this  view  would  indicate.  Not 
unfrequeutly  the  surface  is  rugged  in  places ;  masses  of  sandstone  or 
limestone  with  steep  sides  rising  in  the  midst  of  the  plains — monuments 
left  after  the  action  of  the  waters  that  have  smoothed  down  these  beautiful 
landscapes.  It  would  seem  that  they  are  left  to  aid  us  iu  reconstructing 
the  geography  of  past  geological  times. 

Near  the  middle  of  these  plains,  on  Cooper's  Creek,  are  some  quite  re- 
markable exhibitions  of  thechalli:  clifts  of  the  middle  cretaceous  period,  in 
which  are  oyster-shells,  fish  scales,  and  the  bones  of  a  huge  Saurian  rep- 
tile. A  little  farther  to  tbe  west  is  a  long  line  of  yellow  sandstone  blutfs 
two  hundred  to  tbree  hundred  feet  high,  forming  beds  of  transition  or  pass- 
age between  the  cretaceous  and  tertiary  periods;  and  still  farther  west  are 
more  rugged  hills  in  which  are  found  beds  of  coal.  We  see,  too,  everywhere 
indications  of  the  action  of  water  on  the  surface  of  the  plains.  In  many 
j)laces  rounded  boulders  of  all  sizes,  from  the  minute  pebble  to  a  mass  two 
or  three  feet  in  diameter,  are  found  scattered  profusely  over  the  ground. 
Sometimes  these  rocks  accumulate  in  vast  quantities  on  the  side  of  a  hill, 
literally  paving  it;  then  again  in  long  lines  or  rows,  as  if  they  had  been 
carried  by  swift  water  or  dropped  from  an  iceberg.  Everywhere  in  the 
vicinity  of  the  mountains  are  abundant  indications  that  the  last  act  in 
the  drama  was  the  existence  of  large  bodies  of  water  everywhere  among 
the  mountains,  which  must  have  come  from  the  mountains  themselves, 
inasmuch  as  the  drift  material  indicates  a  local  origin.  We  may  suppose 
that  prior  to  the  present  period  the  temperature  of  the  climate  was  very 
much  lower;  that  vast  bodies  of  snow  and  ice  accumulatedin  the  mount- 
ainous portions  of  our  continent,  and  as  the  climate  became  more  mild, 
the  ice  and  snow  slowly  melted,  transporting  icebergs  filled  with  rocks  all 
over  the  plains,  and  when  one  of  these  vast  icebergs  would  lodge  and 
melt,  the  accumulations  of  worn  rocks  and  debris  would  be  great.  In 
almost  all  cases  the  slope  of  the  hill  opposite  the  mountain  range  is  the 
one  covered  with  the  debris,  as  if  the  mass  of  ice  in  floating  down  passed 
over  the  summit  of  the  ridge  and  lodged  on  the  opposite  side.  But  it 
would  be  impossible  for  us  to  linger  in  ail  these  pleasant  places;  entire 
volumes  could  be  written  illustrating  the  details  of  the  geology  of  these 
plaius;  our  only  object  is  to  gather  along  our  route  such  facts  as  will 
illustrate  our  views  and  link  our  story  together. 

Before  we  again  start  on  our  way  westward,  Ave  ought  to  take  a  glance, 
at  the  North  Park,  which  is  only  about  fifty  miles  to  the  southwest  of 
Fort  Sanders.  The  journey  is  quite  easily  made  in  two  days,  and  even 
in  one  day  on  horseback,  which  is  by  far  the  best  method  of  traveling  in 
this  mountainous  region.  In  August,  1868,  I  made  a  tour  to  the  North 
Park  with  a  small  party  of  Army  officers,  and  I  shall  not  soon  forget  the 
scene  of  beauty  that  was  opened  to  my  vision  from  the  summits  of  the 
mountains  surrounding  the  park.  I  was  the  more  desirous  of  visiting 
this  region  because  so  little  was  known  iu  regard  to  it,  and,  although  my 
visit  was  short  and  my  examinations  necessarily  limited,  I  had  the  sat- 
isfaction of  giving  to  the  world  the  first  accurate  knowledge  ever  obtained 
by  personal  investigation  of  the  geology  of  that  interesting  region. 

Our  course  from  Fort  Sanders  was  nearly  southeast,  up  the^ig  Lara- 
mie Eiver,  toward  its  source  in  the  mountains.  The  geology  or  the  plain 
country  through  which  the  Big  Laramie  flows  is  very  similar  to  that  of 
the  Little  La'ramie,  about  fifteen  miles  to  the  westward.     There  are 


124       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

comparatively  few  exposures  of  tbe  basis  roclis,  on  account  of  the  super- 
ficial drift  Tvbich  covers  all  tbis  country.  Still  we  find  along  tbe  banks  of 
tbe  river,  near  tbe  stage  station,  tbe  same  black  plas.tic  cretaceous  clays 
with  Ostrea  coiif/csta  and  a  few  remains  of  flsbes;  also  tbe  cbalky  marls; 
and  about  two  miles  above,  tbe  long  bigb  ridges,  on  eitberside,  extend- 
ing up  for  several  miles,  composed  of  tbe  rusty  yellow  sands  and  sand- 
stone of  tbe  lower  cretaceous.  Tbe  dip  of  tbese  beds  is  very  gentle, 
hardly  perceptible  to  the  eye. 

Tbe  Big  Laramie  is  a  very  clear  stream,  about  fifty  yards  in  width  and 
averaging  about  two  feet  in  depth,  easily  forded  in  most  places.  Like 
most  of  the  western  streams,  the  difference  between  bigb  and  low-water 
mark  is  very  great.  In  spring  and  early  summer,  when  tbe  snows  of  tbe 
mountains  melt,  these  streams  become  formidable  rivers.  Tbe  soil  along 
tbe  bottoms  appears  to  be  very  good  ;  tbe  grass  grows  quite  heavily,  and 
hundreds  of  tons  of  hay  are  cut  here  by  the  settlers  for  winter  use.  Tbe 
grazing  is  excellent,  and  numerous  ranches  have  been  started  all  through 
the  valley  for  tbe  purpose  of  raising  stock.  Even  at  this  season  of  tbe 
year  a  great  variety  of  flowers  covers  the  surface.  Tbe  ComposiUc  and 
Leguminosce  prevail  in  numbers,  and  yellow  is  the  dominant  color.  As 
we  approached  the  foot-hills  of  the  mountains  the  transition  beds  appeared 
on  the  ridge,  rocks  of  more  recent  date  having  been  swept  awayby  erosion. 
Fragments  of  pudding  stone  and  rusty-colored  masses  of  sandstone  were 
scattered  here  and  there  5  then  beneath  them  were  exposed  about  four 
hundred  feet  of  variegated  arenaceous  layers  of  uncertain  age,  perhaps 
Jurassic ;  then  a  little  higher  up  the  side  of  the  mountains  were  revealed 
the  red  beds,  fifteen  hundred  feet  or  more  in  thickness,  presenting  won- 
derfully picturesque  scenery.  All  tbese  beds  seem  to  have  been  lifted  up 
in  a  nearly  horizontal  position,  so  that  they  present  lofty  escarpments, 
sometimes  cone-like  or  pyramidal  in  shape,  revealing  each  layer  in  the 
order  of  succession.  The  harder  laj^ers  yielding  less  readily  to  atmo- 
spheric influences,  project  out  from  the  sides,  adding  much  to  tbe  nov- 
elty of  the  view.  Most  of  tbe  beds  incline  from  tbe  flanks  of  the  moun- 
tains at  various  angles,  3°,  8°,  15°,  and  then  continue  along  the  river, 
winding  for  twenty-five  miles  among  tbe  mountains  almost  to  the  foot 
of  the  snow-covered  peaks. 

On  either  side  can  be  seen  a  number  of  syenitic  nuclei,  but  I  did  not 
find  the  unchanged  rocks  so  clearly  in  contact  with  tbem  that  I  could 
define  their  relation  to  each  other. 

Before  reaching  the  mountains  we  passed  a  series  of  alkaline  lakes, 
which  are  simply  shallow  depressions,  receiving  tbe  drainage  of  a  small 
area  without  any  outlet.  From  these  shallow  lakes  tbe  water  is  evapo- 
rated, so  that  in  tbe  autumn  tbe  bottoms  are  dry  and  covered  with  a  white 
incrustation  which  looks  much  like  water  in  the  distance.  One  of  these 
lakes  still  contained  water  and  seems  to  have  a  fair  supply  at  all  seasons. 
It  is  almost  a  mile  in  length  and  half  a  mile  in  width.  In  the  spring 
tbese  lakes  are  quite  large  and  are  filled  by  the  overflow  of  the  branches 
of  the  Big  Laramie,  which  are  greatly  swollen  by  the  melting  snows. 
Great  quantities  of  fish  are  swept  into  tbese  lakes  from  the  neighbor- 
ing streams,  and  in  the  autumn  tbe  water  becomes  so  alkaline  by  evap- 
oration that  tbe  fish  die  in  great  numbers  along  the  shore.  It  is  a 
curious  fact  that  not  a  single  trout  has  ever  been  taken  in  any  of  the 
branches  of  tbe  North  Platte,  unless  a  few  have  been  caught  in  the 
Sweetwater,  while  tbe  branches  of  the  South  Platte  are  filled  with 
them. 

After  entering  the  foot  hills  of  tbe  mountains,  the  Big  Laramie  and 
its  branches  wind  their  way  through  tbe  narrow  valleys  or   gorges 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  125 

formed  by  the  antidiuals  and  synclinals  produced  by  the  upheaval  of 
the  unchanged  rocks. 

All  the  lower  beds  arc  more  or  less  arenaceous  and  of  a  brick-red 
color,  Avith  only  three  layers  of  a  light-gray  sandstone.  No  fossils  can 
be  found  in  any  of  the  rocks,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to  determine  their  age 
Avith  certainty.  We  believe  that  the  lower  beds  are  carboniferous,  and 
have  recei\ed  their  red  color  from  the  sediments  which  were  doubtless 
derived  from  the  disintegration  of  the  red  sieuitic  rocks  upon  which  they 
rest.  It  is  also  quite  possible  that  a  portion  of  the  red  beds  are  triassic, 
and  also  that  the  j'ellow,  gray,  and  rusty  sands  and  sandstones  above, 
are  Jurassic. 

Lying  above  the  supposed  Jurassic  and  beneath  the  well-defined  cre- 
taceous, there  is  a  large  thickness  of  sandstone  whicli  I  have  called 
transition  strata,  because  they  occupy  the  position  of  the  lower  creta- 
ceous, as  shown  on  the  Missouri  Eiver  and  in  Middle  Kansas.  These 
beds  are  well  developed  and  quite  uniform  in  their  lithological  character 
all  along  the  mountain  sides  from  latitude  49°  to  the  Arkansas,  yet 
they  hare  never  yielded  a  single  characteristic  fossil  that  would  deter- 
mine their  age.  I  have,  therefore,  called  them  provisionally  lower  cre- 
taceous, or  beds  of  transition  from  one  great  period  of  geological  history 
to  another,  and  the  characters  of  the  sediments  which  compose  them 
jastify  the  name. 

Near  our  camp  on  the  Big  Laramie,  whicb  was  about  thirty-five  miles 
southwest  of  Fort  Sanders,  and  about  fifteen  miles  above  the  foot  of 
the  hills,  are  some  singular  illustrations  of  the  dynamics  of  geology. 
On  the  southwest  side  of  the  stream,  and  inclining  eastward  or  south- 
eastward, the  entire  series  of  red  and  variegated  beds  are  shown  in  their 
order  of  succession  one  thousand  five  hundred  to  two  thousand  feet  in 
height.  At  the  foot  of  this  escarpment  is  a  low  ridge  of  the  red  material, 
Avhich  is  so  grassed  over  that  the  connection  with  the  sienitic  nucleus  can- 
not be  seen.  This  covers  a  belt  of  sienite  about  two  hundred  yards 
wide  and  three  to  five  miles  long,  the  jagged  masses  of  rock  reaching  a 
height  of  one  thousand  feet  or  more,  and  standing  nearly  vertical  or 
dipping  slightly  to  the  southeast.  Between  'the  sienitic  beds  and  the 
river  are  the  two  low  ridges  of  cretaceous  Nos.  2  and  3,  which  seems  to 
have  been  lifted  up  with  the  sienite,  but  to  have  fallen  back  past  a  ver- 
tical position,  so  that  they  now  incline  from  the  sienite  ridge,  while  on 
the  opposite  side  the  beds  "have  a  regular  dip  from  the  ridge.  This  pecu- 
liarity seems  to  be  common  in  various  localities,  owing  to  the  fact  that 
the  inetamorphic  beds  which  compose  the  central  portion  of  all  the  moun- 
tains have  suffered  upheaval,  prior  to  the  deposition  of  the  unchanged 
beds.  Therefore,  in  the  quiet  elevation  of  the  mountain  ranges,' tlie 
beds  are  merely  lifted  up  in  the  direction  of  the  dip  of  the  older  rocks 
on  one  side,  while  they  are,  as  it  were,  pushed  away  from  the  opposite 
side,  forming  Avhat  may  be  called  an  abrupt  or  incomplete  anticlinal. 

On  the  opposite  or  south  side  of  the  river  there  is  a  gradual  slope  of 
two  thousand  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  stream,  the  strata  iucUning  5° 
until  we  reach  the  nucleus  of  another  mountain  range;  so  that  we  have 
here,  as  it  were,  two  huge  monoclinals.  These  monoclinals  form  local 
anticlinals,  inasmuch  as,  in  some  places,  all  the  beds  incline  for  a  short 
distance  from  a  common  axis. 

On  the  north  side  of  the  river,  and  east  for  ten  to  twenty  miles,  the 
flanks  of  the  mountain  ranges  are  covered  with  the  unchanged  rocks, 
which  give  comparatively  gentle  grassy  slopes,  owing  to  the  readiness 
with  which  they  yield  to  atmospheric  agencies.    Through  these  slopes 


126       GEOLOGICAL  SUEYEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

many  little  streams  cut  their  yvay,  forming  huge  canons,  which  exhibit 
along  their  sides  the  series  of  beds  in  their  order  of  succession. 

From  a  point  near  the  source,  for  twenty  or  thirty  miles,  the  river 
Hows  tlirough  a  synclinal  valley,  the  conspicuous  red  beds  dipping  from 
either  side.  Along  the  valley  of  the  river  are  marked  deposits  of  drift, 
the  result  of  glacial  action ;  but  the  most  beautiful  feature  is  the  well- 
defined  terraces,  about  fifty  feet  high  and  smoothed  off  like  a  lawn. 
These  terraces  are  covered  with  a  considerable  deposit  of  drift ;  but 
when  they  are  cut  through  by  streams  the  basis  rocks  are  shown. 

The  scenery  on  either  side  of  this  valley  is  beautiful  beyond  descrip- 
tion. On  the  west  side  are  the  snow-clad  peaks  of  the  Medicine  Bow 
range  in  the  distance,  with  numerous  intervening  lower  ranges  ascend- 
ing like  steps.  The  snowy  mountains  are  mostly  destitute  of  vegetation 
and  are  covered  with  eternal  snow,  but  the  lower  mountain  ridges  are 
covered  mostly  Avith  what  may  be  called  groves \of  pine.  Indeed,  the 
pine  groves  and  grassy  openings  are  so  arranged  and  proportioned 
that  the  whole  scene  appears  as  if  it  might  have'  been  x)artially  the  work 
of  art,  and  the  traveler  imagines  himself  in  a  sparsely-settled  mountain- 
ous district  instead  of  the  unexplored  Eocky  Mountain  region.  These 
openings  and  grassy  slopes  will  make  excellent  pasture  grounds,  for  the 
grass  is  good,  and  they  are  watered  with  the  Quest  of  mountain  streams 
and  springs.  I  would  again  remark  that  the  inne  forests  of  these 
mountains  must  at  some  period  be  an  object  of  earnest  pursuit.  Two 
years  ago  the  mountaiu  sides  were  full  of  tie-cutters,  who  cut  and  floated 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  ties  down  the  mountain  streams,  fifty,  to  one 
hundred  miles,  to  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad,  whence  they  were  trans- 
ported by  railroad  to  any  desired  point'. 

In  the  moist  ravines  of  the  mountain  sides  are  patches  of  the  aspen, 
Fopulus  trenndoides,  which,  from  its  peculiar  mode  of  growth,  forms  a 
striking  feature  in  the  landscape.  It  grows  very  thickly,  seldom  at- 
taining a  height  of  more  than  forty  or  fifty  feet,  and  not  more  than 
twelve  to  eighteen  inches  in  diameter.  The  body  is  very  smooth  and 
nearly  wBite,  and  the  top  forms  a  rounded,  cone-shaped  mass  of  foliage. 
These  aspen  groves  are  the  favorite  resort  of  deer,  elk,  grouse,  and  all 
kinds  of  game. 

On  the  east  side,  also,  is  the  snow-clad  range,  which,  in  its  southward 
extension,  includes  Long's  Peak  and  numerous  other  peaks  in  the 
vicinity.  On  each  side  of  these  lofty  ranges,  which  often  rise  above 
the  limit  of  vegetation,  are  a  number  of  successive  lower  ridges  which 
descend  like  steps.  There  is  such  a  wonderful  uniformity  iu  the  struc- 
ture of  the  mountains  that  a  detailed  description  of  a  portion  applies 
for  the  most  part  to  all. 

Our  course  along  the  Cherokee  Trail  was  about  southwest  from  the 
Big  Laramie  Eiver,  over  ridge  after  ridge,  and  after  traveling  twenty- 
five  miles  we  entered  the  North  Park  through  some  of  the  most  beau- 
ful  scenery  of  that  interesting  region.  From  the  summit  of  the  high 
ridges  on  the  north  we  look  to  the  southward  over  a  series  of  lofty  cones 
or  p^-ramids,  as  it  were,  all  clothed  with  a  dense  growth  of  pine.  The 
metamorphic  rocks  of  which  these  juountaius  are  composed,  disinte- 
grate so  easily  that  the  surtace  is  covered  with  a  deposit  of  loose  mate- 
rial, as  fine  earth  and  fragments  of  rock.  The  hills  have,  theretbre, 
been  so  smoothed  down  that  it  is  difficult  to  see  the  bass  rocks  in  con- 
tinuous lines.  We  saw  enough,  however,  to  show  us  that  red  sienite  in 
its  various  forms  constitutes  the  principal  rocks,  while  now  and  then  a 
bed  of  horublendic  gneiss,  white  quartz  or  greenstone,  occurs.  All 
thi'ough  the  mountain  region  are  small  open  areas,  sometimes  on  the 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       127 

bills  and  sometimes  in  tlie  lower  grounds,  forming  meadoAv-like  spots, 
which  the  various  kinds  of  animals  love  to  frequent,  to  feed  on  the 
abundant  grass.  The  Old  Cherokee  Trail  derives  its  name  from  the 
fact  that  a  party  of  those  Indians  cut  its  way  through  the  thick  pines, 
about  thirty  years  ago,  with  a  train  of  three  hundred  wagons. 

The  traveling  was  difficult  at  this  time,  owing  to  the  ruggeduess  of 
the  surface  and  the  obstrnction  from  the  fallen  pines. 

So  far  as  I  could  ascertain,  the  trend  of  the  upland  mountain  ridges 
of  sienite  is  nearly  east  and  west,  and  the  dip  nearly  north.  The  North 
Park  is  oval  or  nearly  quadrangular  in  shape,  about  fifty  miles  in  extent 
from  east  to  west,  and  thirty  from  north  to  south,  occupying  an  area  of 
about  one  thousand  five  hundred  square  miles.'  Viewed  from  one  of  the 
high  mountains  on  its  border  it  appears  to  be  a  vast  depression  which 
might  once  have  formed  the  bed  of  a  lake.  Its  surface  is  rather  rugged, 
yet  there  are  broad  bottoms  along  the  streams,  especially  the  Korth 
Platte  and  its  branches.  Scarcely  a  tree  is  to  be  seen  over  the  whole 
area,  while  the  mountains  which  wall  it  in  on  every  side  are  dotted  with  a 
dense  growth  of  pine.  The  grass  grows  in  the  park  quite  luxuriantly, 
often  yielding  two  tons  of  hay  to  the  acre.  Streams  of  the  purest  water 
flow  through  it,  a  few  of  them  forming  good-sized  streams  where  they 
issue  from  the  ground,  and  I  am  quite  confident  that  this  entire  park 
would  make  an  excellent  grazing  region  for  at  least  six  or  eight  months 
of  the  year.  Myriads  of  antelope  were  quietly  feeding  in  this  great 
pasture  ground  like  flocks  of  sheep.  The  soil  is  very  rich,  but  the  sea- 
sons are  too  brief  for  the  successful  cultivation  of  any  crops.  Indeed, 
there  is  frost  here  nearly  every  night,  and  snow  falls  every  mouth  of  the 
year. 

As  I  have  before  stated,  the  park  is  surrounded  with  lofty  ranges  of 
mountains  as  by  gigantic  walls.  On  the  north  and  east  sides  may  be 
seen  the  snow-covered  ranges  rising  far  above  all  the  rest,  their  sum- 
mits touching  the  clouds.  On  the  west  side  there  is  also  a  short  snowy 
range.  The  snowy  ranges  on  its  east  border  have  their  north  sides 
abrupt;  the  south  sides  are  less  so  as  seen  from  a  distance,  and  the  mas- 
sive, rocky,  lower  hills  appear  inclining  southward.  All  along  the  north 
side  the  hills  incline  south  westward,  while  the  higher  ranges  are  quite 
steep,  and  correspond  in  the  apparenc  dip  of  the  beds  to  the  lofty  snow- 
clad  mountains  on  the  east,  which  incline  south  or  south  westward.  The 
inclination  of  the  metamorphic  beds  composing  the  higher  ranges  is 
from  60°  to  80°.  On  the  west  side  of  the  park  long  ridges  seem  to  slope 
gradually  down,  so  that  they  die  out  in  the  plain,  forming  a  sort  of  en 
echelon  arrangement.  It  is  due  to  this  fact  that  the  area. inclosed 
receives  its  oval  shape. 

The  general  trend  of  all  the  continuous  mountain  ranges  is  nearly 
northwest  and  southeast  on  all  sides,  but  there  are  many  local  dips  and 
variations  from  this  direction. 

I  was  much  interested  to  know  whether  any  of  the  unchanged  rocks, 
which  are  so  well  developed  in  the  Laramie  Plain,  occur  in  the  North 
Park.  I  found  that  the  entire  series  of  red  and  variegated  beds,  includ- 
ing a  portion  of  the  cretaceous  strata,  were  fully  represented,  all  in- 
clining from  the  flanks  of  the  mountains  and  gradually  assuming  a  hor- 
izontal position,  or  nearly  so,  toward  the  central  portion  of  the  park. 
The  transition  beds  or  lower  cretaceous,  form  quite  conspicuous  ridges, 
inclining  10°  to  the  southwest.  They  are  composed  of  a  very  beautiful 
pudding  stone  of  small  rounded  pebbles,  most  of  them  flint,  cemented 
together  with  a  silicious  paste.  On  the  north  side  are  quite  large  areas 
covered  with  loose  sand,  which  is  blown  about  by  the  wind,  resembling 


128  GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

the  Saud  Hills  on  the  Niobrara  Eiver.  A  close  examiiiatiou  of  the  sand 
shows,  that  it  is  composed  mostly  of  worn  particles  of  quartz  and  feld- 
spar. The  surlxice  contains  little  or  no  vegetation,  presenting  a  peculiar 
barren  appearance,  the  sand  moving  readily  with  the  wind. 

Hitherto  it  has  been  impossible  to  color  on  any  geological  map  the 
geological  formation  of  any  part  of  this  mountain  region,  and  no  infor 
mation  has  ever  been  given  in  regard  to  the  structure  of  the  North  Park. 
It  will  be  impossible  even  now,  with  the  imperfect  Jopography  of  any 
of  the  maps,  to  color  the  geology  in  detail,  but  these  explorations  will 
enable  a  geologist  to  fix  the  outline  of  the  formations  in  a  general  way 
with  a  good  degree  of  accuracy. 

During  the  summer  of  18G8  an  excitement  was  created  at  Laramie 
City  by  the  supposed  discovery  of  rich  placer  mines  far  up  in  the  moun- 
tains, near  the  Snowy  ranges,  to  the  southwest  of  the  plains.  A  large 
party  was  formed  at  Fort  Sanders,  directed  by  Generals  Gibbon  and 
Potter  of  the  United  States  Army,  and  accompanied  by  Professor 
James  Hall  of  New  York,  to  visit  the  region  and  ascertain  the  truth  of 
the  reports.  The  time  was  most  favorable,  in  midsummer,  when  the 
mountain  vegetation  presents  a  spring  aspect. 

Camping  with  our  wagons  at  the  base  of  the  main  range  of  mountains, 
near  the  source  of  the  Little  Laramie,  we  prepared  to  ascend  the  moun- 
tains on  horseback  to  the  gold  mines.  We  rode  a  distance  of  about  ten 
miles  before  we  came  in  view  of  the  "  diggings,"  and  to  reach  them 
made  an  ascent  of  about  t^yo  thousand  feet  above  the  bed  of  the  creek. 
We  wevQ,  then  between  10,000  and  11,000  feet  above  the  sea,  very  near 
the  elevation  of  per})etual  snow,  and  where  frost  occurs  every  night  of 
the  year.  On  the  summits  of  these  lofty  mountains  are  some  most  beau- 
tiful open  spots,  without  a  tree  and  covered  with  grass  and  flowers. 
After  jiassing  through  dense  pine  forests  for  nearly  ten  miles  we  sud- 
denly emerged  into  one  of  these  park-like  areas.  Just  in  the  edge  of  the 
forest  which  skirted  it  were  banks  of  snow  six  feet  deep,  compact  like 
a  glacier,  and  within  a  few  feet  were  multitudes  of  flowers,  and  even  the 
common  strawberry  seemed  to  flourish.  These  mountains  are  fall  of  little 
streams  of  the  purest  water,  and  for  six  months  of  the  year  good  pas- 
turage for  stock  could  be  found. 

The  gold  is  sought  after  in  gulches,  formed  by  the  little  streams  that 
flow  from  the  Medicine  Bow  and  other  snowy  mountains,  most  of  which 
empty  into  the  North  Platte.  We  labored  for  two  days  to  discover  the 
(quartz  seams,  which  we  supposed  to  be  the  source  of  the  stray  lumps  of 
gold,  but  the  great  thickness  of  superficial  drift  which  covers  all  these 
mountains  concealed  them  from  our  view.  The  gold,  as  far  as  known 
in  this  district,  seems  to  be  confined  to  the  lower  glacial  drift.  That 
valuable  mines  will  be  found  in  these  mountains  at  no  distant  day  seems 
very  probable.  The  geological  evidence  is  quite  conclusive,  and  the 
mountains  are  a  continuation  northward  of  the  same  range  in  which 
the  rich  mines  of  Colorado  are  located. 

Not  only  in  the  more  lofty  ranges,  but  also  in  the  lower  mountains, 
are  large  forests  of  pine  timber,  which  will  eventually  become  of  great 
value  to  this  country.  Vast  quantities  of  this  pine  in  the  form  of  rail- 
road ties  are  floated  down  the  various  streams  to  the  Union  Pacific  Eail- 
road.  One  gentleman  alone  contracted  for  550,000  ties,  all  of  which  he 
floated  down  the  stream  from  the  mountains  along  the  southern  side  of  the 
Laramie  Plains.  The  Big  and  Little  Laramie,  Eock  Creel;:,  and  Medicine 
Bow  Eiver,  with  their  branches,  here  literally  filled  with  ties  at  one  time, 
and  I  was  informed  that  in  the  season  of  high  water  they  can  be  taken  to 
the  railroad  from  the  mountains,  after  being  cut  and  placed  in  the  water, 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  129 

at  tlie  rate  of  from  ouc  to  three  cents  each.  These  are  im})ortaiit  facts, 
iuasmuch  as  they  show  the  ease  with  wliich  these  vast  bodies  of  timber 
may  be  brought  to  the  phiiiis  below  and  converted  into  himber,  shoukl 
future  settlement  of  the  country  demand  it. 

There  are  several  species  of  pine  trees  and  one  spruce  or  balsam  fir, 
Abies  Doiiglassi.  The  latter  is  a  beautiful  and  symmetrical  tree,  rising 
to  the  height  of  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  and  as 
straight  as  an  arrow.  The  ties  that  are  made  from  this  spruce  are  of 
the  best  quality. 

We  will  now  return  to  Fort  Sanders,  and  continue  on  our  westward 
way.  From  Fort  Sanders  to  Cooper's  Lake  Station  tlie  distance  is  about 
twenty-eight  miles.  On  our  right  hand  we  can  see,  with  great  distinct- 
ness, the  Laramie  Mountains  as  they  flex  around  Avestward,  i)reserving 
a  remarkably  symmetrical  appearance.  A  heav}^  bed  of  limestone, 
which  appears  not  to  have  sufiered  greatly  from  erosion,  covers  the 
flanks  high  up  to  the  margins  of  the  summit,  and  seems  to  have  pro- 
tected their  rounded  sloping  form.  Here  and  there  may  be  seen  a  deep 
gorge  cut  through  at  right  angles  by  some  little  stream,  that  has  its 
source  in  a  spring  on  the  summit.  Along  the  base  of  the  mountains, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  road,  patches  of  the  brick-red  beds  are  very 
abundant,  giving  a  picturesque  appearance  to  the  view.  After  crossing 
the  Big  Laramie  the  surface  is  quite  uniformly  level  or  rolling,  and  cov- 
ered with  thick  grass  or  sage.  The  country  is  underlaid  with  upper  cre- 
taceous rocks,  and  possibly  in  some  places  there  may  be  small  patches 
or  remnants  of  tertiary  beds.  AVe  seem  to  be  gliding  along  over  a  nearly 
level,  monotonous  country,  with  scarcely  anything  to  intercept  the  vision. 
Far  to  the  westward  the  dim  outlines  of  the  Medicine  Bow  range  can  be 
seen,  reminding  us  that  we  are  walled  in  by  lofty  mountains.  But  the 
road  is  fine,  and  sometimes  for  long  distances  the  track  seems  as  straight 
as  an  air-line.  These  broad,  grassy  plains  are  not  yet  entirely  destitute 
of  their  former  inhabitants;  flocks  of  antelope  still  feed  on  the  rich  nu- 
tritious grasses,  but  the  buffalo,  which  once  roamed  here  by  thousands, 
have  disappeared  forever.  No  trace  of  them  is  now  left  but  the  old  trails, 
which  pass  across  the  country  in  every  direction,  and  the  bleat-hed  skulls 
which  are  scattered  here  and  there  over  the  ground.  These  traces  are 
fast  passing  away.  The  skulls  are  decaying  rapidly,  and  this  once  pe- 
culiar feature  of  the  landscape  in  the  West  will  be  lost.  Two  years  ago 
I  collected  a  large  quantity  of  these  bleached  skulls  and  distributed 
them  to  several  of  our  museums,  in  order  to  insure  their  preservation. 

There  is  also  a  singular  ethnological  fact  connected  with  these  skulls. 
We  shall  observe  that  the  greater  part  of  them  have  the  forehead  broken 
in  for  a  space  of  three  or  four  inches  in  diameter.  Whenever  an  Indian 
kills  a  buffalo  he  fractures  the  skull  with  his  tomahawk  and  extracts  the 
brains,  which  he  devours  in  a  raw  state. 

Indians  or  old  trappers  traveling  through  the  enemy's  country  always, 
fear  to  build  a  fire,  lest  the  smoke  attract  the  notice  of  the  foe.  The 
consequence  is  that  they  have  contracted  the  habit  of  eating  certain 
parts  of  an  animal  in  an  uncooked  condition.  I  have  estimated  that 
six  men  may  make  a  full  meal  from  a  buffalo  without  lighting  a  fire. 
The  ribs  on  one  side  are  taken  out  with  a  knife,  and  the  concavity  serves 
as  a  dish.  The  brains  are  taken  out  of  the  skull,  and  the  marrow  from 
the  leg  bones,  and  the  two  are  chopped  together  in  the  rib-dish.  The 
liver  and  lungs  are  eaten  with  a  keen  relish,  also  certain  portions  of  the 
intestines,  and  the  blood  supplies  an  excellent  and  nutritious  drink. 
Both  Indian  and  buffalo  have  probably  disappeared  forever  from  tljese 
plains.  Elk,  black-tailed  deer,  red  deer,  mountain  sheep,  wolves,  and 
9  G 


f 

130       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

the  smaller  animals  are  still  quite  abundant,  especially  in  the  valleys  of 
the  small  streams,  where  they  flow  clown  through  the  mountains  ;  Elk 
Mountain  and  Sheephead  Mountain  have  always  been  noted  localities  for 
these  animals. 

The  traveler  will  have  his  attention  called  to  Carmichael's  Cut,  an 
excavation  through  the  arenaceous  clays  and  sandstones  of  the  upper 
cretaceous  deposit,  which  has  become  noted  for  the  wonderful  fossils 
found  there.  Baculites,  Ammonites,  Inocerami,  and  a  great  variety  of 
mariue  shells,  glistening  with  the  iridescent  hue  of  mother-of-pearl,  are 
found  in  aggregated  masses,  as  if  this  had  been  a  portion  of  the  creta- 
ceous sea.  Farther  on,  at  Miser  Station,  these  beautiful  fossils  occur 
again  in  the  greatest  abundance,  and  thousands  of  them  have  been  gath- 
ered and  carried  away  by  curiosity-seekers.  Near  Medicine  Bow  the 
lower  cretaceous  clays  prevail,  and  in  the  hills  bordering  the  Medicine 
Bow  Creek  a  large  singularly  tuberculated  ammonite  is  found  associated 
with  a  species  of  scaijhites  or  boat-shaped  shell,  looking  very  much  like 
a  large  worm  coiled  up,  and  hence  its  name,  &.  Larvccformis.  These 
shells  have  received  all  sorts  of  names  in  the  country,  and  the  most 
wonderful  tales  are  related  of  petrified  snakes,  &c. 

All  over  this  Rocky  Mountain  region,  from  the  Arctic  Circle  to  the 
Isthmus  of  Darien,  these  remarkable  marine  shells  are  found,  and  in 
some  instances  upon  the  summits  of  the  loftiest  ranges. 

The  valleys  of-  the  Upper  Missouri  and  Yellowstone  Eivers  have 
already  yielded  nearly  four  hundred  varieties  of  these  sea-shells.  We 
have,  therefore,  the  most  ample  evidence  that  in  past  geological  times 
the  great  ocean  rolled  all  over  the  area  now  occupied  by  the  mountain 
ranges. 

After  passing  Cooper's  Creek  Station  we  come  into  the  black  clays  of 
the  lower  cretaceous,  and  the  appearance  of  the  country  becomes 
dreary  and  sterile  in  the  extreme.  The  waters  are  alkaline,  and  there 
is  no  timber  along  the  creeks  except  stinted  willows,  and  very  little 
grass  or  vegetation  except  chenopodiaceous  shrubs,  which  are  fond  of 
this  alkaline  soil.  As  far  as  the  eye  can  reach  nothing  can  be  seen  but 
these  somber,  plastic  clays.  The  surface  also  presents  the  characteristic 
monotonous  appearance  which  is  common  wherever  these  clays  prevail. 
Six  miles  before  reaching  Como  we  come  to  an  interesting  quarry  of 
sandstone,  from  which  the  materials  for  the  construction  or  the  exten- 
sive railroad  buildmgs  at  Laramie  City  and  Cheyenne  are  obtained. 
The  rock  is  gray,  coarse,  and  friable,  and  one  would  suppose  not  durable 
enough  for  such  important  structures,  but  it  is  easily  wrought  into  any 
determinate  form.  This  is  a  locality  to  which  I  call  the  special  attention 
of  the  geologist  as  one  in  which  there  is  an  interesting  problem  to  work 
out,  viz :  What  is  the  exact  position  of  this  sandstone  in  the  geological 
series  1  It  is  filled  with  fragments  of  vegetable  impressions,  with  some- 
times quite  distinct  deciduous  leaves,  much  like  those  already  noticed 
in  Chapter  II  as  occurring  at  Blackbird  Hill,  on  the  Missouri  River. 
The  leaves  of  the  willow  and  poplar  are  quite  distinct,  reminding  one 
of  those  growing  along  our  little  streams  at  the  present  day,  and  yet 
they  are  all  of  extinct  species.  These  sandstones  are  local  and  seem  to 
have  been  deposited  over  a  small  area,  inasmuch  as  they  occur  nowhere 
else  on  the  plains,  so  far  as  I  have  observed. 

The  black  shales  filled  with  remains  of  fishes  and  marine  shells  occur 
above  and  below  the  sandstones,  showing  very  clearly  that  they  are  of 
lower  cretaceous  age.  Still  it  would  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  attempt 
the  construction  of  the  physical  conditions  which  were  necessary  in 
those  old  cretaceous  times,  myriads  of  ages  ago,  for  the  ocean  waters  to 


s 
GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        131 

deposit  such  an  accumulation  of  sandy  material  in  this  locality.  The 
scenery  is  somewhat  changed  also ;  the  little  stream  which  cuts  through 
the  rocks  flows  through  vertical  walls  of  the  sandstone  one  hundred  to 
two  hundred  feet  high. 

Farther  on  toward  Como  we  see  on  our  right  hand  the  brick-red  beds 
■which  are  so  common  along  the  slopes  of  the  first  range.  At  Como 
Station  the  road  runs  through  a  curious  anticlinal  valley,  the  strata 
inclining  in  opposite  directions  about  northeast  and  southwest.  The 
southwest  side  displays  the  most  complete  series  of  the  beds  They 
are  composed  for  the  most  part  of  alternate  layers  of  sands  and  some 
harder  beds  of  sandstone,  but  there  are  a  few  of  these  beds  of  marl,  or 
limestone,  in  Avhich  are  found  great  quantities  of  fossil  shells,  Osfrea 
Penfacrinus  asfcriscus  and  Belemnites  densus.  The  oyster  is  a  very 
small  one ;  the  star-fish  is  very  beautiful  but  imperfect ;  and  the  Bclcm- 
nite  or  ancient  cuttle-fish  is  more  abundant  and  more  characteristic  than 
the  others.  They  are  all  of  well-known  Jurassic  types.  All  around  the 
shores  of  the  pretty  little  lake  thousands  of  these  sharp-pointed  Belem- 
nites have  been  gathered  and  given  to  travelers.  These  fossils  are  very 
abundant  in  some  parts  of  Europe,  where  they  are  called  "  Ladies'  Fin- 
gers," from  their  long,  slender,  symmetrical  shape.  These  fragments 
are  all  that  remain  of  an  animal  that  was  probably  quite  large  and 
complicated  in  its  structure,  much  like  the  cuttle-fish  of  our  present 
seas.  It  undoubtedly  had  the  power  to  secrete  a  black  liquid,  a  sort  of 
ink  or  sepia,  which  it  could  emit  at  pleasure,  and  thus  i^rovide  a  i^lace 
of  concealment  when  pursued  by  foes. 

There  are  other  attractions  here,  of  which  the  traveler  will  be  in- 
formed long  before  he  reaches  the  locality.  The  " fish  with  legs"  are 
the  only  inhabitants  of  the  lake,  and  numbers  of  jiersons  make  it  a 
business  to  catch  and  sell  them  to  travelers.  During  the  summer  sea- 
son they  congregate  in  great  numbers  in  the  shallow  water  among  the 
weeds  and  gi^ass  near  the  shore,  and  can  be  easily  caught,  but  in  cold 
weather  they  retire  to  the  deeper  portions  of  the  lake  and  are  not  seen 
again  imtil  spring.  These  little  animals  are  possessed  of  gills,  and  w^re 
it  not  for  the  legs,  would  most  nearly  resemble  a  miniature  cat-fish. 
But  when  warm  weather  comes,  a  form  closely  resembling  them,  but 
entirely  destitute  of  gills,  may  be  seen  in  the  water  swimming,  or  creep- 
ing clumsily  about  on  land.  Sometimes  they  travel  long  distances  and 
are  found  in  towns,  near  springs  or  wet  places,  usually  one  at  a  time, 
while  those  with  gills  are  never  seen  except  in  the  alkaline  lakes  which 
are  so  common  all  over  the  West.  Professor  O.  0.  Marsh,  of  Yale  Col- 
lege, Connecticut,  an  eminent  naturalist,  while  on  an  excursion  along 
the  line  of  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  two  years  ago,  observed  a  num- 
ber of  the  gilled  forms  or  Siredons,  and  taking  them  to  New  Haven, 
watched  their  remarkable  transformation  into  the  more  mature  condi- 
tion without  gills.  These  animals  belong  to  the  family  of  tialamandcrs^ 
a  group  allied  to  the  frogs,  and  the  first  form  bears  about  the  same  re- 
lation to  the  last  that  the  tadpole  does  to  the  mature  frog.  Professor 
Marsh's  very  interesting  and  detailed  account  of  these  singular  animals 
can  be  found  in  the  ''American  Journal  of  Science"  for  November,  18GS, 
and  from  his  article  I  have  taken  the  following  extracts : 

"  The  first  indications  of  any  change  were  observed  in  one  of  the  smaller  specimens, 
about  six  inches  in  length;  and  the  metamorphosis  had  apparently  commenced  during 
the  journey  from  Lake  Como  to  New  Haven,  which  lasted  about  a  week.  Small  round 
spots  of  dark  brown  were  fii'st  noticed  on  the  sides  of  the  tail,  and  the  color  of  the  en- 
tire animal  gradually  assumed  a  darker  hue.  The  broad  thin  membrane  along  the 
back,  and  above  and' below  the  tail,  gradually  began  to  diminish  by  absorption  ;  the 
external  branchial  appendages  soon  became  similarly  aflected,  especially  at  the  ends, 


132  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

aud  the  animal  came  more  frequently  to  the  surface  of  the  water  for  air.  As  the  change 
•went  on,  the  dark  spots  increased  in  number  and  size,  and  gradually  extended  over  the 
whole  upper  part  of  the  body.  The  membrane  on  the  back  aud  tail  entirely  disap- 
peared, leaving  in  its  place  in  the  dorsal  region  a  sharp  groove.  The  branchi;«  also 
continued  to  diminish,  and  at  tlie  same  time  the  internal  branchial  arches  began  to 
be  absorbed,  and  shortly  after  the  openings  on  the  neck  closed  r.p.  In  the  me.an  time  the 
head  became  more  rounded  above,  and  more  oval  in  outliue,  the  muzzle  narrower  and 
more  pointed,  and  the  eyes  more  convex  and  prominent.  The  body  also  decreased  in 
bulk,  aud  the  costal  grooves  became  more  distinct.  The  thin  external  skin  was  shed, 
and  the  secretion  of  mucus  from  the  surface  sensibly  diminished.  During  these 
changes  the  animal  showed  an  increasing  desire  to  leave  the  water,  often  remaining  for 
some  time  with  its  external  nostrils  above  the  surface,  andoccasionally  making  violent 
struggles  to  esca^ie.  Aided  by  a  heavy  rain  at  night  it  at  last  succeeded,  and  thus  put 
an  end  to  further  observations,  just  at  a  time  Avhen  it  had  lost  the  generic  characters  of 
Siredon,  and  become  a  true  Amhlystoma,  two  forms  of  batrachians  usually  regarded  hith- 
erto as  belonging  to  distinct  families." 

Fortunately,  a  few  days  later,  several  other  specimens  of  various  sizes  began,  nearly 
at  the  same  time,  to  show  unmistakable  indications  of  a  similar  transformation,  and 
this  afforded  an  opportunity  of  noting  the  successive  phases  of  the  change  more  fully, 
as  well  as  observing  the  physical  conditions  which  seemed  to  promote  or  retard  it. 
Two  of  the  specimens  were  placed  in  a  glass  jar,  and  loft  in  a  strong  light,  and  five 
others  were  kept  in  a  cooler  place  in  the  shade,  the  temperature  of  the  two,  however, 
differing  but  a  few  degrees.  At  the  end  of  three  weeks  those  in  the  glass  vessel  had 
apparently  completed  their  metamorphosis,  while  of  the  others  less  favorably  situated 
three  only  were  partially  altered,  and  at  the  present  time,  or  nearly  three  weeks  later, 
they  still  retain  tubercular  remnants  of  the  external  branchiae,  although  in  most  other 
respects  the  change  appears  to  be  complete.  The  two  remaiuing  specimens,  laowever, 
which  had  throughout  been  kept  with  the  tliree  last,  showed  no  distinct  signs  of  chang- 
ing, although  the  probability  of  their  doing  so,  aud  the  importance  of  retaining  some 
tangible  evidence  of  the  original  condition,  led  to  the  transfer  of  one  of  them  to  a  jar 
of  alcohol  after  the  first  week,  a  precaution,  as  the  result  showed,  quite  unnecessary  in 
the  case  of  the  other,  which  at  the  time  of  writing  (October  5)  still  remains  a  typical 
Siredon,  with  no  alterations  more  important  than  a  single  appearance  in  a  new  epi- 
dermis. 

Similar  observations  had  already  been  made  by  a  celebrated  French 
naturalist,  Professor  Dnmeril,  on  an  allied  species,  found  on  the  table- 
lands of  Mexico ;  aud  it  was  a  matter  of  no  small  interest  to  Professor 
Marsh  to  ascertain  whether  this  species  would  undergo  a  similar  change 
when  placed  under  different  physical  conditions,  hence  these  creatures 
wore  watched  with  great  care. 

Among  the  more  important  changes  which  occurred  during  the  metamorphosis  may 
be  mentioned  the  decrease  in  the  size  of  the  entire  body,  which  was  very  marked,  a 
perceptible  increase  in  the  distinctness  of  the  costal  grooves  corresponding  to  the  ver- 
tebrae, and  the  gradual  ossification  of  the  carpus  aud  tarsus.  The  feet  also  became  less 
palmate,  and  the  toes  less  depressed.  During  the  transformation,  moreover,  and  espe- 
cially after  its  completion,  all  the  specimens  shed  the  thin,  transparent  epidermis,  some 
of  th(;m  very  frequently  ;  one,  indeed,  which  had  been  kept  in  a  strong  light,  lost  this 
covering  three  times  in  the  ten  days  immediately  following  the  metamorphosis. 

The  change  in  the  habits  of  the  Siredon  in  passing  into  the  Amhlystoma  state  waa 
scarcely  less  marked  than  the  alteration  in  its  physical  characters.  As  soon  as  the  ab- 
sorption of  the  external  branchiae  commenced,  the  animal  came  more  frequently  to  the 
top  of  the  water  and  took  a  mouthful  of  air;  and  not  long  afterwards  would  occa- 
sionally float  for  some  time  at  an  angle  of  about  45°,  with  the  external  nostrils  above 
the  surface.  Frequent  efforts  to  leave  the  water  soon  followed,  and  a\i  opportunity  of 
so  doing  was  in  most  instances  speedily  improved,  and  the  change  then  seemed  to  pro- 
gress more  rajjidly.  One  or  two  specimens,  however,  showed  for  some  time,  especially 
in  cool  weather,  much  less  inclination  to  desert  their  native  element,  apparently  suf- 
fering little  or  no  inconvenience  from  remaining  under  water,  if  allowed  to  come  t© 
the  surface  about  once  iu  five  minutes.  The  pugnacious  propensities  of  the  Siredons 
which  at  first  led  to  occasional  assaults  on  one  another,  appeared  to  diminish  as  the 
change  progressed,  and  the  more  sluggish  nature  of  salamanders  at  last  i^redominated  ; 
although  the  altered  forms  at  times  showed  no  little  celerity  of  movement,  and  when 
irritated,  especially  when  held  by  the  tail,  would  often  turn  and  snap  at  the  hand  with 
a  rapidity  that  would  have  done  no  discredit  to  a  reptile  of  much  higher  organization. 

The  eft'ect  on  the  metamorphosis  of  a  variation  in  light  aud  temperature  has  already 
been  alluded  to.  During  a  succession  of  very  warm  days,  about  the  first  of  September, 
the  change  progressed  with  great  rapidity,  but  it  apparently  ceased,  or  made  verj"^  slight 
jirogress,  iu  the  cool  week  that  followed.     While,  moreover,  the  two  s])ecimeus  most 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       133 

favoiod  in  regard  to  light  and  warmth  passed  apparently  through  the  entire  trans- 
formation in  about  twenty  days,  those  which  commenced  at  the  same  time,  but  were 
less  lavorably  sitiiated,  required  at  least  twice  that  time  for  its  completion.  Tlie  only 
living  specimen  still  remaining  unchanged  has  twice  shown  slight  indications  of  an 
approaching  metamorphosis,  but  with  the  exception  of  some  spots,  these  have  appa- 
rently soon  disappeared  after  a  transfer  to  a  dark  and  cooler  place. 

As  we  i>ass  on  westward  we  come  into  the  eastern  border  of  the  great 
coal  fiekls  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  inasmuch  as  they  are  of  vast 
importance  to  this  great  thoroughfare,  as  well  as  to  the  country,  I  will 
make  them  the  subject  of  the  next  chapter. 


CHAPTEE  XL 

WESTWARD  TO   BEAR  RIVER. 

Soon  after  iiassiug  Medicine  Bow  Station,  the  dark,  somber  appear- 
ance of  the  surface  of  the  country  ceases,  and  the  more  cheerful  aspect 
produced  by  the  overlapping  of  the  tertiary  beds  is  seen.  We  move  un 
rapidly  through  inclined  ridges  of  sandstone  and  shaly  clays,  dipping 
westward  from  30^  to  50°.  Here  we  begin  to  discover  indications  of 
coal  in  the  black  bantls  of  carbouaceons  clay  that  crop  out  on  either  side 
of  the  road.  But  the  most  marked  development  of  the  coal  beds  will  be 
observed  at  Carbon  Station,  about  one  hundred  miles  west  of  Laramie. 
The  first  openings  were  made  about  three  hundred  yards  from  the  lail- 
road  track,  where  a  bed  of  coal  was  discovered  nine  feet  in  thickness. 
The  demand  for  the  coal  was  such  that  it  was  thought  advisable  by  the 
company  to  sink  a  shaft  close  by  the  track,  and  now  the  coal  is  taken 
out  in  large  quantities  daily  for  the  use  of  locomotives.  A  thriving  little 
town  has  been  built  up  here  by  the  coal  trade  alone. 

The  coal  which  is  taken  out  of  this  mine  is  of  the  best  quality  of  the 
tertiary  brown  kind,  and  is  very  coDipact  and  pure.  It  is  not  as  hard 
as  anthracite,  but  the  miners  informed  me  that  it  was  more  difficult  to 
work  than  the  bituminous  coals  of  Pennsylvania.  The  engineers  speak 
in  high  terms  of  it  as  fuel  for  locomotive  use. 

Just  over  the  coal  is  an  earthy  bed  of  what  the  miners  call  "  slate,'' 
which  breaks  into  slabs,  showing  a  woody  fiber,  and  much  of  it  looks 
like  charred  wood  or  soft  charcoal.  A  little  higher  up  we  find  thin 
layers  composed  almost  entirely  of  fragments  of  deciduous  leaves,  and 
above  these  come  various  kinds  of  clays  and  sands.  Beneath  the  coal 
there  are  indurated  clays  and  rocky  strata,  in  wiiich  occur  thousands  of 
impressions  of  leaves  much  like  those  of  our  common  forest  trees,  but 
belonging  to  species  long  since  extinct.  They  belong,  however,  to 
genera  such  as  Popnlus,  PJatamis,  Tilia,  with  many  others,  most  perfectly 
preserved,  and  all  plaiidy  pointing  to  a  period  far  back  in  the  geologi- 
cal past  when  these  vast,  treeless  regions  of  the  present  time  were  cov- 
ered with  dense  forests,  surpassing  even  those  now  growing  in  Ohio  and 
Kentucky.  Some  of  the  layers  of  rock,  two  to  four  inches  in  thickness, 
are  almost  entirely  made  up  of  these  leaves,  and  the  condition  in  which 
they  have  been  i)reserved  shows  that  they  could  not  have  been  trans- 
ported any  distance,  but  must  have  fallen  from  trees  that  grew  in  the 
vicinity.  Indeed,  there  is  no  doubt,  for  myriads  of  ages  in  the  past, 
gigantic  poplars,  sycamores,  lindens,  oaks  and  others  spread  their 
broad  branches  over  the  shores  of  some  little  streams  or  lakes,  and  shed 
their  foliage  in  the  shallow  waters  in  the  same  manner  as  they  do  at  the 
present  day.     In  the  autumn  I  have  seen  the  sandy  bottoms  of  the  little 


134       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

streams  that  flow  into  tlie  Missouri  and  Yellowstone  Eivers  filled  with 
the  leaves  of  the  cottonwood  and  elm  in  a  perfect  state  of  j^reservation, 
and  had  the  conditions  been  favorable  for  compacting  these  sediments 
into  rocky  layers,  the  geologist  might  have  split  them  open  with  his 
hammer,  and  revealed  the  leaf  impressions  as  perfectly  ])reserved  in 
every  part  as  if  they  had  been  carefully  i^ressed  in  a  lady's  herbarium. 
The  traveler  will  find  it  profitable  and  instructive  to  remain  at  this 
locality  a  day. 

The  coal  is  not  confined  to  the  neighborhood  of  the  road.  It  crops 
out  in  many  localities  for  twenty  or  thirty  miles  on  either  side,  so  that 
we  see  there  is  an  abundant  supply  of  fuel  stored  away  for  future  use 
beneath  this  apparently  barren  surface.  When  we  reflect  that  nearly 
all  the  wood  or  timber  that  is  used  along  the  line  of  the  road  has  to  be 
transported  a  distance  of  twenty  to  forty  miles,  and  that  even  this  scant 
supply  will  be  exhausted  within  a  few  years,  we  shall  at  once  arrive  at 
the  conclusion  that  the  future  success  of  this  great  thoroughfare  is 
entirely  dependent  on  the  supply  of  mineral  fuel,  and  that  its  importance 
for  all  time  to  come  cannot  be  too  highly  estimated. 

The  coal  formations  extend  along  the  line  of  the  road  to  St.  Mary's 
Station,  a  distance  of  twenty-five  miles  west  of  Carbon ;  from  thence  to 
Eawlins's  Springs,  about  thirty  miles,  the  road  passes  over  strata  which 
are  mostly  of  cretaceous  age.  To  the  geologist  this  entire  region  is  one 
of  gTeat  interest.  Even  up  to  the  j)resent  time  it  is  invested  with  much 
obscurity.  Probably  no  rocks  older  than  cretaceous  or  tertiary  occur ; 
but  the  beds  are  so  complicated  by  the  forces  that  have  elevated  the 
neighboring  mountain  ranges  that  it  is  difficult  to  unravel  their  rela- 
tions. 

Soon  after  leaving  Carbon  we  pass  through  several  cuts  which  show 
the  strata,  sometimes  inclining  nearly  west,  and  soon  again  in  the  op- 
posite direction.  We  seem  to  be  continually  i)assing  across  a  series  of 
anticlinal  and  synclinal  axes.  Just  before  reaching  the  North  Platte 
Eiver  we  pass  along  the  valley  of  one  of  the  most  remarkable  anticliuals 
in  the  West.  On  either  side  of  the  road  the  rusty-gray  sands  and 
sandstones  incline  at  an  angle  of  10°  to  15°.  The  strata  rise  like  walls 
on  both  sides  to  the  height  of  seven  hundred  or  eight  hundred  feet  in 
graduated  ridges  or  steps.  I  have  been  informed  that  thin  beds  of  coal 
have  been  discovered  within  a  few  miles  of  Fort  Steele ;  if  this  be  so, 
they  must  occur  high  up  on  the  summits  of  these  ridges.  Near  the 
bridge  over  the  North  Platte  the  black,  plastic  clays  of  the  lower  creta- 
ceous are  distinctly  seen,  but  following  up  the  exposed  edges  of  the 
inclined  ridges  we  find  an  oyster  and  an  Inoceramus  which  are  peculiar 
to  the  upper  cretaceous  beds.  Passing  up  still  higher,  we  shall  dis- 
cover thin  layers  made  nj)  wholly  of  a  small  species  of  oyster,  which 
seems  to  be  characteristic  of  what  I  regard  as  transition  or  beds  of  pas- 
sage between  the  strictly  marine  sediments  of  the  cretaceous  era,  and 
the  brackish  and  the  fresh  water  which  characterize  the  tertiary  period. 

We  can  see  here  a  marked  instance  of  a  vallej^  of  erosion,  or  a  long 
natural  opening,  as  if  prepared  in  ages  past  for  the  passage  of  the  road. 
We  can  reflect  with  what  ease  comparatively  it  has  been  constructed 
across  what  would  seem  to  be  an  impassable  country,  by  following  the 
water-courses  and  their  valleys  of  erosion,  admiring  the  energy  and 
consummate  skill  of  the  engineers  who  first  located  the  road  throngh 
this  wild  and  rugged  region. 

We  have  not  alluded  to  the  scenery  in  this  vicinity  from  the  fact  that 
to  the  ordinary  traveler  there  is  little  that  is  attractive.  To  most 
persons  the  whole  country  would  appear  like  a  barren  waste.    But  if 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOKIES.       135 

we  look  far  away  southward  toward  the  sources  of  the  Korth  Platte  in 
the  North  Park,  we  shall  seesouie  lofty  ranges  of  mouutaiiis  with  peaks 
that  loom  up  in  solitary  grandeur.  Elk  Mountain  is  a  noted  landmark, 
and  seems  to  rise  out  of  the  plain  as  if  it  were  an  isolated  peak.  It  is, 
however,  a  portion  of  the  Medicine  Bow  range,  partially  cut  off  from 
the  northern  end.  It  is  surrounded  by  rolling  prairie,  which  is  covered 
the  greater  portion  of  the  year  with  splendid  grass.  Ileuce  all  the 
river  valleys  in  this  portion  of  the  mountains  have  been  noted  places 
for  game  of  all  kinds,  as  elk,  deer,  mountain  sheep,  &c.  Fabulous  sto- 
ries are  also  told  of  the  mines  of  gold  and  silver  which  have  been  dis- 
covered. As  yet  the  geology  is  little  known.  The  sides  of  these  moun- 
tains are  covered  with  dense  forests  of  pine,  spruce,  and  hemlock  ;  and 
during-  the  construction  o^  the  railroad  thousands  of  ties  were  floated 
down  the  branches  of  the  North  Platte  into  the  main  stream  and  thence 
taken  to  their  destination.  The  little  streams  that  flow  from  the  moun- 
tains have  in  many  places  quite  broad  valleys,  which  afford  an  abun- 
dance of  hay  and  pasturage  for  all  kinds  of  animals,  wild  and  domestic. 
The  wild  animals  often  descend  into  the  beautiful  grassy  bottoms  to 
feed  in  large  herds,  and  at  the  least  approach  of  danger  retire  to  the 
almost  inaccessible  ravines  and  gorges  of  the  mountains.  The  big- born 
or  mountain  sheep  may  often  be  seen  in  flocks,  peering  from  some 
mountain  peak  upon  the  traveler  below.  Early  in  the  morning  these 
animals  descend  into  the  valleys  to  crop  the  moist  grass,  but  during 
the  greater  portion  of  the  day  they  will  be  found,  if  discovered  at  all, 
upon  the  most  precipitous  crags  and  ridges  of  the  mountains.  The 
little  streams  are  full  of  fine  trout,  which  are  easily  caught,  they  not 
having  learned  as  yet  the  cunning  arts  of  self-protection,  like  their  east- 
ern relatives.  These  ravines  and  gorges  afford  most  excellent  shelter, 
both  for  Indians  and  animals,  during  the  cold  season  of  winter.  The 
close  proximity  of  this  delightful  region  to  the  railroad  must  make  it  a 
desirable  place  of  resort  for  sportsmen  during  the  summer. 

There  is  another  interesthig  feature  connected  with  the  North  Platte 
and  its  tributaries,  as  well  as  with  most  of  the  mountain  streams,  to 
which  I  would  call  the  attention  of  the  inquiring  traveler ;  and  that  is, 
the  abundant  signs  of  the  existence  of  that  most  sagacious  animal,  the 
beaver.  These  mountain  streams  seem  to  abound  with  them  at  the 
present  time,  ahd  their  dams  are  very  numerous,  not  unfrequentl}^  pro- 
ducing a  rise  of  the  water,  three  to  five  feet.  Extensive  dams  and 
ponds  are  caused  by  these  industrious  animals,  and  sometimes  quite 
large  areas  in  the  valleys  are  overflowed,  rendering  the  crossing  diffi- 
cult and  dangerous.  They  sometimes  strip  off' the  usual  fringe  of  Cot- 
tonwood and  willows  along  the  streams  so  completely  that  they  are 
obliged  to  emigrate  to  some  other  locality  to  secure  food  and  materials 
to  repair  their  dams. 

Not  far  from  Fort  Steele  may  be  seen  at  this  time  cottonwood  trees, 
eighteen  and  twenty  inches  in  diameter,  which  have  been  cut  down  by 
them,  and  I  have  seen  stumps  in  the  valley  of  the  Yellowstone  thirty 
inches  in  diameter.  Their  fur  is  of  so  little  value  at  the  present  time 
that  they  are  not  much  sought  for  by  trappers  or  Indians. 

From  St.  Mary's  to  Eawlings"  Springs,  a  distance  of  about  thirty  miles, 
the  railroad  passes  over  rocks  of  cretaceous  age.  No  coal  beds  need  be 
sought  for  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  road,  although  it  is  quite 
possible  that  on  the  north  side  of  the  road  isolated  patches  of  tertiary 
containing  coal  may  be  found.  The  railroad  from  a  point  about  eight 
miles  east  of  Benton  to  Eawlings'  Springs  passes  through  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  anticlinal  valleys  I  have  seen  in  the  West.    On  either 


136       GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

side  the  rusty-gray  sands  and  sandstones  dip  away  from  the  road  at  an 
angle  of  10^  to  15°.  This  anticlinal  valley  is  most  marked  near  Fort 
Steele  at  the  crossing  of  the  Xorth  Platte. 

About  five  miles  east  of  Fort  Steele  I  made  a  careful  examination  of 
a  railroad  cut  through  a  ridge  of  upheaval,  which  inclined  about  south 
or  a  little  east  of  south.  We  have  exposed  here,  commencing  at  the 
bottom — 

1.  Gray,  fine-grained  sandstone,  rather  massive  and  good  for  building 
purposes,  and  easily  worked,  eighty  feet  thick — dip  25°. 

2.  A  seam,  two  feet  thick,  of  irregular,  black,  indurated  slaty  clay, 
with  layers  of  gyi^sum  all  through  it,  then  two  feet  of  arenaceous  clay. 

3.  Ten  feet  of  rusty-gray,  compact  sandstone. 

4.  Eight  feet  of  clay  and  hard,  arenaceous  layers,  very  dark  in  color, 
passing  up  into  harder  layers,  which  split  into  thin  laminae,  the  surfaces 
of  which  are  covered  with  bits  of  vegetable  matter. 

5.  About  fifty  feet  of  rusty,  yellowish-gray  sandstone.  All  these  sand- 
stones contain  bits  of  vegetable  matter  scattered  through  them. 

6.  One  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  of  steel-brown  indurated 
clay  with  some  iron  concretions.     The  clay  is  mostly  nodular  in  form. 

i.  A  dark-brown  arenaceous  mud  rock,  quite  hard,  thirty  feet. 

From  bed  five,  I  obtained  numerous  species  of  marine  shells,  among 
them  a  species  of  Ostrea  and  Inoceramus  in  great  numbers.  '  The  upper 
surfaces  of  the  hard  clay  layers  appeared  as  though  crowded  with  im- 
pressions of  sea-weeds  or  mud  markings.  In  another  railroad  cutting 
about  four  miles  east  of  Eawliugs'  Springs  I  obtained  the  same  Inocera- 
mus and  a  large  species  of  Ammonite.  These  fossils  are  important  in  es- 
tablishing the  age  of  these  rocks."  Fort  Steele  is  located  on  the  north  side 
ot  the  railroad,  "and  presents  a  pleasant  and  quite  pretty  appearance  to 
the  traveler.  I  intended  to  make  a  more  careful  examination  of  the  geo- 
logical features  of  this  interesting  region,  but  failed  for  want  of  time. 
The  officers  at  this  post  have  always  manifested  great  interest  in  hav- 
ing the  scientific  as  well  as  the  practical  resources  of  the  surrounding 
country  examined,  and  their  favors  to  my  party  have  been  very  gener- 
ous, i  take  great  pleasure  in  thanking  the  commandant.  Colonel  L.  A. 
Bradley,  of  the  Ninth  Infantry,  also  Captain  James  Jackson,  quarter- 
master, for  favors  extended  to  me  in  time  of  need. 

In  the  channel  of  the  oSTorth  Platte,  near  Fort  Steele,  the  black  clays 
of  the  upper  cretaceous  are  most  distinctly  shown,  then  gradually  pass 
up  into  the  series  of  sandstones  and  clays  that  form  the  lofty  walls  or 
ridges  on  the  north  side  of  the  railroad.  We  can  count  from  six  to  ten 
beds  of  yellowish-brown  sandstone,  with  inclining  beds  of  arenaceous 
clay.  In  the  lower  j)ortions  the  Inoceramus  or  Baculite  is  rarely  found, 
the  arenaceous  character  of  the  sediments  seeming  to  have  been  unfavor- 
able to  abundant  animal  life.  Higher  up  a  seam  of  oyster-shells  of  an 
unknown  species  occurs.  They  are  probably  what  I  have  regarded  as 
the  transition  or  beds  of  passage  from  the  cretaceouiS  to  the  tertiary. 
They  are  even  better  displayed  from  the  west  side  of  Bridger's  Pass  to 
Elk  Mountain,  along  the  old  overland  stage  road.  Beds  of  coal  are 
known  to  crop  out  among  the  distant  hills  on  either  side.  There  is 
imdoubtedly  a  mingling  of  the  two  formations  to  such  an  extent  that  a 
careful  detailed  survey  of  this  district  is  necessary  to  clear  up  all  the 
obscure  points.  It  is  probable,  however,  that  the  North  Platte  cuts 
down  into  the  cretaceous  beds  most  of  the  way,  and  possibly  entirely, 
from  the  mountains  to  the  south,  far  north  of  the  railroad. 

Fig.  11  may  be  introduced  in  this  connection  to  illustrate  the  style  of 
the  erosion  of  the  lower  tertiary  coal  formations  in  the  Laramie  plain. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        137 

The  view  is  taken  from  the  tertiary  hills  bordering  the  Missouri  Eiver, 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone,  but  is  typical  of  the  "bad  lauds" 
all  over  the  West  where  this  formation  prevails.  The  little  streams 
formed  from  the  draiuage  of  the  hills  cut  deep  gorges  into  the  soft 
superficial  deposits  at  their  base,  and  frequently  produce  great  obstruc- 
tions to  trains  of  wagons. 

Fiji.  n. 


As  we  move  on  west  of  Fort  Steele,  we  can  see  on  the  north  side  the 
outcropping  beds  of  sandstone.  About  three  miles  west  of  the  North 
Platte  this  ridge  gradually  bends  off  toward  the  northwest.  The  cre- 
taceous clays  of  No.  4  are  weathered  so  that  the  surface  has  a  smoothly 
rounded  appearance,  and  the  anticlinal  beds  expand  out  into  a  broad 
plain.  The  anticlinal  extends  a  little  east  of  south  toward  Pass  Creek. 
The  erosive  forces  seem  to  have  come  from  the  southeast,  between  the 
detached  fragments  of  the  Medicine  Bow  range,  and  extended  across 
the  country  toward  the  northwest.  West  of  Fort  Steele  the  road  passes 
along-  an  anticlinal  valley  for  about  two  miles  ;  it  then  enters  a  mono- 
clinal  valley  and  continues  for  six  or  eight  miles  ;  then  it  cuts  througli 
cretaceous  ridges  which  incline  northeast.  Before  reaching-  Eawliugs's 
Springs  the  red  beds  are  exposed  on  the  north  side  of  the  road  about  a 
mile  distant.  These  anticliuals  seem  to  pass  across  the  intervening- 
country,  connecting  the  ranges  of  mountains  south  with  those  far  to  the 
north.  It  is  only  here  and  there  that  rocks  older  than  the  cretaceous 
or  tertiary  are  exposed  by  them,  until  we  come  into  the  vicinity  of 
some  important  range.  But  at  Eawliugs'  Springs  all  the  formations 
are  exposed  over  a  restricted  area,  fi'om  the  granites  to  the  cretaceous 
inclusive.  The  elevating-  forces  were  exerted  more  powerfully  here  than 
at  any  other  point  aloog  the  railroad  from  Laramie  Station  to  the 
Wasatch  Mountains.  To  the  south  of  the  road  are  variegated  gray, 
brown,  and  reddish  siliceous  rocks  dipping  5°  to  10°  southwest.  A  very 
hard,  bluish  limestone  resting  upon  them  I  have  no  doubt  is  carbonifer- 
ous, although  I  was  unable  to  find  any  fossils  in  this  region.  North  of 
the  road  ridges  of  upheaval  stretch  away  toward  the  northwest,  and  at- 
tain a  height  of  twelve  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  feet  above  tlie  road. 
On  careful  examination  the  red  syenite  may  be  found  exposed  in  a  num- 
ber of  places,  and  gives  us  the  opportunity  of  studying  the  relation 
which  the  unchanged  rocks  sustain  to  the  metamorphic.  The  syenite 
beds  dip  70°  about  southeast,  the  unchanged  beds  resting  upon  them 
in  nearly  a  horizontal  position.     The  layers  immediately  on  the  syenite 


138       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES 

are  a  beautiful  pudding-stone  of  rounded  quartz  pebbles  and  feldspar, 
and  above  it  layers  of  fine  siliceous  rock,  with  thin  intercalations  of  clay, 
the  whole  having  the  position  and  appearance  of  Potsdam  sandstone. 
I  am  inclined  to  believe  that  we  have  here  Lower  Silurian  representatives. 
In  all  cases  these  rocks  repose  on  the  upturned  edges  of  the  syenite, 
sometimes  nearly  horizontal;  again  inclining  3°  to  10°.  In  one  or  two 
places  these  Lower  Silurian  beds  are  lifted  a  thousand  feet  or  more  into 
the  air,  still  maintaining  a  nearly  horizontal  position.  On  the  mountain 
sides  the  beds  are  broken  off  so  as  to  incline  50°,  60^',  up  to  nearly  90°. 

These  siliceous  rocks,  covered  with  ripple  marks,  «&c.,  afford  excellent 
building  stone,  and  are  much  used  by  the  railroad  company.  They 
reach  a  thickness  of  five  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet.  Upon  them 
rests  the  blue  limestone,  thirty  to  forty  feet  thick;  then  variegated 
sandstones ;  and  the  red  beds  in  the  distance. 

From  the  tops  of  these  ridges  one  can  see  numbers  of  both  synclinal 
and  monoclinal  valleys.  There  is  one  monoclinal  valley,  three  to  five 
miles  wide,  which  stretches  far  into  the  northwest,  a  smooth  and  level 
grassy  prairie.  All  these  ridges  have  suffered  great  erosion,  and  the 
Silurian  beds  are  planed  and  grooved  even  to  a  greater  extent  than  the 
more  recent  beds.  Everywhere  the  evidences  of  erosion  during  the 
drift  period  are  on  a  gigantic  scale. 

A  fine  sulphur  spring  from  under  the  bed  of  blue  limestone  gives 
name  to  the  station.  The  water  is  clear  and  possesses  excellent  medi- 
cinal properties. 

Some  very  interesting  specimens  of  native  copper  have  been  found  in 
this  ridge,  which  at  one  time  produced  no  small  degree  of  excitement 
among  the  inhabitants.  The  copper  ore  was  found,  on  more  careful 
investigation,  to  be  of  no  special  economic  value.  It  seems  to  occur  as 
a  sort  of  chemical  precipitate  in  the  reddish  triassic  quartzite  near  the 
summit  of  the  ridge ;  sometimes  it  is  diffused  through  the  rock  in  green 
streaks  in  the  form  of  green  carbonate;  sometimes  coating  large 
masses  of  calcspar ;  there  are  also  very  pretty  dendritic  impressions. 
Near  the  copper  mines  are  some  heavy  beds  of  red  oxide  of  iron,  which 
must  at  some  period  become  of  great  value  to  the  country.  The  beds 
are  four  to  six  feet  thick,  and  though  they  appear  to  be  local,  yet  a 
great  amount  of  ore  could  be  taken  out  at  comparatively  small  cost. 

It  is  an  interesting  fact  that,  although  we  are  continually  traveling 
across  what  is  usually  regarded  as  the  summit  of  the  great  Eocky 
Mountain  range,  six  thousand  to  seven  thousand  feet  above  tide-water, 
yet  this  is  the  only  locality  along  the  road,  between  the  Laramie  Mount- 
ains and  the  Wasatch  Eange,  in  Weber  Valley,  where  we  meet  with 
rocks  older  than  Jurassic,  and,  except  for  a  few  miles  near  Lake  Como, 
none  older  than  cretaceous.  Eocks  of  ancient  date  seem  to  be  the  ex- 
ception, while  those  of  quite  modern  age,  geologically  speaking,  prevail. 

Leaving  Eawlings'  Springs  Station,  the  road  passes  through  an  anti- 
clinal opening  in  the  ridge,  the  south  side  inclining  southeast  10°  to  12°. 
The  lowest  beds  are  yellowish-gray  quartzose  sandstones,  overlaid  by 
carboniferous  limestones.  Still  farther,  south  of  the  road,  may  be  seen 
the  rounded  hills  composed  of  the  cretaceous  and  tertiary  beds,  but  the 
intermediate  formations,  Jurassic  and  triassic,  which  are  exposed  on  the 
north  side,  are  concealed.  Perhaps  the  best  example  of  an  anticlinal 
is  seen  soon  after  passing  through  the  opening  in  the  north  side  of  the 
road.  The  valley  trends  a  little  west  of  north,  or  northwest.  It  does 
not  show  as  distinctly  on  the  north  side  of  the  road,  with  the  exception 
of  the  fragment  of  a  ridge  which  is  conspicuous  on  the  south  side  of  the 
opening.    Very  soon  the  coal  beds  of  the  lower  eocene  appear  on  either 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       139 

side,  inclining  at  a  moderate  angle,  at  first  15°.  On  the  north  side 
there  is  a  plain,  synclinal  valley,  extending  off  to  the  sonthwest.  Pass- 
ing across  this  anticlinal,  we  come  ont  into  an  expansive,  valley-like 
plain,  with  a  long  cretaceons  ridge  extending  off"  to  the  southeast,  while 
on  the  north  side  there  is  a  low  ridge  of  sandstone,  with  the  strata  again 
inclining  to  the  northeast  and  trending  to  the  northwest,  thus  forming 
an  open  sage  i)lain.  The  formations  on  the  north  side  are  mainly  the 
coal-bearing  strata,  with  cretaceous  clays  cropping  out  at  the  base.  On 
the  south  side  the  cretaceous  beds  seem  to  extend  oft"  to  the  southward 
as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach.  In  the  distance  the  ridges  which  form  the 
high  hills  near  Bridger's  Pass  are  distinctly  visible,  so  that  it  is  easy 
to  connect  our  south  belt  of  exploration  with  the  middle  one.  It  be- 
comes still  easier  west  of  Separation,  where  the  beds  of  the  Washakie 
group  are  nearly  or  quite  horizontal,  and  extend  undisturbed  across  the 
country  for  nearly  one  hundred  miles,  from  the  Seminole  and  Sweetwater 
ranges  on  the  north  to  the  high  hills  of  Bridger's  Pass  and  the  ranges 
to  tlie  southwest.  The  lower  eocene,  or  coal  beds,  seem  to  dip  from  the 
mountains  to  the  southward,  if  we  glance  across  the  country  south  of 
the  road ;  and  gradually  to  the  north  of  the  road  they  flex  around  so 
as  to  incline  from  the  Seminole  and  Sweetwater  Mountains.  As  usual, 
the  lower  tertiary  beds  are  quite  variegated  in  color — yellow,  rusty-yel- 
low, rusty -brown,  and  drab — presenting  an  exceedingly  uncomely  look. 
In  the  distance  to  the  north  the  Seminole  range  can  be  seen  quite  clearly, 
with  a  trend  about  northwest  and  southeast. 

Near  Separation,  about  ten  miles  west  of  Eawlings'  Springs,  a  coal 
bed  eleven  feet  thick  has  been  opened,  probably  the  same  as  the  one 
opened  at  Carbon,  and  near  Eock  and  Cooper  Creek.  The  dip  is  nearly 
west  about  10°.  The  opening  being  at  the  summit  of  the  hill,  all  the 
coal  will  have  to  be  drawn  up  a  slope,  and  the  difficulties  of  drainage 
will  be  greatly  increased.  The  coal  is  of  excellent  quality.  Above  and 
below  the  coal  is  the  usual  drab  indurated  clay.  Below  the  clay  is  a  bed 
of  gray  ferruginous  sandstone. 

On  the  summits  of  the  hills  in  the  vicinity  are  layers  of  fine-grained 
siliceous  rocks  with  arenaceous  concretions,  some  of  them  containing 
impressions  of  deciduous  leaves. 

The  tertiary  beds  lie  in  ridges  running  across  the  country.  The  beds 
are  uplifted  in  every  direction.  A  more  desolate  region  I  have  not  seen 
in  the  West.  Nothing  seems  to  grow  but  sage  bushes,  and  in  some  of 
the  valleys  they  grow  very  large.  All  over  the  surface  of  the  hills  and 
in  the  plains  are  great  quantities  of  water- worn  pebbles.  Mauj^  of  these 
valleys  were  scooped  out  by  an  amount  of  waters  far  in  excess  of  any 
known  at  the  present  day  in  this  region.  Some  of  the  widest  and  deep- 
est do  not  now  contain  any  running  stream. 

The  layers  of  fine-gTained  sandstone  on  the  hills  in  this  vicinity  con- 
tain more  or  less  imjiressions  of  leaves,  like  Poimlus  and  Flatamts,  in  a 
good  state  of  preservation. 

West  of  Separation  the  dip  of  the  tertiary  beds  diminishes.  Before 
reaching  Creston,  about  thirteen  miles  west  of  Separation,  they  lie  nearly 
horizontal,  and  all  the  surrounding  country  presents  more  the  api)ear- 
ance  of  a  i)lain.  At  that  station  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  Company 
have  nnk  a  well  one  hundred  feet  or  more  deep.  At  a  depth  of  eighty- 
three  feet,  the  workmen  passed  through  four  feet  of  excellent  coal 
and  four  feet  of  coaly  shale.  The  coal  was  of  about  the  same 
quality  as  that  near  Separation,  probably  from  the  same  bed.  If  so, 
coal  at  a  depth  of  about  eighty  feet  must  underlie  an  area  of  at  least 
one  hundred  square  miles.    In  this  well,  beds  of  bluish,  arenaceous  clay 


140       GEOLOGICAL  SURREY  OF  THE  TEREITORIES. 

were  passed  throiigli  first,  then  black  clay,  with  carbonaceous  matter 
throughout.  Just  over  the  coal  was  fine,  bluish,  indurated  clay,  with 
very  distinct  impressions  of  leaves,  among  which  the  most  abundant 
were  Populus  and  Platanus.  The  railroad  cuts  and  the  valleys  them- 
selves show  very  distinctly  the  character  of  the  intermediate  softer  beds. 
The  erosion  has  been  so  great  in  this  country,  and  all  hills  and  caiious 
are  so  covered  with  debris,  that  it  is  almost  impossible  to  obtain  a  clear 
idea  of  the  color  and  composition  of  the  intermediate  softer  beds.  The 
harder  sandstones,  &c.,  project  from  the  surface,  and  are  accessible  to 
the  eye  without  much  excavation.  Marine  and  fresh-water  tertiary 
formations  occupy  the  whole  country  along  the  line  of  the  railroad  to 
Quaking  Asp  Summit,  west  of  Fort  Bridger,  and  also  to  Salt  Lake  to 
a  greater  or  less  extent. 

From  Creston  to  Bitter  Creek  Station,  a  distance  of  forty-five  miles, 
the  beds  are  mostly  fresh-Avater,  and  hold  a  nearlj^  horizontal  position. 
West  of  Bitter  Creek  we  come  again  upon  marine  tertiaries,  dipping  3° 
to  6°  nearly  east.  We  have,  therefore,  between  Eawlings'  Springs  and 
Green  Eiver,  a  sort  of  synclinal  basin,  the  marine  tertiary  dipping  west 
about  10°  on  the  east  side,  and  the  same  marine  beds  inclining  east  3° 
to  6°  on  the  west  side ;  while  at  Table  Eock,  Eed  Desert,  and  Washa- 
kie, a  considerable  thickness  of  purely  fresh-water  beds  are  filled  with 
fresh- water  shells  Unio  Washcikeei^GoniohasisSimpsoni^'Mid  Vhnj)arus. 

Table  Eock  is  a  square  butte  lifting  itself  about  four  hundred  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  road,  composed  of  the  beds  of  a  sandstone  which 
in  many  instances  is  little  more  than  an  aggregation  of  fresh-water 
shells. 

After  leaving  Bitter  Creek  Station  the  hills  approach  nearer  to  the 
road,  and  show  the  characteristic  features  of  the  marine  tertiary  again. 
Seams  of  coal  appear  in  many  places,  while  yellow  arenaceous  marls, 
light-gray  sand  with  indurated  clay  beds,  and  more  or  less  thick  layers 
of  sandstone  occur.     The  dip  varies  from  3°  to  6°  east  or  nearly  east. 

At  Black  Butte  Station,  on  Bitter  Creek,  about  fifteen  miles  west  of 
Bitter  Creek  Station,  there  is  a  heavy  bed  of  yellow  ferruginous  sand- 
stone, irregular  in  its  thickness  and  in  part  concretionary,  and  full  of 
rusty  concretions  of  sandstones  of  every  size,  from  an  inch  to  several 
feet  in  diameter,  mostly  spherical,  and  when  broken  revealing  large 
cavities  filled  with  oxide  of  iron  loam.  This  sandstone,  one  hundred 
and  fifty  to  two  hundred  feet  in  thickness,  forms  nearly  vertical  bluffs, 
and  is  worn  by  atmospheric  agencies  into  the  most  fantastic  shapes. 
Above  it  are  sands,  clays,  sandstones  of  every  texture,  and  coal  beds, 
one  of  which,  near  the  summit  of  the  hills,  has  been  burned,  baking 
and  melting  the  superincumbent  beds.  I  found  in  several  layers  the 
greatest  abundance  of  deciduous  leaves,  and  among  them  a  fine  palm 
leaf,  probably  the  same  species  which  occurs  in  the  coal  beds  on  the 
Upper  Missouri,  named  by  Dr.  Newberry,  -80001  Coniphelli.  There  is 
also  a  thin  seam  near  one  of  the  coal  beds  made  up  of  a  small  species 
of  Ostrea. 

The  railroad  passes  down  the  Bitter  Creek  Valley,  which  from  its  chan- 
nel through  the  tertiary  beds,  and  on  each  side  high  walls  can  be  seen 
inclining  at  moderate  angles.  As  we  pass  down  the  valley  toward  Green 
Eiver,  the  inclination  brings  to  view  lower  and  lower  beds.  These  are 
all  plainly  marine  tertiaries,  while  an  abundance  of  impressions  of  plants 
are  found  everywhere.  No  strictly  fresh- water  shells  occur,  but  seams 
of  Ostrea  of  various  species. 

In  the  final  report,  some  detailed  sections  of  these  tertiary  beds  will 
be  given.    Yet  I  am  convinced  that  local  sections  are  not  very  import- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       141 

ant.  The  character  is  so  cliaugeable  that  two  sections  taken  ten  miles 
apart  would  not  be  identical,  and  in  some  cases  not  even  very  similar. 
The  more  recent  the  age  of  formations  the  less  iiersisteut  .se<?m  to  be 
their  lithological  characters  over  extended  areas. 

From  Black  Buttes  to  Point  of  Rocks  the  dip  is  southeast.  About 
five  miles  west  the  principal  bed  of  gray-brown  sandstone  rises  to  the 
surface.  The  railroad  runs  through  -what  I  have  termed  a  monoclinal 
valley,  that  is,  an  interval  between  two  upheaved  ridges  inclining  in 
the  same  direction,  the  high  outcropping  hills  on  the  north  side,  and 
the  sloping  portion  on  the  other.  The  principal  coal  beds  lie  above  the 
massive  bed  of  sandstone,  which  forms  a  line  of  separation  between  the 
clays  above,  which  are  full  of  beds  of  coal,  and  the  alternate  beds  of 
sandstone  and  clay  beneath,  in  which  there  are  few  seams  of  coal. 

The  tendency  of  this  sandstone  to  weather  into  curious  forms  and 
cavities  has  given  peculiar  names  to  localities,  as  "Hermit's  Grotto," 
"  Caves  of  the  Sand,"  "  Water- washed  Caves  of  the  Fairies,"  all  of  which 
exhibit  most  singular,  rounded  cavities  worn  out  of  the  sandstone, 
sometimes  extending  into  the  bluff  walls  several  feet.  We  may  suppose 
that  most  of  these  cavities  originally  contained  a  spherical  concretion 
which  first  determined  their  present  rounded  shape,  and  that  the  long- 
continued  action  of  the  wind  and  storms  has  enlarged  them  to  their 
present  dimensions.  Perhaps,  also,  the  triclding  of  water,  or  the  process 
of  freezing  and  thawing,  may  have  performed  a  part  in  disintegrating 
the  particles  of  sand.  Here,  too,  we  find  preserved  in  the  rocks  the 
greatest  abundance  of  deciduous  leaves  of  the  poplar,  ash,  elm,  maple, 
&c.,  and  among  tliem  some  species  which  are  found  in  the  coal  forma- 
tions on  the  Upper  Missouri.  Among  the  fossil  plants  found  is  a  spe- 
cies of  fan-palm,  which,  at  the  time  it  grew  here,  displayed  a  leaf  of 
enormous  dimensions,  sometimes  having  a  spread  of  ten  or  twelve  feet. 
These  gigantic  palms  seem  to  have  formed  a  conspicuous  feature  among 
the  trees  of  these  ancient  forests. 

At  almost  every  station,  from  Bitter  Creek  to  Rock  Springs,  coal 
mines  are  opened,  and  an  abundant  supi)ly  for  railroad  purposes  can  be 
easily  obtained.  At  one  locality,  near  Point  of  Rocks,  five  beds  were 
opened  in  the  same  bluft',  within  a  vertical  height  of  eighty  feet.  These 
beds  are  respectively  five,  one,  four,  three,  and  six  and  a  half  feet  in 
thickness.  Kear  the  summit  of  the  hill,  just  over  the  coal,  is  a  seam  of 
oyster  shells  six  inches  in  thickness.  The  oyster  is  of  an  extinct  and 
undescribed  species,  about  the  size  of  our  common  edible  one. 

There  are  also  in  this  range  of  hills  extensive  beds  of  hard,  tabular 
layers  of  rock,  which  would  make  excellent  flagging-stones.  On  the 
surface  are  fine  illustrations  of  wave  and  ripple  markiugs,  and  at  one 
locality  impressions  which  appear  like  the  tracks  of  a  mule  on  the  soft 
bottom  ground.  There  are  others  that  might  be  attributed  to  a  huge 
bird,  and  others  to  some  four-toed  pachyderm.  Scattered  all  through 
the  coal  strata  are  seams  and  concretionary  masses  of  brown  iron  ore, 
sometimes  local  and  sometimes  persistent  over  exteuded  areas ;  it  occurs 
mostly  in  a  nodular  form,  and  if  the  coal  proves  to  possess  sufficient 
heating  i)ower  to  smelt  it,  the  ore  must  become  eventually  of  immense 
economic  value.  There  are  also  numerous  chalybeate  and  sulphur 
springs  in  the  vicinity. 

About  ten  miles  east  of  Salt  Wells  Station  the  high  hills  or  bluffs  on 
either  side  disappear,  and  it  is  plain  that  we  are  passing  across  an  anti- 
clinal valley  in  which  only  the  yielding  clays  of  the  upper  cretaceous 
period  are  seen.  These  clays  have  permitted  the  surface  to  be  so 
rounded  off  that  a  distinct  anticlinal  valley  can  be  seen  extending 


142       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

across  the  country  northeast  and  southwest.  This  valley  is  about  six 
miles  wide.  Then  the  lower  tertiary  beds  arise  to  the  surface  with  a 
reversed  dip  and  gradually  pass  up  through  a  series  of  sandstones,  clays, 
and  arenaceous  clays  to  the  Green  Eiver  shales.  At  Rock  Springs  the 
Wyoming  Coal  Company,  under  the  direction  of  Mr.  Thomas  Wardell, 
an' experienced  coal  miner,  has  opened  a  very  valuable  coal  bed,  w^hich 
is  now  furnishing  large  supplies  of  fuel  to  the  railroad. 

Very  soon  after  leaving  Rock  Springs  Station  the  Green  River  Group 
is  seen  on  the  bluff  hills  on  either  side  of  the  road  to  the  entrance  of  Bitter 
Creek  into  Green  River.  In  the  Green  River  Valley  are  seen  remarkable 
sections  of  strata.  I  have  called  this  group  the  Green  River  shales, 
because  it  is  composed  of  thin  layers,  varying  in  thickness  from  that  of 
a  knife-blade  to  several  inches.  The  rocks  all  have  a  grayish-buff 
color  on  exposure,  sometimes  with  bands  of  dark  brown.  These  darker 
bands  are  saturated  with  an  oily  substance,  which  causes  them  to 
ignite  readily.  At  one  time  this  material  was  used  as  a  fuel  in  stoves, 
and  burned  well,  giving  off"  a  good  supply  of  heUtj  but  it  was  found 
that  the  bulk  of  earthy  matter,  after  the  combustible  portion  was 
burned  out,  was  as  great  as  the  original  mass,  and  rendered  it  too  in- 
convenient. One  of  the  cuts  along  the  railroad  passes  through  a  layer 
of  the  cream-colored  chalky  limestone.  There  were  one  or  two  beds  of 
this  petroleum  earth. 

During  the  progress  of  the  excavations  the  workmen  built  a  fire 
by  the  side  of  one  of  the  walls,  and  this  oily  earth  ignited  and  burned 
for  several  days,  giving  light  to  the  workmen  by  night,  and  filling 
the  valley  with  a  dense  smoke  by  day.  The  best  display  of  the  Green 
River  shales  is  near  the  station  on  the  railroad.  At  the  base  of  the 
bluffs  we  have  thin  layers  of  arenaceous  clay,  with  laminated  sandstone, 
with  mud  markings  and  other  indications  of  shallow  water  or  mud  flats ; 
color  ashen  brown,  100  feet.  Above,  lighter-colored  layers  with  alterna- 
tions of  a  greenish  layer,  fine  white  sand,  the  whole  weathering  a  light 
gray.  As  we  pass  uj)  we  find  a  large  increase  of  clay,  and  some  lime, 
with  now  and  then  a  thin  layer  of  pebbles  or  small  nodules.  The  layers 
vary  from  the  thickness  of  a  knife-blade  to  twelve  inches,  split  easily 
and  regularly.  There  are  also  local  beds,  four  to  ten  feet  thick,  of  porous 
limestone,  which  have  the  appearance  of  having  been  deposited  from 
springs  during  the  tertiary  period.  There  are  also  seams  of  very  fine 
limestone  that  are  quite  black,  so  thoroughly  is  the  rock  saturated  with 
l)etroleum.  The  combustible  shales  vary  in  thickness,  from  two  to  several 
feet.  Near  the  summit  of  the  hill,  under  the  yellow  calcareous  sandstone, 
there  are  fifty  feet  of  the  shales  that  contain  more  or  less  of  the  oily 
material.  The  hills  all  around  are  capped  with  a  deep  rusty-yellow  cal- 
careous sandstone,  which  weathers  into  the  peculiar  castellated  forms 
which  have  given  so  much  celebrity  to  the  scenery  in  this  region.  The 
different  shades  of  color  in  the  thin  layers  give  to  the  vertical  walls  a 
distinct  banded  appearance. 

About  two  miles  west  of  the  station  there  is  an  excavation  which  has 
been  called  the  Petrified  Fish  Cut,  on  account  of  the  thousands  of  beau- 
tiful and  perfect  impressions  of  fishes  which  are  shown  on  the  surface 
of  the  thin  slabs,  sometimes  a  dozen  or  two  on  an  area  of  a  square  foot. 
Impressions  of  insects  and  water  plants  are  also  found,  as  well  as  of  a 
remarkable  specimen  of  a  feather  of  a  bird,  which  Professor  Marsh 
regards  as  a  unique  specimen,  forming  a  most  interesting  addition  to 
the  bird  remains  of  North  America.  "  It  is  the  distal  portion  of  a  large 
feather,  with  the  shaft  and  vane  in  such  excellent  preservation  that  it 
may  perhaps  indicate  approximately  the  nature  of  the  bird  to  which 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEERITOEIES.        143 

it  belonged."  My  collection  of  fossil  fishes  from  this  cut  is  very  large, 
aud  my  success  was  mostly  due  to  the  kind  aid  of  Mr.  A.  W.  Hilliard, 
a  geutlemau  of  iutelligeuce,  who  superintended  the  excavation  along  the 
line  of  the  railroad,  and  preserved  from  time  to  time  such  specimens  of 
value  as  came  in  his  way.  If  the  example  of  Mr.  Ililliard  had  been 
imitated  all  along  the  line  of  this  railway  thousands  of  most  valuable 
specimens  would  have  been  preserved  which  are  now  lost  to  science. 
The  existence  of  such  vast  quantities  of  animal  life,  dnring  this  period, 
as  those  shaly  layers  would  indicate,  may  account  for  the  oily  nature  of 
much  of  this  rock.  In  a  portion  of  this  cut  there  is  an  apparent  dip 
northwest  about  18°,  but  I  am  disposed  to  regard  it  as  local.  At  the 
w^est  end  of  the  cut  are  some  singular,  dike-like  openings,  filled  with  loose 
material  from  the  rusty  sandstone  near  the  top  of  the  hill.  These  fis- 
sures are  evidently  due  to  joiutage,  and  appear  like  regular  mineral 
lodes  with  well-defined  walls.  In  most  cases  they  extend  up  through  the 
shaly  layers  to  the  rusty-yellow  arenaceous  marls,  and  these  fissures 
have  been  so  closely  filled  with  this  material  that  it  must  have  occurred 
from  deposition,  that  is,  the  fissures  were  formed  before  the  deposition 
of  the  calcareous  sandstone  above. 

For  a  most  interesting  account  of  the  fossil  fishes  of  this  group  the 
reader  is  referred  to  the  essay  of  Professor  Cope  in  Part  IV  of  this 
report. 

About  a  mile  west  of  the  "  Petrified  Fish  Bed"  is  a  cut  along  the  rail- 
road which  passes  through  a  moderate  thickness  of  buff,  chalky  lime- 
stones, filled  with  impressions  of  leaves  of  deciduous  trees.  These  rocks 
hold  a  position  about  one  hundred  feet  above  the  petroleum  shales 
which  contain  the  fish  remains,  and  therefore  the  date  of  their  exist- 
ence may  be  regarded  as  subsequent,  though  belonging  to  the  same 
basin.  Professor  J.  S.  Newberry,  our  l3est  authority  on  the  fossil  vege- 
tation of  America,  has  given  these  plants  a  hasty  examination,  and  com- 
municated the  following  interesting  notes  in  the  form  of  a  letter : 

I  have  examined  the  plants  from  the  Green  River  beds  with  as  much  care  as  the 
limited  time  at  my  command  would  permit,  and  am  surprised  in  not  tindiuf;  among 
them  a  single  species  contained  in  any  of  your  other  great  collections  at  the  far  West. 
They  thus  far  afl'ord  no  certain  criteria  for  collating  the  Green  River  tertiaries  with 
those  of  other  localities  where  you  have  studied  them.  The  plants  from  the  rocks 
inclosing  the  coal  at  Marshall's  miue  are  more  significant,  as  they  include  species  (Pla- 
taniis  Jiaydem,  which  is  certainly  different  from  Platanus  aceroides)  such  as  were  found 
by  you  at  Carbon  Station  aud  at  the  mouth  of  the  Yellowstone.  Every  collection  of 
fossil  plants  received  from  the  tertiary  of  the  West  brings  to  light  many  new  species, 
aud  the  great  diversity  which  they  exhibit  proves  either  a  number  of  plant-beariug 
horizons,  or  great  localization  of  the  species  in  the  tertiary  flora. 

Among  your  Green  River  plants  are  only  some  half  dozen  species  so  well  preserved 
as  to  be  capable  of  satisfactory  identification  or  comparison,  but  they  form  a  very 
interesting  group.  Among  them  I  find  two  palms,  both  quite  unlike  anything  before 
found  on  this  continent.  One  is  a  new  Phenidies,  resembling  Heer's  Manicarla  formosa. 
The  other  but  an  imperfect  fragment,  yet  altogether  new  and  strange  to  me.  The  most 
abundant  species  contained  in  the  collection  is  a  Mafinolia,  allied  to  M.  tenuinervis, 
Lesq.^  but  more  elongate  aud  acute ;  also  an  oak  resembling  Quercus  Saffordi  of  Lesq. 
There  is  another  oak  in  the  collection,  a  laurel,  (probably,)  and  fragments  of  two  ferns, 
too  imperfect  for  determination.  On  the  whole,  these  plants  resemble  most  those 
described  by  Lesqueruex,  from  Mississippi,  aud  I  am  inclined  to  suspect  are  of  the  same 
age.  This  would  make  the  Green  River  beds  older  than  you  have  thought  them,  and 
I  should  want  more  material  before  venturing  anything  more  than  a  suggestion  to 
that  effect.  I  trust  you  will  be  able  to  make  other  collections  from  these  jilaut  beds 
during  the  present  season. 

The  specimens  contained  in  the  buff,  marly  limestones  of  the  Green  River  series  are 
generally  not  well  preserved,  aud  yet,  I  th'irdv,  careful  search  at  the  locality  where 
these  plants  sent  me  were  obtained  would  result  in  the  discovery  of  some  fine"  things. 
I  Avould  especially  urge  a  search  for  fruits. 

The  aspect  of  the  small  group  of  plants  now  before  me  from  Green  River  is  more 
tropical  than  any  you  have  brought  from  the  West,  and  as  we  have  reason  to  believ* 


144  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

that  our  eocene  climate  was  warmer  than  the  mioceue,  and  that  from  the  eocene  epoch 
to  the  glacial  j^eriod  a  progression  of  temperature  took  place,  the  Green  River  beds 
would  seem  to  me  to  prove  earlier  than  late  mibcene. 

Geologists  have  as  yet  explored  this  interestiug  region  only  in  the 
most  superficial  way,  and  we  have  caught  but  a  glirDi)se  of  the  "wonder- 
ful treasures  which  will  some  time  be  brought  to  light.  The  strata  are 
nearly  horizontal,  and  the  rivers  have  cut  such  deep  channels  in  them 
that  they  can  be  studied  with  comparative  ease.  Professor  D^iton, 
who  made  an  exploration  of  the  country  about  one  hundred  miles  south 
of  the  railroad,  has  given  a  graphic  account  of  his  discoveries,  which 
shows  very  clearly  the  geographical  extension  of  this  formation.  Near 
the  junction  of  White  and  Green  Rivers,  partly  in  Colorado  and  i^artly 
in  Utah,  he  describes  an  immense  tertiary  deposit,  composed  of  a  series 
of  petroleum  shales,  one  thousand  feet  in  thickness,  varying  in  color 
from  that  of  cream  to  tlie  blackness  of  cannel  coal.  The  shales  abound 
in  the  impressions  of  leaves  and  of  various  species  of  insects.  Mr.  Sam- 
uel H.  Scudder,  of  Boston,  published  in  the  American  ISTaturalist  for 
February,  1808,  a  most  interesting  account  of  the  insects  collected  by 
Professor  Denton.     He  says : 

The  masses  of  rock  were  crowded  with  remains  of  insects  and  leaves  of  deciduous 
trees.  Between  sixty  and  seventy  species  of  insects  were  brought  home,  representing 
nearly  all  the  different  orders ;  about  two-thirds  of  the  species  were  Hies,  some  of  them 
the  perfect  insect,  others  the  maggot-like  larvse,  but  in  no  instance  did  the  imago  and 
larv£B  of  the  same  insect  occur.  The  greater  part  of  the  beetles  were  quite  small. 
There  were  three  or  four  kinds  of  Homeoptcra,  (allied  to  the  treehoppers,)  ants  of  two 
different  genera,  and  a  poorly-preserved  moth.  Perhaps  a  minute  Thriiis,  belonging  to 
a  group  which  has  never  been  found  fossil  in  any  part  of  the  world,  is  of  the  greatest 
interest. 

At  the  present  day  these  tiny  and  almost  microscopic  insects  live  among  the  petals 
of  flowers,  and  one  species  is  supposed  by  some  entomologists  to  be  injurious  to  the 
wheat ;  others  believe  that  they  congregate  in  the  wheat  as  well  as  in  the  flowers,  in 
the  hope  of  finding  food  in  the  still  smaller  and  more  helpless  insects  which  are  found 
there.  It  is  astonishing  that  an  insect  so  delicate  and  insignificant  in  size  can  be  so 
perfectly  preserved  in  these  stones ;  in  the  best  specimens  the  body  is  crushed  and  dis- 
placed, yet  the  wings  remain  uninjured,  and  every  hair  of  their  broad  but  inicroscopic 
fringe  can  be  counted. 

Professor  Denton  also  discovered  in  this  region  a  deposit  of  petro- 
leum coal,  which  appears  identical  with  and  would  yield  as  much  oil  as 
the  Albertite  coal  of  New  Brunswick.  Another  bed,  resembling  cannelite, 
was  noticed,  ten  to  twenty  feet  in  thickness,  which  Professor  Denton 
believes  would  produce  fifty  or  sixty  gallons  of  oil  to  the  ton.  If  so,  a 
single  bed  here  would  yield  twenty  million  barrels  of  oil,  or  a  thousand 
times  as  much  as  America  has  produced  since  petroleum  was  discovered 
in  Pennsylvania.  It  is  clear  that  these  shales,  with  the  fossil  insects, 
leaves,  and  petroleum,  are  only  a  southern  extension  of  the  beds  which 
we  have  so  fine  an  opportunity  to  study  around  the  Green  River  Station. 
Dr.  Palmer  has  brought  fresh  water  shells,  as  Goniohasis  Carteri,  and 
others  from  White  River,  which  tends  to  strengthen  this  conclusion. 

From  Bryan  we  pass  over  a  peculiar  region,  differing  again  in  its 
surface  features  from  any  previously  seen  on  our  route.  Far  distant  to 
the  southward  the  singular,  dome-like  appearance  of  what  we  have  usually 
styled  tlie  "  bad  lands"  is  visible,  their  brown  and  indurated  sands  and 
clays  having  weathered  into  remarkable  forms.  One  of  these  singular 
hills  forms  a  noted  landmark  along  the  old  stage  road,  which  has  received 
the  name  of  "  Church  Buttes,"  from  its  supposed  resemblance  to  a  chiu'ch. 
To  this  formation  I  have  given  the  name  of  the  "  Bridger  Group,"  and 
1  am  convinced  that  this  region  was  occupied  by  a  vast  fresh-water 
lake  nbout  the  same  time  that  the  one  on  White  River  existed.  From 
the  indications  derived  from  the  fossil  remains  already  discovered,  this 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        145 

group  of  beds  is  destined  to  yield  a  fauna  second  only  to  that  of  the 
"bad  lands"  of  Dakota.  So  far  as  yet  known,  all  the  remains  appear 
to  be  of  middle  tertiary  age.  Among  these  fossils  those  of  turtles  are 
especially  numerous.  A  multitude  of  fragments,  together  with  several 
forms,  nearly  entire,  have  been  collected  and  sent  to  Professor  Leidy, 
of  Philadelphia,  for  examination.  The  specimens  have  been  referred  to 
three  extinct  species  ;  the  greater  number  pertain  to  a  fresh-water  tur- 
tle which  has  been  named  Trionyx  guttaius.  The  genus  to  which  it 
belongs  is  found  at  the  present  time  living  in  the  rivers  of  America, 
Asia,  and  Africa.  It  is  represented  in  our  country  by  the  Trionyx  ferox, 
or  great  soft  shelled  turtle  of  the  Mississippi  and  its  tributaries.  The 
animal  is  noted  for  its  voracity  and  feeds  on  fishes,  snakes,  and  young 
alligators.  Its  ancestor  of  the  Bridger  tertiary  period  no  doubt  was 
equally  predaceous  in  its  habits. 

Another  turtle,  of  which  a  nearly  complete  specimen  was  discovered, 
was  more  like  our  marsh  terrapins  in  character.  It,  however,  belongs 
to  an  extinct  genus  and  species,  to  which  Professor  Leidy  has  given  the 
name  of  Baptemys  ^yyominge7ms,  fi-om  the  habit  which  it  no  doubt  pos- 
sessed, in  common  with  most  of  its  tribe,  of  at  least  taking  an  occasional 
plunge  in  some  convenient  bathing  place.  Some  of  the  nearest  living 
relatives  to  this  turtle  are  now  found  in  Central  America,  the  so-called 
Dermatemys  and  Staurolypus  of  Vera  Cruz  and  Tobasco.  The  third  spe- 
cies of  turtle  indicated  by  fragments  Professor  Leidy  has  referred  to  at 
terrapin  which  he  has  named  Emys  tStevensonensiis^  in  honor  of  James 
Stevenson,  the  companion  and  able  assistant  of  the  author  during  his. 
geological  explorations  of  the  interior  of  our  continent. 

From  other  fossil  remains  from  the  Bridger  Group  of  rocks.  Professor 
Leidy  reports  the  former  existence  of  an  animal  presenting  an  affinity 
to  the  hyena  and  panther.  It  was  larger  than  our  species  of  the  latter,, 
and  was  evidently  a  predaceous  animal  of  great  strength  and  ferocity. 
It  has  been  named  Pafriofelis  uUa,  which  signifies  the  ancestral  cat  that 
hath  revenged  itself.  The  remains  of  a  small  animal  discovered  by  Mr. 
J.  A.  Carter,  of  Fort  Bridger,  and  sent  to  Professor  Leidy,  were  referred 
by  him  to  an  insect-eater  related  to  the  European  hedgehog,  to  which 
he  has  given  the  name  of  Omomys  Carferi,  in  honor  of  its  disco^rerer. 

It  will  thus  be  seen  that  all  the  animals  indicated  by  the  fossils  from: 
the  Bridger  bed,  compri.sing  three  different  turtles,  a  carnivorous  and 
an  insectivorous  mammal,  are  of  species  and  genera  previously  imknown 
to  science.  They,  therefore,  indicate  an  especial  fauna,  accompanied  by 
a  pecftliar  flora,  of  which  thus  far  we  have  seen  but  a  trace.  Further 
researches  will  most  probably  give  to  us  an  interesting  history  of  the 
lost  race  of  animals,  of  the  former  existence  of  which  we  now  have  an 
intimation.  Figure  13  presents  a  most  excellent  view  of  the  "bad 
lands"  as  seen  on  White  Eiver,  Dakota.  This  illustration  may  be 
regarded  as  a  typical  one  of  the  style  of  surface  erosion  of  tlie  White 
Eiver  and  Bridger  Groups.  The  original  sketch  was  taken  on  the  spot 
by  Mr.  F,  B.  Meek  in  1853,  and  is  published  by  permissiou  of  Professor 
James  Hall,  of  Albany,  New  York. 

There  are  also  beds  of  limestone,  composed  entirely  of  a  small  species 
of  Cypris  which  gives  to  the  rock  a  beautiful  oolitic  structure.  Of  fresh- 
water mussels,  Unios,  GoniobaseSj  Yiviparas,  Planorbis,  several  species 
are  found  at  different  localities.  Sometimes  the  Gojiiobases  and  Unios  are 
tbund  on  a  slab  of  limestone  in  great  numbers,  filled  with  chalcedony. 
All  the  evidence  that  we  can  secure,  points  to  the  conclusion  that  all  the 
sediments  of  *he  Bridger  Group  were  deposited  in  the  bottom  of  a  purely 
m^esh-water  lake,  with  no  access  to  salt  or  even  brackisli  water  from  any 
10  G 


146 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 


voint  In  regard  to  the  extent  of  this  great  and  most  interesting  lake 
basin  very  little  is  known.  All  the  explorations  have  been,  hithei^to,  ot 
a  hurried  and  superficial  character.     We  believe  that  the  Umta  Moun- 

Fig.  12. 


tains  form  the  southern  shore,  and  that  it  extends  down  to  the  valley 
of  Green  Eiver,  at  least  to  the  entrance  of  White  Eiver,  and  probably 
further.  Professor  Denton's  graphic  description  satisfies  us  tfiat  tne 
formations  are  identical  with  those  around  Church  Buttes : 

T  ooTiiiiff  from  the  summit  of  a  higli  ridge  on  the  east,  a  tract  of  conntry  containiug 
fi^^  or  sihiindred  square  miles  is  dfstinctTy  visible.  Over  the  ^vhole  sur  ace  is  rock, 
hLe  rock  c,riuto  ravines,  canons,  gorges,  and  valleys,  in  magnilicent  rehel-terrace 
nSu  terrace,  A-rannd  beyond  pyramid,  rising  to  monntam  heights;  amphitheaters 
Xt  would  hold  a  ndllion  spectators;  walls,  pillars,  toNvers,  castles  everywhere  It 
looksTike  some  ruined  city  of  the  gods,  blasted,  bare,  desolate,  but  grand,  "  beyond  a 
morti  Vs  tellU  -."  Originallv  an  elevated  country,  composed  of  a  number  of  sott  beds 
S- sandston"^^^^^  by  immense  beds  of  shale, 

l^t  has  been  worn  doln  and  cut  out  by  rills,  creeks,  and  streams,  leaving  this  strange, 
weird  country  to  be  the  wonder  of  all  generations. 

But  we  must  not  leave  this  singularly  interesting  region  without  a 
word  in  reirard  to  the  "moss  agates"  which  cover  the  country  trom 
Oreen  lliver  to  Fort  Bridger  in  the  greatest  profusion.  The  ground  in 
many  places  seems  to  be  literally  paved  with  nicely-rounded  pebbles 
and  small  boulders,  mostly  of  agate  fiiut,  the  largest  not  more  than  our 
or  five  inches  in  diameter;  there  is  a  belt  of  about  ten  miles  m  width, 
from  east  to  west,  including  Church  Buttes,  and  extending  an  nnknowii 
distance,  froui  north  to  south,  over  which  these  geins  are  found  in  the 
gSJlest'abundance  and  variety.  I  am  inclined  ^o  thuik  they  originate 
in  this  modern  tertiary  formation.  About  six  mi  es  west  ot  C.iitei  s 
Station  a  cut  in  the  railroad  reveals  a  bed  ot  tough,  dark-gray,  plastic 
elavs  and  at  the  top  a  layer  of  fiinty  concretions  filled  with  small  seams 
of  chalcedony.  In  the^-bad  lands"  of  White  River  are  abundant 
seams  of  fine" chalcedony,  which  only  need  the  oxide  of  iron  or  manga- 
nese to  make  the  choicest  of  moss  agates.  I  am  inclmed  to  belle^  e  that 
these  a-ates  originate  in  irregular  seams  in  the  tertiary  beds  somewhere 
south  of  CM?rch  Buttes.  The  origin  of  all  the  drift  material  which 
strikes  the  eye  everywhere  I  regard  as  local,  and  that  it  was  probably 
transported  from  the  direction  of  the  Uinta  Mountains. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        147 

Some  of  tbese  gems,  are  very  beautiful,  aiul  the  spraiigles  or  dentritic 
delineations  are  wonderfully  like  the  stems  of  moss,  ami  it  is  quite  dif- 
licult  for  most  travelers  to  believe  that  tbey  are  not  actually  i)lants  im- 
prisoned in  tbe  flinty  nmss.  Most  of  the  a.uates  are  of  little  value,  bat 
occasionally  one  is  found  of  jireat  beauty  that  will  sell  for  $50  or  ^7~i. 
They  are  also  found  in  the  JMiddle  and  South  Parks  to  some  extent ; 
those  in  the  Middle  Park  being  rcjiarded  as  by  far  the  b^st.  Beautifnl 
specimens  of  opal,  semi-opal,  or  opaline,  occur,  and  when  found  are 
especially  attractive.  A  variety  of  opal  of  a  nulky-white  color,  and  very 
traiisparent,  was  found  in  a  lode  of  j;old-bearing  quartz,  near  Idalio, 
Colorado,  and  was  much  sought  after  for  a  time. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

BEAR   RIVER   TO  GREAT    SALT    LAKE    VALLEY. 

For  more  than  two  huudred  miles  we  have  passed  over  what  appears 
to  be  one  of  the  most  desolate  regions  of  the  West.  Even  the  most  enthu- 
siastic of  our  companions  in  travel  will  not  hesitate  to  pronounce  it  a 
desert.  Yet  a  careful  analysis  of  the  soil  will  show  that  it  possesses  the  ele- 
ments of  fertility.  If  streams  of  water  could  be  made  to  circulate  through 
these  broad,  treeless,  and  almost  ])lantless  plains,  and  the  same  amount 
of  humau  industry  employed  as  has  been  so  remarkably  exhibited  by 
the  Mormons  in  Salt  Lake  Valley,  there  is  no  doubt  they  would  become 
productive.  Whether  in  the  great  future  this  state  of  things  can  be 
brought  about  by  artesian  wells  and  cheap  labor  is  a  question  for  the 
people  of  that  future  to  determine.  It  is  my  duty  simply  to  present  the 
facts  as  I  read  them.  As  we  proceed  westward  from  Fort  Bridger,  we 
note  at  once  the  favorable  change  that  takes  place  in  the  aspeclJ  of  the 
country  and  of  the  vegetation.  Broad  plains  and  sloping  hills,  crowded 
thickly  with  grass,  with  an  almost  entire  absence  of  the  wild  sage,  are 
now  tiie  rule.  Patches  of  the  quaking  asp  appear  here  and  there,  and 
along  the  streams  are  fringes  of  the  cottonwood. 

Soon  after  leaving  Carter  Station,  toward  the  west,  the  pinkish  beds 
come  in  suddenly.  They  seem  to  rise  from  beneath  the  Bridger  Group. 
Their  dip  is  about  northeast  3^  to  5^,  and  they  have  evidently  been  dis- 
turbed slightly  by  the  later  movements  which  elevated  the  Uinta  range. 
This  series  of  strata,  to  which  I  have  given  the  provisional  name  of  t lie 
Wasatch  Group,  are  composed  of  red,  indurated,  arenaceous  clays,  vrith 
beds  of  grayish  and  reddish  gray  sandstones  alternating.  Pinkish  and 
l)ur])lish  clays  are  the  dominant  features,  and  give  the  lithological  charac- 
ter to  the  groups  as  far  west  as  Echo  Canon,  when  the  conglomerates  pre- 
vail. The  latter  group  is  full  of  beds  of  sandstone,  largely  concretionary, 
but  the  sandstones  or  harder  layers  are  seldom  of  a  reddish  color.  Be- 
fore reaching-  Bridger  Station  the  strata  on  either  side  of  the  road  are 
horizontal,  or  nearly  so.  A  long  flat  ridge  extends  down  a  little  east  of 
north  from  the  Uinta  Mountains,  between  Black's  Fork  and  the  Muddy. 
This  may  be  regarded  as  the  geological  divi<le  between  the  vvaters  of 
the  Great  Salt  Lake  Basin  and  the  drainage  of  Green  Biver.  The 
Muddy  is  one  of  the  branches  of  Black's  Fork,  which  flows  into  Green 
River,  and  west  of  this  stream  we  have  what  is  called  the  eastern  rim 
of  the  Great  Basin  of  Salt  Lake.  If  we  were  to  travel  southward  to 
the  foot  of  the  Uinta  Mountains  from  the  railroad  alojig  this  divide,  we 
should  be  able  to  detect  no  well-marked  line  of  separation  between  the 


148  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

Green  River  Group  and  the  Wasatch  Group.  Bridger's  Butte,  as  well 
as  the  entire  eastern  portion  of  this  divide  fronting  tlie  valley  of  Black's 
Fork,  exhibit  a  large  thickness  of  the  somber,  indurated  sands,  clays, 
and  sandstones  of  the  Bridger  Group,  passing  down  into  light,  buft", 
chalkj^  layers,  with  Planorhis,  Unio,  Helix,  Goniohasis,  &c.  Within 
a  distance  of  ten  miles  to  the  west  of  this  butte  the  little  streams  cut 
through  the  pinkish  beds  of  the  Wasatch  Group,  then  pass  up  into 
whiter,  indurated,  marly  clays,  with  numerous  concretionary  layers,  dif- 
fering from  the  chalky  i)eds  of  the  Bridger  and  Green  River  Basin.  I 
am  inclined  to  the  opinion  that  this  divide  forms  the  junction  of  the 
shores  of  two  great  fresh-water-lake  basins  which  existed  during  the 
upper  miocene  period ;  that  here  the  sediments  of  the  western  shore 
of  one  were  so  mingled  witli  those  of  the  eastern  shore  of  the  other 
that  they  cannot  now  be  separated. 

The  two  great  basins  may  have  been  connected  with  each  other  at 
different  points  at  some  stages  of  their  growth,  but  there  is  an  abrupt, 
persistent,  very  marked  difference  in  the  character  of  tlie  sediments  of 
the  two  basins.  That  the  two  great  basins  must  have  been  synchronous 
is  inferred  from  the  fact  that  the  strata  of  both  have  been  l3ut  slightly 
disturbed  by  the  elevation  of  the  mountain  ranges  in  the  vicinity.  The 
want  of  conformity  of  the  Wasatch  Group  with  thecretaceous  and  eocene 
beds  will  be  shown  hereafter  to  be  well  marked  in  a  number  of  locali- 
ties. Both  the  Bridger  and  Green  River  Groups  have  yielded  many  or- 
ganic remains,  but  the  Wasatch  Group,  although  it  occupies  a  very  large 
area,  and  has  been  excavated  to  a  great  extent  along  the  line  of  the 
railroad,  has  never,  to  my  knowledge,  afforded  any  distinct  paleontolog- 
ical  evidence  of  its  age.  Near  Piedmont  Station,  in  some  arenaceous 
clays  which  had  been  taken  out  of  a  cut,  I  found  a  few  fragments  of 
turtle  shells,  which  do  not  differ  from  those  so  common  in  the  Green 
River  district.  It  seems  that,  throughout  the  West,  rocks  which  are 
characterized  by  this  brick-red  coloring  matter  are  destitute  of  organic 
remains.  The  red  beds,  or  supposed  triassic,  which  are  so  conspicuous 
all  along  the  flanks  of  the  mountain  ranges,  are  also  singularly  destitute 
of  fossils.  It  seems  that  wherever  this  ochreous  color  prevails  in  the 
vsediments,  the  physical  conditions  were  not  favorable  for  the  existence 
of  animal  life,  for  if  life  existed,  1  can  see  nothing  in  the  composition  of  the 
rocks  why  the  remains  should  not  have  been  preserved.  At  Bridger 
Station,  and  from  Bridger  to  Aspen,  which  is  about  twenty-four  miles  west 
from  Bridger  Station,  the  ochreous  beds  of  the  Wasatch  Group  are  well 
exposed  on  both  sides  of  the  road,  and  will  attract  the  attentioti  of  the 
traveler.  A  few  stunted  cedars  grow  upon  the  hills  and  in  the  valleys 
and  plains.  The  alkali  is  as  abundant  as  ever.  There  are  also  localities 
where  heavy  deposits  of  drift  occur,  especially  in  the  valleys  of  the 
streams.  This  is  shown  along  the  road  wherever  extensive  excavations 
have  been  made,  and  these  deposits  will  be  simply  mentioned  from  point 
to  point,  to  be  referred  to  hereafter  in  another  connection. 

The  valley  through  which  the  road  passes  from  Piedmont  to  Aspen 
is  carved  out  of  the  beds  of  the  Wasatch  Group,  and  varies  somewhat, 
but  seldom  over  a  mile  in  width.  The  little  stream  that  flows  through 
the  valley  is  not  more  than  ten  or  fll'teen  feet  wide.  Prom  Aspen  to 
Evanston  the  change  in  the  general  a)>i)earauce  of  the  surface  of  the 
countrj'  will  be  noticed  at  once.  The  hills  are  more  rounded  and  more 
thickly  grassed  over,  presenting  an  older  appearance.  At  Aspen  the 
cretaceous  makes  its  appearance.  The  high  hills  on  either  side  are 
composed  of  cretaceous  strata  which  seem  to  have  been  higher  points 
before  the  deposition  of  the  sediments  of  the  Wasatch  Group,  and  also 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       140 

to  have  been  elevated  to  some  extent  since   that  time.    For  some 
distance  west  of  Aspen  the  red  beds  till  up  the  irrej;iihirities  of  the 
cretaceous  surface,  but  do  not  conform.     About  half  a  mile  west  of 
Aspen  Station  the  road  cuts  through  a  large  exposure  of  the  lower  cre- 
taceous shaly  clays  of  Ko.  2,  revealing  abundant  fish  scales  and  fragments 
of  Inoceramns.    These  cretaceous  beds  are  well  shown  for  about  four  or 
live  miles,  when  the  coal  beds  umke  their  appearance  near  Uear  liiver. 
Kear  Sulphur  Creek  there  is  a  ridge  of  sandstone  which  the  road  passes 
through  nearly  at  right  angles.     This  ridge,  wliich  1  have  called  Oyster 
Eidge,  trends  about  northeast  and    southwest,  and  the  dip   is  west 
northwest   20°  to  25°.     It  is  composed  mostly  of  gray    and   yellow 
gray  sandstone,  capped  with  a  calcareous  sandstone,  Idled  with  a  small 
species  of  Ostrea,  and  belongs,  I  think,  to  the  upper  portion  of  the 
cretaceous  group — i^robably  No.  5.   On  the  north  side  of  the  road  there 
is  a  high  range  of  hills  which  are  made  up  of  the  black  clays  of  No.  4.   At 
Bear  Eiver  City,  which  is  not  more  than  four  miles  to  the  west,  the 
strata  are  nearly  vertical  and  trend  nearly  northeast  and  southwest, 
with  a  dip  northwest.    There  is  here  a  seiies  of  strata,  which  are  stijl 
invested  with  a  good  deal  of  obscurity.    On  the  north  of  Sulphur  Creek, 
for  three  miles  before  it  unites  with  Bear  Eiver,  the  black  clays  of  No. 
4  are  extensively  exposed,  and  above  them  a  series  of  sandstones  with 
partings  of  clay,  gradually  passing  up  into  the  strata  which  contain 
coal.   That  a  portion  of  these  sandstones  belongs  to  the  upper  cretaceous 
group  I  cannot  doubt,  but   where  the  line  "of  separation  should  be 
drawn  between  the  cretaceous  rocks  and  those  of  tertiary  age  I  am 
unable  to  decide.     In  the  bed  of  sandstone  which  rests  upon  the  well- 
marked  cretaceous  clays  are  found  a  species  Ostrea  and  a  few  other 
marine  species  of  shells,  none  of  which  are  really  peculiar  to  the  creta- 
ceous, but  from  their  entirely  marine  character  we  regard  them  as  such. 
We  then  have  from  three  hundred  to  five  hundred  feet  of  sandstones  and 
clays,  with  thin  beds  made  up  of  marine  shells,  and  among*  them  a 
species  which  sometimes  reaches  a  length  of  twelve  inches,  which  Mr. 
jMeek  has  described  under  the  name  of  0.  soleniscns.    In  this  group  are 
a  few  thin  seams  of  impure  coal.     The  dip  of  these  beds  is  northwest' 
about  50°.     Then  comes  a  large  thickness  of  arenaceous  clays  with  thin 
layers  of  sandstone,  with  three  or  four  seams  of  impure  coal  and  large 
quantities  of  brown  iron  ore  or  limonite.    The  seams  of  coal  are  from 
one  to  three  feet  thick,  with  the  usual  clays  above  and  below.     Then 
comes  the  bed  of  coal  which  is  well  known  in  this  region,  seven  feet 
thick,  nearly  vertical  or  with  a  dip  of  82°  northwest.    The  inclination 
of  the  entire  series  of  rocks  from   the  Uinta  range  is  quite  plain. 
This  coal  bed  has  been  wrought  for  several  years,  and  is  so  convenient 
to  the  railroad  that  it  ought  to  be  of  considerable  value.    The  coal  ap- 
pears to  be  of  good  quality.     Above  and  below  it  are  thick  beds  of  clay. 
In  the  clay  above  the  coal  there  is  a  seam  of  03'ster  shells,  a  species  dis- 
tinct from  any  that  occurs  below  it,  about  4  inches  thick.    Above  the 
clay  there  is  a  thick  bed,  two  hundred  feet,  of  gray  sandstone,  with  irreg- 
ular layers  of  deposition  inclining  at  a  very  high  angle — 70°  to  80°. 
Then  a  valley  intervenes  to  the  westward,  in  which  Bear  Eiver  City  is 
located,  one-fourth  to  half  a  mile  in  width,  which  must  have  once  been 
occupied  with  a  considerable  thickness  of  isoft  material,  which  is  now 
quite  concealed  by  grass  and  other  vegetation.     Still  further  west  we 
have  a  wonderful  series  of  fresh-water  beds,  which  hil^ve  been  tilted  and 
flexed  in  a  most  remarkable  manner.     These  are  shown  in  a  railroad 
cut  a  little  west  of  the  city,  about  two  hundred  or  three  hundred  feet 
long',  where  nearly  two  hundred  layers  are  exx^osed,  of  almost  every 


150 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 


<•  ariety  of  texture,  from  sandstone,  clay,  and  fine  sands,  to  earthy  lignite, 
and  many  of  these  sands  are  so  crowded  with  fossil  shells  that  they  may 
be  gathered  by  the  bushel.  The  sides  of  the  cut  are  so  peculiarly  banded 
that  they  look  like  the  stripes  of  a  zebra.  At  the  east  end  these  layers 
are  nearly  vertical,  but  at  the  west  end  they  seem  to  have  been  lapped 
or  bent  down  so  as  to  form  an  abrupt  cone,  as  if  there  had  been  tremen- 
dous pressure  from  above.  A  little  further  to  the  westward  we  see  a 
ridge  of  the  red  beds  and  conglomerates,  iuclining  gently  to  the  west, 
and  resting  unconformably  upon  the  upturned  edges  of  the  rocks 
in  the  cut.  But  along  no  other  portion  of  our  route  have  I  ever  seen  so 
rich  a  locality  for  fossil  shells,  of  a  few  species.  In  the  cut  and  on  the 
hills  on  either  side  of  Bear  River  the  ground  is  literally  paved  with 
them,  and  the  collector  may  gather  them  as  he  would  the  shells  on  the 
seashore.  They  are  mostly*  land  and  fresh-water  species,  many  of  them 
as  yet  undescribed.  Mr.  F.  B.  Meek  has  made  out  a  partial  list,  and  he 
finds  several  species  of  fresh-water  shells,  as  Unio  iwiscus^  U.  bcllipUcatus, 
Goniohasu  chrijmUs,  Melania  humcrosa,  &c.,  and  some  interesting  estuary 
forms  which  indicate  brackish  water,  or  partial  access  to  the  ocean  in 
those  times.  The  conclusion,  however,  is  that  all  these  rocks  are  of 
tertiary  age. 

The  following  sections  of  these  curiously  variegated  strata  were  made 
at  my  request,  by  Mr.  H.  R.  Durkee,  a  civil  engineer  of  great  skill  in  his 
profession,  and  an  excellent  geologist.  They  were  wrought  out  with  much 
care.  The  diagram  will  also  assist  in  rendering  more  clear  the  position 
of  the  strata.  The  second  cut  has  been  exposed  by  the  excavations  for 
gravel  made  by  the  workmen  on  the  railroad ;  so  that  both  of  them 
may  be  considered  as  artificial  exposures. 

COMMENCING  AT  THE  EASTERN  EXTREMITY  OF  THE  CUT.     SECTION  1. 


No. 


Description. 


Clay,  grayish-black,  contains  frag- 
ments of  sandstone 

Limestone,  blue 

Clay,  firayish-blaek 

Clay,  bro'wn,  hard,  and  in  large  frag- 
ments   

Clay,  black,  hard,  and  in  small  frag- 
ments   

Limestone,  blue,  fossiliferous 

Clay,  grayish-black 

Sandstone,  fragmentary 

Clay  shale,  gray 

Clay,  grayish-black,  very  compact. .. 

Clay  shale,  black 

Mail,  shelLs  in  fragments 

Clay  shale,  black -  -  - 

Lin'iestono,  much  shattered,  and  in 
angular  pieces 

Clay  shale,  black 

Liinestone,  angular  fragments 

Clay  shale,  brown 

Limestone,  slightly  fossiliferous 

Gypseous  earth,  contains  crystals  of 
seleuite 

Whiti^  marl,  shells  fragmentary 

Limestone,  very  fossiliferous 

Clay  shale,  black 

Limestone,  very  fossOiferous 

Clay  slialo,  bro\vn 

Sandstone,  fragmentary 

Clay  .sliale,  gray-black 

Gypseous  eartli,  layer  of  crystals  of 
selenito  on  east  side 

Clay  shale,  contains  streak  of  coal 
and  gypseous  earth 

Gypseous  eaith.  contains  streaks  of 
brown  bitumiuous  shale 


Thick- 
ness. 


Ft.  In. 

10  0 
2  0 
0    6 


0  10 
0  8 
0    C 

2  0 
0  10 
0    6 


0  6 
2  6 
0    8 


No. 


Description. 


Limestone,  fossiliferous,  fossils  small 

Gypseous  earth,  white 

clay,  stony,  bluish-gray 

Clay  shale,  black 

Limestone,  fossiliferous 

Clay  shale,  black 

Limestone - 

Marly  clay,  black 

Marl,  liglit  gray 

Clay  shale,  gray 

Clay  shale,  black 

Clay  shale,  gray 

Clay  shale,  black 

Gypseous  earth,  yellow 

Clay  shale,  black 

Gyi^seous  earth,  yellow 

Limestone 

Clay  shale,  blue 

Limestone 

Clay  shale,  blue 

Limestone 

Marl,  gray 

Shale,  black 

Sandstone 

Marl 

Shale,  black 

Mail 

Shale,  bituminous 

Marl 

Limestone 

Marl 

Limestone 

Marl 

Shale,  black 

Coal  and  shale 

Limestone 

Marl 


Thick- 

ness. 

Ft.  In. 

1 

8 

0 

2 

2 

6 

0 

10 

0 

8 

0 

3 

0 

4 

0 

2 

0 

2.V 

0 

4 

0 

4 

0 

fi 

0 

o 

0 

o 

0 

4 

0  3i 

1 

6 

1 

0 

0 

8 

0 

8 

1 

8 

0 

6 

0 

2 

0 

3* 

0 

3 

0 

4 

2 

0 

0 

1 

0 

2 

0 

8 

0 

.5 

0 

6 

1 

0 

1 

0 

0 

2 

0  11 

0 

6 

GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 


151 


Description. 


Clay  shale,  brown,  very  hard 

Clay  shale,  bhick,  bituiniuous 

Mail,  gray 

Limostoue 

Clay,  full  of  fossils 

Clay  shale,  gray 

Clay  shale,  blue    

•Sand,  yellow 

Clay  shale,  gray 

Clay  shale,  gray,  bitnminous 

Limestone,  t'ossiliferous 

Clay  shale  and  marl,  fossiliferous, 
less  fossils  on  west  side 

Bituminous  shale,  contains  streaks 
of  black  coal 

Clay  shale,  blue 

Gyiiseous  earth 

Clav  shale,  blue 

Mail 

Clay  shale,  bine 

Mai'l,  yellowish-white 

.Saiidstdne,  fussiliferous 

Clay  shale,  blue 

Sandstone,  fragmentary 

Clay  shale,  blue  and  yellow 

Limestone,  very  fossiliferous 

Clay,  full  of  fossils 

Baiids,  black,  bituminous  shale  and 
marl 

Marl 

Slaty  shale,  black 

Limestone,  very  fossiliferous 

Slaty  shale,  gray 

Shale,  full  of  fossils 

Clay  shale,  black 

Clay  shale,  yellowish-brown 

Clay  shale,  blue 

Coal  and  yellow  shale  in  streaks 

Limestone,  A-ery  fossiliferous 

ilarl 

Limestone,  slightly  fossiliferous,  fos- 
sils fragmentary 

Nodular  clay  and  shells,  streaks  of 
bituminous  shale  on  the  west  side 

Marl,  yellow,  bard 

Marl,  black,  soft 

Clay  shale,  black,  bituminous 

Gypseous  earth,  yellow  and  white. . 

Marl,  hard 

Marl,  soft 

Clay  shale,  gray 

Clay  and  shale  in  bands 

Marl 

G.^-pseous  earth,  yellow 

Marl 

Clay  shale,  black  and  blue,  in  bands 

Clay,  stony,  gray 

Gypseous  earth,  yellow 


Thick- 
ness. 

Ft.  In. 
1  () 
0  -) 
0  2 
0  lU 

0  3 

1  0 


1    6 


0  3 

0  9 

1  2 
0  8 
0  G 
0  G 
0  2 

2  6 
0  5 
0  C 
0  3 

0  10 

1  0 
0  8 
0  C 
0  6 

0  10 

1  0 
1  0 

1  6 

0  10 

0  4 

0  5 

1  G 
0  21 
0  4 
0  8 
1 


120 
121 
122 

123 
124 
125 
126 
127 
128 
129 
loO 
131 
132 
133 
134 
135 
130 
137 
138 
139 
140 
141 
142 
143 
144 
145 
14G 
147 

148 
149 
150 
151 

152 
153 
154 
155 
156 
157 
158 
159 
160 
ItU 
1G2 
1G3 
164 
1G5 
1G6 
167 
1G8 
169 
170 
171 
172 
173 


De.scription. 


Limestone 

Marl 

Clay  shale,  variegated,  (purple,  yel- 
low, &c.) 

Limestone,  slightly  fossiliferous 

Gypseous  eartli 

Limi'stouc,  slightly  fos.siliferous 

Marl,  bluish-black,  hard 

Coal 

GyDseous  eaith 

Coal 

Limestone 

Marl  and  coal 

Limestone '. 

Sliale,  bitumiuous,  black 

Marl,  hard 

Shale,  black 

Marl 

Shale 

Limestone,  very  fossiliferous 

Clay  shale,  blue,  full  of  fossils 

Shale,  bituminous;  yellow  and  black 

Limestone 

Shale,  slaty,  black 

Sliale,  brown,  full  of  fossils 

Shale,  blue 

Marl 

Gypseous  earth 

Limestone,  compact,  streaks  of  marl 
and  coal,  which  run  out 

Shale,  slaty 

Bituminous  shale  and  brown  coal 

Limestone 

Clay  shale,  contains  scales  of  white 
gj'pseous  earth 

Marl,  hard 

Shale,  fossiliferous 

Clay,  hard,  fossiliferous 

Clay  shale,  black 

Clay,  hard,  fossiliferous 

Marl,  gray 

Marl,  black , 

G;v'pseous  earth,  white 

Clay,  hard 

Mail 

Coal,  brown 

Clay 

Limestone 

Gypseous  earth  and  shale 

Limestone 

Sandstone,  yellow 

Limestone 

Gypseous  earth  and  shale , 

Limestone , 

Clay  shale 

Bituminous  shale 

Limestone 


Thick- 
uesir 

Ft.  III. 

0  10 

1  e 

0  9 

0  3 

0  G 

0  4 

0  2 

0  i 

0  3 

0  i 

1  e 

0  2 
0  7 
0  10 
0    4 


0  (I 
0  3 
0  7 
0  3k 

0  i 

3    6 

1  2 

0  8 

1  0 

1  10 
0    3 

2  0 
0  8 
0  Ih 
0  4 
0  6 
0  2 
0  8 
0  8 
0    1 

0  e 


1  0 

0  8 

1  0 
3  0 
0  4 

2  0 


From  Xo.  173  to  western  end  of  cut,  (which  is  made  up  of  the  reversed  strata,  hut  not  in  regular 
order,  some  seem  to  be  pinched  out.) 


152 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 


ORDER  OF  STRATA  EXPOSED  DJ  RAILROAD  CUT,  SECTION  2,    (FROM  EAST  TO  WEST.) 


No. 


Description. 


Drift,  steel-colored 

Sandstone,  wbito 

Sandstone,  yellow,  containing  frag- 
ments. Kg.  2 

Shale,  arenaceous,  brown 

Sandstone,  coarse,  yellow,  in  layers. 

Sandstone,  flue,  yellow,  in  thin  layers 

Sandstone,  coarse,  containing  irregu- 
lar streaks  of  brown  shale,  which 
contains  coal  in  fragments . 

Sandstone,  fine,  white 

Sandstone,  brown,  contains  brown 
marks  resembl'g  bark  and  branches 

Sandstone,  steel-gray,  contains 
streaks  of  No.  9 

Shale,  black,  and  sandstone,  steel- 
gray  

Sandstone,  fine,  white 

Sandstone,  in  thin  layers  of  varie- 
gated colors 

Sandstone,  in  broad  laj'ers  of  varie- 
gated colors  

Sandstone,  steel-gray. 

Sandstone,  in  thin  iayeis  of  varie- 
gated colors 

Sandstone,  steel-gray,  in  Layers,  (con- 
tains streaks  of  coarseryellow  in 
layers) 


Thick- 


Ftln. 

15  0 

13  0 

1  5 

9  5 

1  0 

1  5 


18  0 

2  5 

40  0 

1  0 

4  0 


21     0 
12    0 


5    0 


No. 


Description. 


Shale,  bro^Ti 

Saud.stone,  yellow 

Shale,  brown 

Sandstone,  steel-gray 

Sandstone,  white 

Sandstone,  gray 

Shale,  earthy,  black 

Gypseous  earth,  yellow 

Shale,  black .' 

Sandstone,  contains  shells  in  frag- 
ments   

Shale,  brown 

Clay,  marly 

Sandstone,  yellow 

Shales  and  clays,  earthy 

Shale,  brown 

Sandstone  and  gypseous  earth 

Shale,  bituminous 

Gypseous  earth 

Sand.stouc,  yellow 

S.indstnne,  white 

Marl,  containing  shells 

Gypseous  earth 

To  end  of  cut,  shale,  clay,  and  arena 
ceous  gj-pseous  earth 

Length  of  cut,  440  feet. 


60    0 


There  is  liere  anotlier  iiiteresting  feature,  tlie  oil  spriugs  of  Bear 
Eiver,  which  have  inade  this  country  famous  for  many  years.  More 
than  twenty  thousand  acres  of  oil  lands,  in  claims  of  one  hundred  and 
sixty  acres  each,  have  already  been  surveyed  and  located  by  difl'erent 
parties.  Companies  have  been  formed  and  shafts  sunk,  preparatory 
to  an  extensive  business.  The  external  appearances  are  certainly 
very  favorable.  A  considerable  quantity  of  the  crude  oil  flows  from 
these  springs  constantly,  and  accumulates  in  small  depressions  or  in  the 
channels  of  the  stream.  When  the  oil  first  issues  from  the  ground  it  has 
a  bright-green  color,  but  it  soon  changes  on  exposure  to  a  dark  brown, 
and  has  a  slightly  aromatic  taste  and  smell.  Similar  springs  occur  in 
the  valleys  of  Wind  Eiver,  of  the  Sweetwater,  and  also  of  the  Arkansas 
Eiver,  near  Canon  City,  Colorado.  At  the  latter  locality  about  four 
thousand  gallons  of  refined  oil  have  been  made  per  year  for  the  past 
three  years.  It  is  readily  purchased  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  country, 
who  regard  it  in  all  respects  as  equal  to  our  eastern  oils  for  domestic 
uses.  I  will  not  here  attempt  to  explain  the  origin  of  these  western  oils, 
but  I  suppose  that  they  are  derived  from  a  similar  source  with  those  of 
the  East.  Geologists  differ  as  to  whether  the  oil  is  derived  from  vege- 
table or  animal  remains,  but  it  is  certain  that  it  is  not  confined  to  any 
particular  formation  or  geological  period.  In  the  valley  of  the  Arkansas 
the  springs  are  located  in  rocks  of  cretaceous  age,  while  in  Bear  Eiver 
Valley  the  oil  flows  up  through  tertiary  strata,  though  in  some  instances 
it  evidently  rises  from  beds  as  old  at  least  as  the  cretaceous. 

About  twenty  miles  west  of  Fort  Bridger,  on  the  Overland  Stage  road, 
there  is  a  fine  soda  spring,  yielding  the  most  delicious  water;  it  does  not 
differ  materially  from  that  of  the  soda  springs  in  the  valley  of  the 
Fontaine  qui  Bouille,  at  the  eastern  base  of  Pike's  Peak. 

Bear  Eiver  Valley  has  been  noted  for  many  years  for  its  numerous 
mineral  springs.  Indeed,  all  Utah  Territory  is  celebrated  for  them,  but 
in  times  past  the  numerous  springs  in  this  valley  have  attracted  most 
attention. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 


153 


About  ten  miles  below  the  sta- 
tion, on  tlie  T\'p;ht  side  of  Bear 
liiver,  is  Medicine  Bow  Butte, 
which  looms  up  consi)icuonsly 
above  the  surroundin-i'  counliy, 
eij^ht  hundred  to  one  thousand 
feet  above  the  bed  of  the  stream. 
It  is  undoubtedly  composed,  for 
the  most  part,  of  strata  belong- 
ing- to  the  coal  series,  which  I  am 
disposed  to  regard  as  of  tertiary- 
age.  It  is  well  grassed  over, 
and  is  covered  here  and  there 
with  dense  groves  of  quaking 
asp,  &c. 

Passing  along  the  stage  road 
westward  from  Bear  Creek  Sta-  ^ 
tion,  over  beds  nearly  horizon-  | 
tal,  or  inclining  at  a  small  angh^,  S 
we  suddenly  come  to  an   up-  f. 
thrust  of   rocks,  called    "The§ 
i^leedles,"    which    the   traveler  S^ 
coming  from  the  East  for  the  g 
first  time  will  regard  with  aston-  ^ 
ishment.     Deep  underneath  an  < 
extensive  covering  of  more  re-  q 
cent  deposits  there  seems  to  be  ^ 
an  immense  bed  of  coarse  con-  cj 
glomerates,  and  at  this  locality,  !• 
by  upheaval,  these  conglomer-  ^ 
ates  have  been  thrust  up  th  rough  '$. 
the  softer  overlying  beds  in  a  o 
nearly  vertical  position  several  p 
hundred  feet  above  the  road,  g 
and   have  been  weathered  bj'  p 
atmospheric  influences  into  a 
number  of  sharp  conical  peaks, 
which  have  given  to  this  land- 
mark the  name  of  "The  Xee- 
dles."    It  is  made  np  of  all  kinds 
of  worn  boulders  and  pebbles, 
like  those  we  see  forming  the 
bed  of    any  of   our   mountain 
streams,  varying  in  size  from 
that  of  a  pea  to  a  foot  in  diame- 
ter.    These  rocks  are  held  to- 
gether somewhat  loosely  by  a 
kind  of  siliceous  grit.     Some  of 
the  worn  masses  are  themselves 
an  aggregate  of  worn  pebbles, 
proving  that  a  portion  of  the 
nuiterials  were  derived  from  still 

older  conglomerates.  Sometimes  there  is  a  thin  local  seam  of  coarse 
sand  containing  only  a  few  pebbles,  but  the  greater  part  of  the  entire 
mass,  five  hundred  to  one  thousand  feet  thick,  is  a  coarse  conglomerate. 
It  is  situated  near  the  Yellow  Creek  Station,  and  the  ridge  of  upheaval 


154       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES, 

extends  down  from  the  Uinta  range.  As  we  go  westward,  examples  of 
these  massive  conglomerates  will  not  snrprise  ns,  and  in  Echo  Caiiou 
we  shall  find  them  three  thousand  to  five  thousand  feet  in  thickness. 
They  are  probably  all  of  modern  tertiary  age. 

From  the  hills  about  a  mile  west  of  Yellow  Creek  Station  we  have 
some  of  the  finest  and  most  extensive  views  of  the  country.  With  a 
good  field-glass  we  can  see  objects  with  considerable  distinctness  on  a 
clear  day  for  a  distance  of  fifty  to  a  hundred  miles  in  every  direction, 
over  a  most  rugged  surfoce  with  high  ridges  and  deep  gorges,  the  strata 
showing  red,  yellow,  gray,  and  indeed  every  variety  of  color.  Far  to 
the  south  we  can  see  the  Uinta  Mountains,  their  summits  covered  with 
snow  tbe  greater  portion  of  the  year,  forming  a  most  beautiful  and  sym- 
metrical background  to  our  ^iew.  To  the  southwest,  dimly  seen,  is 
the  Wasatch  range,  which  separates  ns  from  one  of  the  objects  of  our 
visit  to  this  country — the  Great  Salt  Lake.  jSTorth  of  the  road  the 
Goose  Creek  Mountains  are  faintly  visible,  but  still  loom  up  with  suflBcient 
magnitude  to  invite  our  attention.      "" 

At  Evanston  we  leave  Bear  Eiver  Valley  and  proceed  on  our  way 
westward,  while  the  river  flows  far  northward  into  Idaho  to  Port  Neuf 
Gap,  near  latitude  42^°  N,,  then  it  suddenly  and  almost  abruptly  flexes 
about  and  flows  southward  until  it  empties  into  Bear  Eiver  Bay,  a  por- 
tion of  Great  Salt  Lake. 

We  may  stop  at  Evanston  and  study  the  interesting  coal  mines  with 
profit.  With  one  exception  this  is  the  last  point  along  the  line  of  the 
road  before  reaching  the  Pacific  coast,  where  we  shall  have  an  opportu- 
nity to  examine  coal  mines  possessed  of  any  economic  value.  The  coal 
is  located  about  three  miles  from  this  place  on  the  east  bluff  of  Bear 
Eiver  Valley,  and  is  exposed  over  but  a  small  area.  It  seems  to  have 
been  revealed  by  the  incUnation  of  the  coal  strata  to  the  east,  and  the 
entrances  have  been  made  at  the  base  of  the  bluffs  but  a  few  feet  above 
the  bed  of  the  valley.  A  branch  railroad  has  been  constructed  to  these 
mines,  and  there  is  now  no  limit  to  the  amount  of  fuel  they  can  furnish. 

The  mines  have  been  opened  with  more  system  and  at  greater  ex- 
pense, and  I  regard  them  as  more  valuable  and  the  coal  of  a  better  qual- 
ity than  any  I  have  ever  seen  west  of  the  Mississippi.  Five  entrances 
have  been  made,  each  one  showing  a  vertical  front  to  the  coal  bed,  va- 
rying from  twenty  to  twenty-six  feet.  The  dip  is  about  northeast,  and 
varies  from  12°  to  19°.  For  a  distance  of  about  a  mile  along  this  ab- 
rupt rocky  blufl*  the  coal  seems  to  be  exhibited  on  the  grand  scale  above 
described,  but  proceeding  either  way  from  that  point  it  disappears  or  be- 
comes almost  inaccessible.  About  one  hundred  feet  above  the  coal  bed 
there  is  a  layer  of  calcareous  sandstone  filled  with  leaves,  apparently 
belonging  to  extinct  species  of  the  genera  Magnolia,  Tilia,  Salix,  TJlmus, 
and  Flataims,  though  very  much  resembling  in  form  those  of  our  exist- 
ing forest  trees.  These  leaves  indicate  that  the  rocks  are  of  a  tertiary 
age. 

The  summits  of  the  hills  are  capped  with  a  thick  bed  of  conglom- 
erate, probably  of  the  same  age  ^Wth  that  which  forms  "  The  Nee- 
dles "  near  Yellow  Creek,  and  also  that  shown  so-  grandly  in  Echo  and 
Weber  Valleys.  At  this  point  there  is  a  broad  expansion  of  Bear 
Biver  Valley,"  which  makes  it  a  most  attractive  site  for  a  city.  There 
are  here  thousands  of  acres  of  fertile  land  that  could  be  easily  irrigated, 
and  even  now  they  form  a  vast  meadow,  covered  during  the  summer  and 
autumn  with  a  luxuriant  crop  of  grass. 

From  Evanston  we  might  branch  off  in  any  direction  and  visit  places 
of  great  interest  of  which  but  little  is  known  as  yet.    Not  far  north- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES.       155 

ward  we  might  take  a.  glance  at  Bear  Lake  Valley,  which  is  destined 
to  be  a  point  of  great  interest,  not  only  to  tourists  iVoni  the  grandeur 
of  the  scenery  and  the  beauty  of  the  lake  from  which  it  takes  its  name, 
but  also  to  settlers  on  account  of  the  fertility  of  its  soil.  This  lake  is 
an  expansion  of  a  branch  of  Bear  Eiver,  and  is  about  fifteen  miles  long 
and  four  or  five  in  width,  and  well  stocked  with  trout.  iVbout  thirty 
miles  to  the  north  are  the  far-famed  soda  springs  of  Idaho,  which  will 
re])ay  the  time  spent  in  visiting  them. 

Taking  the  cars  again  at  Evanston  we  shall  soon  find  ourselves  at  the 
divide  between  Bear  Piiver  and  Echo  Caiion  at  an  elevation  of  about 
seven  thousand  feet  above  tide-M\ater.  The  country  we  have  passed 
over  presents  nothing  new  or  striking ;  the  same  reddish  clays  and  sands 
which  we  have  seen  before,  seem  to  have  been  worn  down  into  a  fine 
rolling  surface,  which  is  covered  with  a  good  growth  of  grass,  giving 
the  whole  scene  a  cheerful  aspect.  Game,  as  antelope,  elk,  deer,  bear, 
&c.,  was  formerly  abundant  all  over  this  region,  and  the  experienced 
wary  hunter  might  discover  some  even  at  this  time;  but  all  along  the 
line  of  the  railroad  game  of  all  kinds  is  fast  disappearing. 

The  tunnel  at  the  head  of  Echo  Canon  is  cut  through  the  reddish  and 
jmrplish  indurated  sands  and  clays  of  what  I  have  called  the  Wasatch 
Group,  of  miocene  tertiary  age.  It  is  seven  hundred  and  seventy  feet  in 
length,  and  is  the  longest  tunnel  on  the  Union  Pacific  road.  After  pass- 
ing through  it,  the  trains  move  slowly  over  the  piers  of  trestle-work, 
which  creak  and  tremble  beneath  their  load.  One  section  is  two  hun- 
dred and  thirty  feet  long  and  thirty  feet  high,  the  other  four  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  in  length  and  seventy-five  feet  high.  We  then  enter  one 
of  the  narrow  grassy  valleys  which  leads  soon  into  Echo  Caiion,  and 
then  we  sweep  I'apidly  down  between  lofty  conglomerate  walls  on  either 
side,  which  have  been  weathered  into  the  most  fantastic  forms. 

Indeed,  this  entire  valley  is,  for  the  most  part,  one  of  erosion.  The 
water  in  past  geological  times  has  carved  out  of  the  massive  conglom- 
erates its  deep  channel,  and  on  either  side  the  rocks  rise  wall-like  five 
hundred  to  one  thousand  feet.  Some  i)ortion  of  the  lower  part  of  the 
valley  passes  through  a  mouoclinal  rift;  that  is,  the  beds  incline  to  tbe 
northwest,  so  that  on  our  right  as  we  descend  we  see  the  projecting 
edges.  All  these  beds  seem  to  have  a  greater  or  less  dip  to  the  north- 
west, apparently  from  the  Uinta  range. 

At  the  head  of  Echo  CaQon  the  first  objects  that  attract  our  attention 
are  the  massive  reddish  sandstones  on  our  right,  five  hundred,  to  eight 
hundred  feet  high,  which  have  weathered  into  curiously  castellated 
forms,  and  to  which  the  general  nanie  of  Castle  Rock  is  given.  As  we 
pass  down  through  some  of  the  wildest  scenery  in  the  world,  our  eye 
will  be  constantly  arrested  by  some  unique  shape  into  which  these 
variegated  sandstones  and  conglomerates  have  been  worn  by  time. 
Witches'  Eock,  Eagle  Eock,  Hanging  Eock,  Conglomerate  Peaks,  Sen- 
tinel Eock,  Monument  Eock,  all  greet  us  in  turn  as  important  land- 
marks. 

The  Conglomerate  Peaks  of  Echo  present  a  near  view  of  these  con- 
glomerates, so  that  even  the  depressions  in  the  smoothly-worn  surfaces 
of  the  boulders  can  be  distinctly  seen.  A  little  side  stream  has  worn  a 
deep  gorge,  and  scattered  vast  piles  of  debris  below.  The  different 
sizes  of  the  pebbles  are  also  well  shown  5  its  walls  are  about  five  hundred 
feet  high. 

Monument  Eock  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  landmarks  in  this 
valley.  It  is  a  regular  obelisk  of  conglomerate,  standing  at  the  junction 
of  the  Echo  with  the  Weber  Valley,  nearly  one  thousand  miles  west  of 


156        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Omaha.  It  is  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  hi^h,  and  forms  another 
illustration  of  the  peculiar  style  of  weathering  by  which  rocks  assume 
the  appearance  of  animals.  This  column  has  been  very  aptly  called  the 
Dog's  Head,  to  which  it  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  the  summit  bears 
a  resemblance. 

The  peculiar  form  of  stratification,  with  the  varied  texture,  sometimes 
a  fine  sandstone,  then  a  fine  pudding-stone,  is  well  shown  in  many 
localities,  and  the  same  variations  of  structure  on  a  still  larger  scale 
may  be  seen  throughout  the  valley  of  Echo  and  portions  of  Weber  Canon, 
The  inclination  of  the  strata  is  also  well  shown.  The  base  is  composed 
of  rather  fine  sandstone,  but  these  sandy  layers  are  not  permament  over 
areas,  but  often  within  a  distance  of  a  few  feet  run  into  coarse,  massive 
conglomerate. 

Hanging  Rock  presents  to  us  one  of  the  most  striking  views  in  this 
region,  and  is  a  mass  of  coarse  conglomerate,  overhanging  its  base 
about  fifty  feet.  It  overlooks  Echo  City  and  the  valley  of  Weber,  through 
which  a  beautiful  stream  of  pure  mountain  water  winds  its  way.  On 
the  opposite  side  of  the  Weber  the  partially-rounded,  grassy  foot-hills 
of  the  Wasatch  Mountains  may  be  distinctly  seen.  The  Weber  Eiver 
also  flows  a  portion  of  its  way  tlirough  a  monoclinal  valley,  the  abrupt, 
nearly  perpendicular  sides  of  the  conglomerate  bluffs  rising  up  like 
gigantic  walls  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand  feet,  while  on  the  left  the 
gently-sloping  sides  of  the  inner  series  of  ridges  are  well  displayed. 
The  isolated  rounded  mass,  which  seems  to  stand  alone,  and  almost 
ready  to  tumble  into  the  valley  below,  is  quite  firmly  seated  on  its  bed 
of  sandstone,  and  the  corresponding  portions  may  be  seen  forming  the 
base  of  the  hanging  rocks.  I  call  attention  to  these  strata  of  sandstone 
as  a  matter  of  geological  interest.  High  above  the  bed  of  the  Weber, 
eight  hundred  feet  or  more,  rises  the  conglomerate  bluff,  with  nearly 
perpendicular  sides,  and  from  its  summit  one  can  survey  the  country 
for  a  long  distance  in  every  direction,  and  enjoy  the  multitude  of  most 
attractive  views  offered. 

As  we  descend  Echo  Valley,  we  emerge  from  the  caiion  around  Pulpit 
Eock,  and  shoot  our  way  with  wonderful  rapidity  down  the  picturesque 
valley  of  the  Weber.  We  shall  observe  that,  as  we  descend  the  Echo 
Caiion,  the  more  rugged  picturesque  scenery  is  exhibited  on  our  right 
hand,  and  as  we  descend  the  Weber,  the  same  lofty  perpendicular  walls, 
weathered  here  and  there  into  all  sorts  of  fantastic  forms,  continue  to 
the  Narrows,  where  the  Weber  Eiver  makes  a  bend  to  the  left,  and  the 
conglomerates  disai)pear.  This  formation,  which  in  some  respects  is  the 
most  remarkable  one  which  I  have  ever  seen  in  the  West,  must  have 
a  thickness  of  three  thousand  to  five  thousand  feet.  The  conglomerate 
portion  above  must  be  one  thousand  five  hundred  to  two  thousand  feet 
in  thickness.  I  have  included  in  •  this  group  all  the  A' ariegated  beds 
which  we  have  observed  west  of  Carter's  Station,  and  we  have  noticed 
especially  that  some  shade  of  red  has  prevailed  in  the  clays  and  sands, 
as  well  as  in  the  conglomerates  of  this  group.  Some  of  the  sandstones 
in  the  upper  portion  of  Echo  Canon  are  noticeable  for  their  deep  yellow 
hue.  I  have  called  this  series  of  beds  the  Wasatch  Group.  How  great 
the  area  occupied  by  these  formations  I  have  never  ascertaiuecl.  I 
regard  them,  however,  as  forming  the  materials  deposited  in  one  of  the 
great  lake  basins  of  the  middle  tertiary  period,  the  history  of  which,  if 
we  knew  it,  would  be  too  long  and  tedious  for  this  volume.  But  if  fine 
sands  require  moving  waters  for  their  deposition,  what  kind  of  aqueous 
forces  must  have  been  employed  to  transport  these  boulders  into  this 
lake-basin  ?    From  whence  were  they  derived,  and  what  were  the  powers 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  157 

tbat  wrenched  tliera  from  their  parent  beds,  smoothed  them  into  their 
present  rounded  form,  and  then  iiji^gregated  and  cemented  them  together 
into  such  huge  masses  as  we  tiud  here  1 

From  the  mouth  of  Echo  up  tlie  vaHey  the  rocks  seem  to  form  a  sort 
of  gentle  anticlinal  for  about  ten  miles,  and  then  the  inclination  is 
reversed.  The  general  dip,  however,  is  5°  to  15°  nearly  northwest; 
but  for  six  miles  below  and  three  miles  above  Hanging  Hock,  it  is 
increased  to  25°,  and  even  to  35°. 

This  formation,  which  diflers  somewhat  lithologically  from  any  with- 
which  I  am  acquainted,  must  have  an  aggregate  thickness  of  at  least 
three  thousand  feet.  The  conglomerate  portion  must  be  at  least  fifteen 
hundred  feet  in  thickness.  It  includes  no  beds  of  coal,  and  shows  a  few 
fossils,  which  are  all  imi^ressious  of  deciduous  trees,  but  no  marine  or 
fresh-water  shells. 

Near  Coalville,  a  little  town  in  the  valley  of  "Weber  River,  five  miles 
above  the  mouth  of  Echo  Creek,  coal  outcrops  several  times.  At  Spriggs' 
Opening  the  dip  is  20°  or  30°  east,  and  the  coal  bed  about  fifteen  feet 
thick,  capped  with  gray  sandstone,  nuich  of  it  charged  with  pebbles. 
I  was  informed  that  in  other  places  this  pebbly  sandstone  rests  directly^ 
on  the  coal  bed.  A  few  hundred  feet  from  Spriggs'  Opening  a  shaft  to 
strike  the  same  bed  has  been  sunk  seventy-nine  feet  deep,  through 
twelve  feet  of  gravel  and  sand,  into  black  clay,  growing  harder  down- 
ward, and  containing  numerous  specimens  of  a  species  of  Inoceramus, 
Ostrca,  and  Ammonites,  showing  that  the  black  clays  are  certainly  of 
cretaceous  age.  If  these  beds  do  actually  lie  above  the  coal,  as  the  dip 
would  indicate,  then  this  formation  of  doubtful  age,  must  be'  cretaceous, 
and  some  of  the  finest  coal  beds  in  the  West  are  in  rocks  of  that  age.  It 
is  probable,  however,  that  the  coal  is  really  above  the  black  cretaceous 
clays  of  No.  2,  and  forms  a  part  of  the  upper  cretaceous  group. 

The  Weber  Eiver  flows  directly  west,  and  the  rocks  incline  in  a  sort 
of  half  circle  between  north  and  south.  Several  beds  of  massive  sand- 
stone cap  the  high  hills,  and  between  them  are  layers  of  clay  with  a 
reddish  tinge.  1  was  informed  that  there  were  in  this  section  six  or 
seven  beds  of  coal,  varying  in  thickness  from  eighteen  inches  to  fifteen 
feet. 

Passing  down  the  Weber  Valley  the  dip  would  carry  down  the  Coal- 
ville coal  beds,  in  a  distance  of  five  miles,  that  is,  at  Echo  City,  to  a 
depth  of  from  twelve  hundred  to  fifteen  hundred  feet  beneath  the  sur- 
face. So  that  the  coal  area  that  can  ever  be  made  available  for  eco- 
nomical purposes  in  this  region  must  be  very  limited. 

An  interesting  feature  along  the  Weber  Eiver  is  its  terraces.  Near 
Echo  City  there  is  a  rather  narrow  bottom  near  the  river;  then  an 
abrupt  ascent  of  thirty  feet ;  then  a  level  i)lain  or  bottom  of  two  hun- 
dred to  four  hundred  yards ;  then  a  gentle  ascent  to  the  rock  blufis. 
The  summit  of  the  first  bluif  at  Echo  is  five  hundred  feet  high ;  it  then 
slopes  back  to  the  plains  bej'ond. 

Passing  down  the  Weber  Valley,  about  a  mile  below  Echo  Station 
the  beds  begin  to  dip  25°  northeast.  The  whole  valley  is  filled  with 
rounded  boulders,  some  of  them  three  to  four  feet  in  diameter.  The 
Weber  Eiver  throughout  the  greater  part  of  its  course  seems  to  flow 
through  a  monoclinal  valley  ;  but  just  before  reaching  the  entrance  of 
Lost  Creek  it  seems  to  pass  along  a  local  synclinal  valley.  A  long  ridge 
of  conglomerate  extends  down  from  the  direction  of  the  Wasatch 
Mountains,  nearly  northeast  and  southwest,  inclining  northeast  5°  to 
10°.  At  this  point  the  Weber,  instead  of  continuing  in  the  syn- 
clinal valley,  cuts  through  the  ridge,  isolating  a  portion  about  half  a 


158  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITOEIES. 

mile  in  leugth  and  forminj];'  a  liiige  cliasin  or  gorjre,  wliicli  is  called  here 
the  ISTarrows.  After  passiug-  throngli  this  ridge  the  Weber  receives 
Lost  Creek,  and  makes  an  abrupt  bend  to  the  southward  ;  and  here  is 
exposed  an  immense  thickness  of  tlie  older  ro(;ks,  in  a  nearly  vertical 
position.  These  rocks  extend  down  the  Weber  River  four  miles  or 
more,  when  the  beds  abruptly  change  from  the  nearlj^  vertical  position 
to  a  nearly  horizontal  one. 

Commencing  near  the  j^arrows,  at  the  mouth  of  Lost  Creek,  we  have 
a  considerable  thickness  of  the  Jurassic  limestones  and  marls,  dij^ping 
70°  or  80°  northeast,  of  a  bluish  ash  color,  very  hard  and  brittle,  cleav- 
ing into  thin  layers  and  fracturing  in  every  direction,  so  that  the  sides 
of  the  hills  are  covered  to  a  great  dei)tli  with  its  debris.  Then  comes 
a  series  of  mud  shales,  with  ripple  marks,  some  layers  of  very  white 
sandstone,  and  a  thick  bed  of  hard  red  sandstone,  destined  to  take  the 
highest  rank  among  the  building  stones  of  Utah.  It  can  be  easily 
wrought  into  hue  forms  for  culverts,  fronts  for  buiklings,  caps  and  sills, 
&C.  Then  comes  a  vast  thickness  of  gray  and  dark-gray,  more  or  less 
cherty  limestones,  which  are  probably  carboniferous ;  aiul  below  these 
again  a  A^ery  hard  siliceous  rock,  oftentimes  massive,  portions  of  which 
are  filled  with  holes  at  right  angles  to  the  layers,  very  similar  to  much 
of  the  Potsdam  east  of  the  Mississippi,  pierced  by  ^Goliihm  linearis.  In 
this  quartzose  group  there  is  a  becl  oi^  shaly  limestone,  six  to  teu  feet 
thick.  A  few  indistinct  mollusks  were  observed  in  the  limestones  and 
the  mud  shales. 

The  distance  from  the  mouth  of  Lost  Creek  to  the  end  of  the  nearly 
vertical  series  of  rocks  is  about  three  miles.  So  that  we  have  here  a 
thickness  of  strata  not  much  less  than  two  miles  in  thickness  from  the 
top  of  the  Jurassic  downwards,  so  as  to  include  the  carboniferous. 

At  the  mouth  of  Lost  Creek  there  is  a  reuiarkable  example  of  non- 
conformity in  hills  of  different  ages.  The  reddish  conglomerate  rests 
directly  upon  the  upturned  edges  of  the  vertical  beds  described  above, 
and  it  is  an  important  question  what  has  become  of  all  the  intermediate 
beds,  containing  the  coal,  which  are  so  conspicuous  about  five  miles 
above  Echo  City. 

Descending  the  Weber  from  the  Narrows,  we  find  some  of  the  most 
remarkably  rugged  scenery  in  the  West.  The  walls  are  very  noticeable, ' 
and  are  formed  of  two  beds  of  limestone,  projecting  from  the  sides  of 
the  valley  at  right  angles,  from  between  which  ten  or  twelve  feet  of  loose 
material  has  been  washed  out.  Near  the  tunnels  the  rocks  on  the  left 
side  of  the  Weber  dip  about  10°  nearly  north,  while  on  the  other  side 
the  strata  incline  in  the  opposite  direction  3°  to  5°,  as  if  the  valley  was 
anticlinal.  Then  again  the  valley  would  appear  to  be  monoclinal,  the 
strata  on  the  right  side  of  the  river  inclining  20°  south,  and  on  the- 
opposite  side,  though  presenting  ji  nearly  vertical  front,  inclining  south 
also.  A  little  farther  on  down  the  valley,  and  on  the  right  side  of  the 
river,  come  beds  of  red  sandstone ;  below  these  again  gray  sandstone, 
with  a  reddish  tinge,  the  red  sandstone  dipping  east  12° ;  while  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  river  the  hills  are  open,  rounded,  and  grass-covered. 

The  cherty  crinoidal  limestone  extends  to  ]\Iorgan  City  and  gradually 
disappears.    The  red  sandstones  are  seen  among  the  foot-hills. 

At  Morgan  City  we  come  out  of  the  principal  canon  of  the  Weber  into 
a  broad  open  bottom,  filled  with  little  villages  and  farm-houses.  The 
soil  is  of  great  fertility.  The  hills  on  either  side  are  smoothed  off  and 
covered  thickly  with  loose  material  and  vegetation.  The  high  vertical 
exposures  all  disappear.  The  Wasatch  range  seeuis  to  tiend  nearly 
north  and  south ;  even  the  foot-hills  of  this  range  are  so  smoothed  oif 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       159  ' 

and  covered  with  drift,  and  then  with  grass,  that  the  underlying  rocks 
are  not  to  be  seen.  Tlie  industry  shown  by  the  Mormons  in  this  valley 
is  worthy  of  all  praise.  The  little  streams  are  made  use  of  to  irrigate 
the  rich  bottom  lands,  which  produce  abundantly,  and  the  houses  look 
neat  and  comfortable.  Fruit  cannot  be  raised  to  any  extent  in  the 
Weber  Valley.  The  varieties  of  trees  are  confined  mostly  to  the  bitter 
Cottonwood,  although  from  Echo  City  down  we  meet  with  a  small  dwarf 
oak,  box-elder,  striped  maple,  and  choke-cherry. 

Just  below  the  little  viUage  of  Enterprise  I  saw  in  the  hills,  rocks 
composed  of  an  aggregate  of  quartz  pebbles.  Still  larther  down  we 
come  to  feldspathic  rocks,  indicating  that  the  dip  of  the  gneissic  beds 
of  the  Wasatch  range  is  westward.  The  Wasatch  range  is  composed  of 
gneiss,  so  far  as  the  rocks  can  be  seen  along  the  Weber.  The  rocks  are 
beautifully  banded  everywhere.  There  are  also  coarse  aggregations  of 
quartz  and  feldspar,  with  large  masses  of  tourmaline ;  and  all  through 
the  gneiss,  are  seams  of  feldspar  and  quartz  of  various  thicknesses. 

The  evidence  is  quite  clear  that  from  Morgan  City  to  the  entrance  of 
the  Wasatch  Canon  stretched  a  lake,  the  waters  of  which  must  have 
filled  up  the  valley,  rounded  off  the  hills,  and  covered  the  sides  of  the 
mountains  with  loose  debris.  Along  the  sides  of  the  canon  of  the 
Wasatch,  four  and  a  half  miles  long,  are  thick  deposits  of  loose  sand, 
interspersed  with  water- worn  boulders  in  many  places.  These  deposits 
have  been  cut  through  in  making  excavations  by  the  railroad,  and  the 
lines  of  current  deposition  are  curiously  well  marked.  About  half  way 
through  the  canon  there  is  a  sudden  bend  in  the  Weber  Kiver,  by  which 
a  small  portion  of  one  of  the  gneissic  ridges  is  cut  off.  O[)posite  this 
ox-bow,  a  canon  descends  the  mountain  side,  down  which  a  vast  quantity 
of  loose  material  has  been  swept,  filling  the  channel  of  the  river  with 
local  drift,  and  jn'obably  driving  the  current  through  the  gneissic  ridges. 
The  Weber  Eiver,  if  its  channel  were  straightened,  would  run  through 
this  deposit  of  drift,  which  is  about  thirty  feet  thick;  instead  of  which 
it  makes  a  bend  and  cuts  its  way  through  a  massive  gneissic  ridge. 

Extensive  deposits  of  whitish,  fine-blue  and  rusty-yellow  sandstones, 
hard  enough  for  building  purposes,  with  liesh-colored  marls,  probably  of 
pliocene  age,  and  resembling  verj^  closely  in  many  respects  the  more 
recent  tertiary  beds  along  the  Platte,  occur  in  this  valley.  These  recent 
beds  dip  east  or  southeast.  We  thus  learn  that  some  of  the  later  move- 
ments in  the  elevation  of  these  mountain  ranges  have  been  of  compara- 
tively modern  date.  Terraces  continue  to  show  themselves  the  entire 
length  of  the  Weber  River,  and  they  are  probably  synchronous  with 
those  which  surround  the  basin  of  Salt  Lake  Vallej'. 

x\.fter  emerging  from  the  Wasatch  Caiion  of  the  Weber  valley,  we 
pursued  a  southerly  course  along  the  base  of  the  Wasatch  range  to  Salt 
Lake  City.  For  twenty  miles  or  more  all  the  unchanged  rocks  ha\'e 
been  worn  away  from  the  flanks  of  the  mountains,  or  completely  con- 
cealed by  debris.  All  over  the  gentle  slopes  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tains are  strewn  masses  of  rocks,  all  gneissic  and  evidently  derived 
from  the  central  parts  of  the  mountains.  Terraces  surround  this  basin 
everywhere.  There  is  one  large  one,  with  two  or  three  smaller  ones, 
on  tlie  sides  of  the  mountains ;  and  from  the  lowest  one  downwards  the 
surface  slopes  gently  to  the  lake.  I  was  infonned  that  the  lake  had 
risen  nine  feet  vertically  since  18GS,  and  of  course  the  water  has  ag- 
gressed upon  the  land  to  a  great  distance.  I  have  heard  no  explanation 
of  this  phenomenon.  All  the  lakes  in  the  West  are  said  to  be  rising- 
more  or  less. 

The  carboniferous  limestones  begin  to  make  their  appearance  along 


160  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

the  flanks  of  tlie  mountains  about  ten  miles  nortli  of  Salt  Lake  City,  and 
continue  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  all  around  the  rim  of  the  basin. 

On  the  flanks  of  the  mountains  east  of  the  city  are  the  red  beds,  and 
probably  a  careful  study  would  reveal  Jurassic,  cretaceous,  and  possi- 
bly even  tertiary  beds.  President  Y^ung  has  long  since  olfered  a 
large  reward  to  any  one  who  would  discover  workable  beds  of  coal 
within  a  reasonable  distance  of  the  city,  and  a  thorough  search  has  been 
made  for  them,  but  thus  far  without  success.  A  bed  of  coaly  clay  only, 
has  been  found  near  the  city  in  the  mountains.  All  the  coal  used  in  the 
valley  is  transported  in  wagons  from  Coalville,  on  the  Weber.  The  best 
of  red  sandstone  for  building  purposes  is  brought  from  E,ed  Sandstone 
Caiion,  just  east  of  the  town.  I  tliink  it  is  of  Triassic  nge.  The  beauti- 
ful gray  granite  which  is  used  in  the  construction  of  the  Mormon  Tem- 
ple is  brought  from  Cottonwood  Valley  in  the  Wasatch  Mountains.  It 
is  composed  of  white  feldspar,  quartz,  and  black  mica. 

The  surface  of  Salt  Lake  Valley  has  been  rendered  fruitful  by  the  in- 
dustry, of  the  Mormons.  Like  the  greater  portion  of  the  West,  it  was 
originally  avast  sage  plain.  Xow,  by  irrigation,  all  kinds  of  cereals  and 
roots  grow  luxuriantly,  and  there  are  no  better  apples,  peaches,  plums, 
grapes,  &c.,  raised  in  America.  It  may  eventually  become  a  vine-growing 
region. 

Following  the  stage  road  eastward,  sixteen  inifes  from  Salt  Lake  City 
to  the  Brewery  at  the  mouth  of  Parley's  Caiion,  we  reach  the  foot  of 
the  mountain,  over  sand  beds  which  are  probably  of  post-pliocene  age. 
Here  a  little  stream  cuts  through  the  sand  beds,  exposing  a  vertical 
bluff  two  hundred  feet  high,  composed  of  fine  sand,  horizontally 
stratified  and  overlaid  with  a  great  thickness  of  water-worn  pebble  con- 
glomerate. There  are  indications  all  along  the  flanks  of  the  mountains 
that  nearly  or  quite  all  the  formations  already  recognized  as  far  west  as 
this  i)oint  are  here  represented.  At  the  entrance  of  the  caiion  the 
carboniferous  limestones  dip  northeast  70°  to  80° ;  over  them  lie  the 
purple  and  red  sandstones  and  rusty-yellow  layers,  and  under  them  red- 
dish sliales.  Beneath  these  shales  an  immense  thickness  of  dark-gray 
silicious  rock  stands  nearly  vertical.  All  this  vast  thickness  of  older 
rocks,  in  appearance  semi-metamorphosed,  is  undoubted!}^  the  counter- 
part of  the  series  described  in  the  Weber  Valley,  just  below  the  en- 
trance of  Lost  Creek. 

The  road  passes  up  a  monoclinal  valley  between  the  ridges  of  quartzitic 
rocks,  having  a  brittle  fracture,  and  the  monoclinal  slopes  are  covered 
with  debris.     No  gueissic  rocks  are  noticeable  along  this  road. 

Before  reaching  the  summits,  in  fact  soon  after  we  begin  the  ascent, 
we  come  to  the  conglomerates  and  sandstones  which  accompanied  us 
down  the  Echo  and  Weber  Valleys.  Near  the  summit  all  the  hills  are 
rounded  by  erosion  and  grassed  over,  and  water- worn  boulders  are  scat- 
tered about  here  and  there,  so  that  the  underlying  rocks  are  partially 
concealed.  Just  beyond  the  summit  we  arrive  at  a  broad  oj^en  exposure 
in  the  valley  of  the  stream  called  Parley's  Point,  half  a  mile  wide  and 
about  seven  thousand  feet  above  sea  level.  Settlements  are  numerous 
all  along  the  road ;  but  while  there  is  very  good  grazing,  few  of  the 
cereals  vrill  grow. 

AH  the  rocks  on  the  eastern  slope  incline  at  a  greater  or  less  angle 
apparently  toward  the  east.  Just  as  we  enter  Silver  Creek  Valley  Ave 
come  to  numerous  upthrusts  of  partially  changed  sandstones"  and  con- 
glomerates, the  first  indications  that  we  get  along  our  route  of  the  neigh- 
borhood of  igneous  rocks.  Some  of  the  masses  of  rock  which  go  to  make 
up  the  conglomerate  are  of  great  size,  very  compact,  and  of  a  steel-gray 


GEOLOGICAL  SUKVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES        161 

color,  and  are  inclosed  in  a  steel  gray  silicious  paste ;  but  whether  large  or 
small,  all  are  angular.  These  might  be  called  volcanic  conglomerates, 
for  they  are  of  igneous  origin.  They  occur  in  the  South  Jcark  and  near 
the  sources  of  Lewis's  Fork  of  the  Columbia  Eiver.  k 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

GENERAL  REVIEW  OF  THE  GEOLOGY  OP  THE  COUNTRY  FROM  OMAHA  TO 

SALT  LAKE  VALLEY. 

In  the  preceding  chapters  I  have  endeavored  to  present  a  simple  state- 
ment of  facts  as  I  have  been  enabled  to  read  them  in  nature.  The 
simplicity  and  unity  of  the  Great  Rocky  Mountain  system  is  such,  that 
when  a  sufficiently  wide  range  of  facts  has  been  secured  it  will  not  be 
difficult  to  derive  from  them  some  generalizations  of  permanent  value. 
In  this  chapter  I  desire  to  recapitulate  somewhat  briefly  the  principal 
geological  features  of  the  country  from  the  Missouri  to  Salt  Lake  Valley, 
stopping  here  and  there  to  discuss  some  obscure  x3oints. 

The  upper  coal  measure  limestones  are  seen  at  Omaha,  near  the  water's 
edge,  and  quarried  all  along  the  Platte  nearly  to  the  Elk  Horn  River. 
The  lower  cretaceous  rusty  sandstones  of  No.  1  overlap  the  upper 
carboniferous  limestones  about  four  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Platte, 
and  extend  to  the  mouth  of  the  Loup  Fork ;  but  the  yellow  marl  deposit, 
or  loess,  conceals  for  the  most  part  the  underlying  rocks.  A  fine  yellow- 
ish sand,  of  the  same  age,  or  a  little  less  recent,  overlaps  the  cretaceous 
near  Columbus. 

The  chalky  limestones  of  No.  3,  with  the  characteristic  Inoceramus 
prollematicus,  here  and  there  crop  out,  and  some  obscure  exposures  have 
been  detected  in  the  Pawnee  reservation,  fifteen  or  twenty  miles  up  the 
Loup  Fork. 

This  fine  yello  ^ish  sand  soon  gives  place  to  the  pliocene  beds  of  the  Platte, 
Loup  Fork,  and  Niobrara  Rivers,  composed  of  indurated  marls,  sands,  or 
sandstones,  which  continue  on  as  far  as  the  margin  of  the  Laramie  range 
of  mountains,  five  hundred  and  thirty  miles  west  of  Omaha — that  is,  for 
nearly  four  hundred  and  thirty  miles  along  the  line  of  the  railroad.  In 
the  grand  anticlinal  of  the  Laramie  range,  which  I  have  already  described, 
they  sometimes  repose  with  a  slight  discordance  on  the  older  rocks;  some- 
times, as  near  the  Laramie  Peak,  they  rest  directly  on  the  granites,  and 
entirely  conceal,  for  a  distance  of  forty  or  fifty  miles,  all  the  unchanged 
rocks  of  older  date ;  but  a  careful  study  of  the  eastern  flank,  from  Red 
Buttes  to  Long's  Peak,  will  reveal  all  the  „. 

formations  that  are  known  to  exist  in  this  ^^'    ^ 

part  of  the  West,  inclining  from  the  sides 
of  the  granitic  nucleus  at  various  angles. 

Figure  14  will  illustrate  the  surface  fea- ; 
tures  of  the  Monument  Creek  Group.     The 
rocks  are  composed  mostly  of  decomposed ' 
granites,  a  feldspathic  paste  holding  some 
pebbles  of  quartz  or  feldspar.     The  columns 
that  are  left  standing  over  a  large  area, 
are  capped  with  a  hard  layer  of  rusty  yellow 
sandstone,  as  shown  in  the  cut.     This  group 
covers  the  divide  between  the  South  Platte 
and  the  Arkansas  Rivers,  and  is  supposed ' 
to  be  of  upper  miocene  or  pliocene  age.  Monument  Creek,  Coionwio. 

11  G 


162 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 


Figure  15  will  serve  to  show  the  appearance  of  the  ridges  of  upheaval, 
or  "  hog  backs,"  as  they  are  sonletimes  called  iu  the  west.  These  ridges 
occur  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  all  along  the  eastern  flanks  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains.  They  sometimes  rise  like  steps  to  the  crest,  so  that  one 
may  walk  from  the  tertiary  forrpations  in  the  plains,  holding  a  horizon- 
tal position,  across  the  uplifted  edges  of  all  the  formations  to  the  granite 
nucleus.  Between  these  ridges  are,  iu  many  instances,  beautiful  grassy 
valleys,  varyiug  from  a  few  hundred  yards  to  half  a  mile  in  width. 

When  exposed  only  on  one  side  of  a  range  I  have  called  them  mono- 
clinal  ridges  and  valleys. 

Fig.  15. 


Ridges  of  npheavel  neax  Big  Thompson  Creek,  Colorado. 

The  railroad  then  for  forty  miles  passes  over  and  cuts  through  a  great 
variety  of  svenites;  some  compact,  beautiful  building  stones,  almost 
equal  to  the  Scotch  syenites,  but  the  greater  part  ferruginous  and  easily 
disintegrating  on  exposure.  Tf.   i 

On  the  west  side  of  the  Laramie  range  we  pass  across  the  up  itted 
edges  of  the  various  formations  seen  on  the  eastern  margin.  We  know 
that  the  carboniferous  limestones  occur  here,  for  the  fossils  which, 
though  not  abundant,  are  explicit  as  to  their  age.  The  limestones  lie 
all  along  the  margins  of  the  Laramie  range  up  to  the  Eed  Buttes,  and 
sometimes  slope  so  gently  and  cover  the  flanks  so  uniformly  as  to  appear 
like  a  sort  of  flexible  roofl  Along  the  North  Platte,  above  Laramie 
Peak,  the  little  streams  have  cut  deep  canons  through  the  limestones 
and  sandstones  of  carboniferous  age.  In  Box  Elder  Canon,  Hemipromtes 
crassus,  Productus  semieticulatus,  Amculapecten  occidentahs,  and  other 
well-known  carboniferous  forms  occur.    Between  the  granites  and  the 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 


163 


limestones  is  a  thin  series  of  fine  and  coarse  sandstone,  the  hijers  rest- 
ing directly  upon  the  granites,  being  composed  of  a  sort  of  fine  pudding- 
stone  consisting  of  an  aggregate  of  quartz  pebbles  and  rusty  coarse 
sand  cemented  with  lime.  This  may  possibly  be  a  remnant  of  the  Pots- 
dam sandstone  which  occurs  so  well  developed  farther  north  in  the  Big 
Horn,  Wind  Eiver,  and  Sweetwater  ranges.  This  same  sandstone  is 
observed  far  north  to  EedButtes,  but  I  have  never  been  able  to  find  any 
trace  of  organic  remains. 

'     Fig.  16.      • 


Uplifted  Carboniferous  Ridges,  Jefferson  Fork,, Upper  Missouri. 

Figurel6 is  introduced  in  this  connection  simply  to  show  the  ridges 
of  carboniferous  limestone,  as  they  are  revealed  along  the  flanks  of  tho 
mountains.  This  cut  will  apply  to  the  ridges  about  ten  miles  west  of 
Elk  Mountain,  although  the  sketch  was  taken  in  the  valley  of  Jefferson 
fork  of  the  Missouri  River.  Similar  examples  occur  all  along  the  east 
and  west  sides  of  the  Laramie  range.  The  figures  are  introduced  in  this 
connection  to  make  more  clear  the  theory  of  the  upheaval  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  ranges,  which* has  been  expressed  in  this  and  previous  re- 
ports. 

The  red  beds  are  well  revealed  all  along  the  western  flanks  of  the 
Laramie  range,  and  are  always  noticed  by  the  traveler  on  account  of 
their  peculiar  brick-red  color.  The  harder  layers  of  this  rock  are 
much  used  for  building  purposes.  I  am  unable  to  say  yet  whether 
these  red  sandstones  are  triassic  or  Jurassic,  though  I  believe  that  be- 
tween these  and  the  cretaceous  formations,  Jurassic  beds  occur.  Along 
the  Big  Laramie  the  cretaceous  rocks  come  to  the  surface.  The  quartz- 
ites  and  sandstones  which  I  have  usually  referred  to  No.  1,  or  lower 
cretaceous,  underlie  the  plain  just  west  of  the  railroad  south  of  Fort 
Sanders;  and  in  the  banks  of  the  Big  Laramie,  near  the  old  stage 
station,  jSTo.  2,  occurs  with  its  dark  plastic  laminated  clays,  with  thin  lay- 
ers of  fibrous  carbonate  of  lime,  to  the  surface  of  which  are  attached 
great  numbers  of  the  ubiquitous  Ostrea  congesta.  In  the  level  plain 
west  of  the  Big  Laramie,  No.  3  is  exposed  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  in 


164       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

thickness,  with  its  usual  yellow  chalky  character  ;  the  usual  Ostrea 
congesla  occurs  in  great  abundance.  Immediately  along  the  line  of  the 
railroad  no  indications  of  No.  3  have  ever  been  observed.  Nowhere  in 
the  Laramie  plains  are  any  of  the  subdivisions  of  the  cretaceous  group 
well  defined.  These  beds  occupy  the  country  along  the  line  of  the 
road  from  Laramie  City  nearly  to  Como  Station,  a  distance  of  sixty 
miles ;  at  this  point  the  red  beds  and  the  true  Jurassic  rocks  are 
brought;  to  the  surface,  over  a  restricted  area,  by  means  of  an  anticlinal 
which  forms  a  valley  through  which  the  road  passes.  The  strata  in- 
cline from  either  side.  The  south  side  of  the  road  exposes  the  most 
complete  series  of  beds ;  a  high  ridge  is  composed  of  Jurassic  beds, 
mostly  capped  with  the  sandstones  of  No.  1,  while  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  reach  to  the  southward  the  low,  wave-like  ridges  of  No.  2  can  be 
seen.  Towards  the  southwest,  the  anticlinal  valley  seems  to  close  up, 
but  to  the  northeastward  it  expands  indefinitely,  and  extends,  no  doubt, 
to  the  Laramie  range. 

From  a  point  about  ten  miles  west  of  Como  to  St.  Mary's  Station,  a 
distance  of  fifty  miles,  the  tertiary  coal  beds,  with  the  sands,  sandstones, 
and  clays  peculiar  to  them,  occupy  the  country.  The  most  important 
coal  mines  are  located  at  Carbon  ;  no  shells  have  ever  been  observed 
in  connection  with  the  coal,  but  thousands  of  impressions  of  deciduous 
leaves  are  found.  It  is  an  important  point  to  fix  the  age  of  the  coal 
beds  in  any  one  locality.  So  far  as  we  can  determine,  the  coal  beds  of 
the  Laramie  plains  are  of  eocene  age,  although  the  plants  are  more 
closely  allied  to  those  of  the  miocene  period  in  the  Old  World, 

In  the  vicinity  of  Elk  Mountain,  along  the  Overland  stage  road,  in 
beds  which  I  regard  as  belonging  to  the  older  tertiary,  and  holding  a 
position  near  the  junction  of  the  tertiary  and  cretaceous,  and  nearly  or 
quite  on  a  parallel  with  the  lower  tertiary  beds  near  Denver,  Colorado, 
1  found  a  quantity  of  fossil  leaves,  among  which  Dr.  Newberry  identi- 
fies Platanus  Haydeni,  Quercus  aceroides,  Magnolia  tenerafolia,  with  frag- 
ments of  Cornus  and  Khamnus.  The  same  species  occur  in  the  upper 
portion  of  the  coal  series  on  the  west  side  of  Bridger's  Pass.  At  Carbon 
Populus  cuneata,  P.  Nebrascensis,  and  Platanus  Haydeni,  are  very  abun- 
dant. From  St.  Mary's  Station  to  Kawlings'  Si>rings,  a  distance  of  thirty 
miles,  the  road  passes  over  rocks  of  cretaceous  age ;  although  on  the 
hills  on  either  side  remnants  of  the  coal  strata  may  be  found.  About 
two  miles  west  of  this  point  the  coal  beds  begin  to  appear  again,  and  at 
Separation,  Platanus  Haydeni,  Cornus  acuminata,  with  other  undeter- 
mined species  of  plants,  occur.  This  point  forms  the  eastern  rim  of  a 
basin  which  extends  about  one  hundred  and  t6n  miles  to  the  westward. 
A  new  group  comes  in  which  I  have  named  the  Washakie  Group,  from 
the  fiict  that  near  this  station  are  beds  of  calcareous  sandstone  and  lime- 
stone, composed  of  an  aggregate  of  fresh-water  shells.  As  they  are 
mostly  casts  it  is  difficult  to  identifj^  the  species,  but  Mr.  Meek  has 
named  the  most  abundant  kind  TJnio  WasJiaJceei.  Soon  after  leaving  Bitter 
Creek  Station  the  coal  strata  of  eocene  age  rise  to  the  surface  from  be- 
neath the  miocene  beds  of  the  Washakie  Group  with  a  reversed  dip. 
Here  we  find  numerous  beds  of  coal,  and  in  the  rocks  above  and  below 
the  coal  are  great  numbers  of  impressions  of  leaves,  and  in  the  clay 
seams  of  oyster  shells  of  several  species.  At  Black  Buttes  Station,  eight 
hundred  and  fifty  miles  west  of  Omaha,  we  found  Sabal  Camphelli,  Rham- 
nus  elegans,  Cornus  acuminata,  Quercus  aceroides,  Tilia  antiqua,  with 
other  undescribed  species.  At  Point  of  Rocks,  fourteen  miles  farther 
west,  Platanus  Haydeni,  P.  Nehrasccnsis,  Cornus  acuminata.  Magnolia 
tcnerafolia,occuT.  At  Hallville  the  black  slaty  clays,  forming  the  roof  of  one 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  165 

of  the  most  valuable  of  the  coal  beds  of  this  region,  are  crowded  with  bi- 
valve shells,  two  species  of  which  Mr.  Meek  has  named  Cyrena  fracta,  and 
G.  crassatelliformis,  regarding  them  as  tertiary.  They  are  undoubtedly 
brackish-water  forms  and  show  a  sort  of  middle  jjositiou — that  is,  middle 
or  upper  eocene.  That  there  is  a  connection  between  all  the  coal  beds 
of  the  West  I  firmly  believe,  and  I  am  convinced  that  in  due  time  that 
relation  will  be  worked  out  and  the  links  in  the  chain  of  evidence  joined 
together.  That  some  of  the  older  beds  may  be  of  upper  cretaceous  age 
I  am  i)repared  to  believe,  yet  until  much  clearer  light  is  thrown  upon 
their  origin  than  any  we  have  yet  secured,  I  shall  regard  them  as  belong- 
ing to  my  transition  series  or  beds  of  passage  between  the  true  creta- 
ceous and  the  tertiary.  When  the  large  collections  of  fossil  plants  from 
the  West,  now  in  the  possession  of  Dr.  Newberry,  are  carefully  studied, 
we  shall  have  a  mucfi  better  basis  upon  which  to  rest  a  conclusion.  It 
will  be  seen  at  once  that  one  of  the  most  important  problems  in  the  geol- 
ogy of  the  West  awaits  solution,  in  detecting,  without  a  doubt,  the  age  of 
the  coal  series  of  the  West,  and  the  exact  line  of  demarkation  between 
the  cretaceous  and  tertiary  periods. 

The  study  of  this  question  shows  the  importance  of  the  continued 
accumulation  of  facts  and  the  collection  of  organic  remains.  Neither 
can  we  place  too  rigid  reliance  on  the  teachings  of  the  fossils,  for  it  has 
already  been  shown  many  times  that  the  fauna  and  flora  of  the  tertiary 
deposits  of  this  country,  when  compared  with  those  of  the  Old  World, 
reach  back  one  epoch  into  the  past.  W^e  have  already  obliterated  the 
chasm  between  the  permian  and  the  carboniferous  era,  and  shown  that 
there  is  a  well-marked  inosculation  of  organic  forms — those  of  supposed 
permian  affinities  passing  down  into  well-known  carboniferous  strata, 
and  admitted  carboniferous  types  passing  up  into  the  permian.  We 
believe  that  the  careful  study  of  these  transition  beds  is  destined  to  oblit- 
erate the  chasm  between  the  cretaceous  and  tertiary  periods,  and  that 
there  is  a  passing  dowm  into  the  cretaceous  period  of  tertiary  forms,  and 
an  extending  upward  into  the  tertiary  of  those  of  cretaceous  affinities. 
It  appears  also,  that  every  distinct  fauna  or  flora  of  a  period  ought 
to  contain  within  itself  the  evidence  of  its  own  age  or  time  of  existence, 
with  certain  prophetic  features  which  reach  forward  to  the  epoch  about 
to  follow.  If  there  is  a  strict  uniformity  in  all  the  operations  of  nature 
when  taken  in  the  aggregate,  as  I  believe  there  is,  then  this  is  simply  in 
accordance  with  the  law'  of  progress  which  in  the  case  of  the  physical 
changes  wrought  out  in  the  geological  history'  of  the  world  has  operated 
so  slowly  that  infinite  ages  have  been  required  to.  produce  any  percep- 
tible change.  The  position  that  I  have  taken  in  all  my  studies  in  the 
West  is  that  all  evidences  of  sudden  or  paroxysmal  movements,  have 
been  local  and  are  to  be  investigated  as  such,  and  have  had  no  influence 
on  the  great  extended  movements  which  I  have  regarded  as  general,  uni- 
form, and  slow,  and  the  results  of  which  have  given  to  the  West  its 
I)resent  configuration.  The  splendid  group  of  fossils  obtained  on  the 
Upper  Missouri,  from  the  Fox  Hills  Group  or  upper  cretaceous  beds, 
illustrate  the  j)rophetic  element  I  have  mentioned  above.  Among  them 
are  many  true  cretaceous  Ibrms,  as  Ammonites,  BacuUtes,  Inoeeramns,  &c., 
yet  these  all  present  such  a  modern  facies  that  they  seem  plainly  to  look 
forward  into  the  succeeding  epoch,  which  in  the  case  of  our  Atlantic 
coast  was  strictly  marine.  It  was  no  fault  of  the  fossils  themselves  that 
they  were  mistaken  in  this  instance. 

We  may  suppose  that  near  the  close  of  the  cretaceous  period,  the 
ocean  extended  all  over  the  area  west  of  the  Mississippi,  from  the  Arc- 
tic Circle  to  the  Isthmus  of  Darien.     How  mu(;h  of  the  countrv  east  of 


166       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

the  Mississippi  "vras  beneath  the  ocean  I  will  not  now  attempt  to  deter- 
mine. Eestricted  portions  of  the  western  continent  may  liave  been 
above  the  ocean  level,  and  some  of  the  mountains  may  have  projected, 
like  rocky  islands,  above  the  waters.  Near  the  close  of  the  cretaceous 
period  the  great  water-shed  of  the  continent  was  marked  out,  and  the 
marine  waters  were  separated  into  more  or  less  shallow  seas,  lakes,  es- 
tuaries, marshes,  &c.  Among'  the  marshes  sported  the  reptiles,  the 
remains  of  which  are  so  abundant  in  the  tertiary  deposits ;  and  on  the 
areas  raised  above  the  waters  grew  luxuriant  forest  trees  and  other 
vegetation  which  contributed  to  the  formation  of  the  coal  beds.  We 
shall  attempt  to  show  from  time  to  time  tliat,  althougli  the  coal  deposits 
of  the  West  occupy  an  enormous  area,  yet  theproiitable  deposits  of  coal 
lie  in  detached  basins,  some  of  which  are  quite  restricted  in  their  area. 
The  study  of  these  coal  formations  in  nature  shoVs  most  plainly  that 
some  of  the  beds  of  coal  extend,  uninterruptedly,  over  enormous  areas, 
as  if  the  vegetable  matter  had  been  deposited  in  a  sea,  or  that  the 
physical  conditions  attending  its  occurrence  were  widespread  and  uni- 
form, while  in  other  localities  coal  strata  of  great  thickness  clearly  oc- 
cupy but  a  limited  area.  We  are  aware  that  beds  of  coal,  but  a  few 
miles  apart,  and  evidently  vsynchronous,  show  no  physical  evidence  of 
ever  having  been  connected  with  each  other.  There  is  another  curious 
fact,  that,  while  very  nearly  the  same  species  of  plants  occur,  the  coal 
strata  are  nearly,  or  quite  all,  marine  or  brackish,  while  far  removed 
from  the  mountain  ranges  the  sediments  very  soon  become  purely  fresh-  • 
water.  On  the  Upper  Missouri,  where  the  coal-bearing  group  covers  so 
large  an  area  with  remarkable  uniformity,  only  the  lowest  beds  contain 
marine  forms,  and  very  soon  we  pass  up  into  strata  with  purely  fresh- 
water fossils.  We  may  suppose  that  at  an  early  period,  during  the  ter- 
tiary epoch,  this  portion  was  cut  off  from  access  to  the  salt  water.  If 
our  ideas  of  the  physical  geogTaphy  of  these  epochs  are  correct,  coal 
strata  of  contemporaneous  origin  may  be  purely  marine,  purely  fresh- 
v.ater  or  brackish,  depending  upon  the  proximit}"  of  the  sea,  lake,  or 
marsh,  to  the  ocean  waters. 

We  have  already  shown  many  times  that  there  is  no  real  physical 
break  in  the  deposition  of  the  sediments  between  the  well  marked  cre- 
taceous and  tertiary  groups.  In  some  localities  the  continuity  is  clear 
and  beautiful  in  the  highest  degree.  On  Green  Eiver,  and  in  the  Bit- 
ter Creek  Valley,  one  can  trace  the  continuity  step  by  step,  solar  as  the 
strata  are  concerned,  from  the  cretaceous  through  the  greatest  thick- 
ness of  clays,  sands,  iind  sandstones  of  the  lower  tertiary  to  the  purely 
fresh-water  beds  of  Green  Riv^er  shales,  Washakie  or  Bridger  Groups. 
In  these  localities  the  influence  of  the  elevation  of  the  mountain  ranges 
has  been  such  as  to  expose  the  outcropping  edges  of  all  the  strata  from 
the  cretaceous  to  the  sands  of  the  most  recent  tertiary,  like  the 
leaves  of  a  book.  We  have  already  shown  that  in  the  clays  interspersed 
among  the  coal  beds  in  the  Bitter  Creek  Valley,  are  seams  of  oys- 
ter shells  of  several  species.  A  few  other  marine  forms  have  been  ob- 
served. At  Hallvdle,  near  Point  of  llocks,  we  liave  seen  that  in  the 
slaty  shales,  above  one  of  the  coal  beds,  are  proofs  that  at  that  period 
the  physical  conditions  were  most  favorable  for  the  existence  of  a  i)ro- 
fusion  of  brackish- water  life;  that  in  this  locality,  from  3,0U0  to  4,000 
feet  of  coal  strata  were  deposited  before  the  salt  water  ceased  to  have 
access  to  these  tertiary  lakes.  At  Bear  liiver,  also,  the  same  history  is 
written  upon  the  rocky  layers.  We  have  well-defined  cretaceous  strata, 
and  from  these  we  ascend  through  a  series  of  sandstones  and  clays,  with 
an  abundance  of  shells  of  the  genus  Ostrca,  and  a  few  other  marine  forms 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       167 

resembling  tertiary  types  as  much  as  cretaceous.  Soon  we  come  to  the 
coal  beds,  which,  at  this  Ideality,  ^re  nearly  vertical.  Above  them  we 
find  seams  of  oyster  shells,  but  no  otlier  marine  forms.  Anil  finally, 
high  up  iu  the  upper  beds  of  the  coal  group,  we  find  the  greatest  profu- 
sion of  brackish  and  fresh-water  life  that  we  have  observed  in  the  West, 
Unio  priscus,  U.  hcUiplicatus,  Cyrciia  dnrJccel,  Corbula  injriformis,  &c. 
fcso  far  as  the  Evanston  coal  mines  are  concerned,  no  shells  have  been 
found  in  connection  with  them,  so  far  as  I  know.  But  last  year,  in  the 
calcareous  sandstones  above  the  huge  20-foot  bed,  I  discovered  a  mag- 
nificent series  of  fossil  leaves,  among  which,  Dr.  Kewberry  informed 
me,  he  had  detected  species  identical  with  those  occurring  in  connection 
with  the  coal  beds  of  the  Laramie  Plains,  and  on  the  Upper  Missouri. 
No  plants  have  been  observed  iu  the  vicinity  of  Bear  Eiver  City.  What 
relation  the  coal  be(ts  here  sustain  to  those  at  Evanston,  I  cannot  deter- 
mine. As  yet  there  is  no  evidence  of  any  connection  whatever,  except 
proximity. 

The  next  locality  where  coal  is  exposed  is  at  Coalville,  a  little  town  in 
the  valley  of  Weber  River,  five  miles  above  the  mouth  of  Echo  Creek, 
where  it  crops  out  in  a  number  of  places  over  a  very  restricted  area. 
The  general  dip  of  the  beds  is  northwest,  10°  to  18°.  The  most  im- 
portant opening  of  a  coal  vein  is  that  of  Mr.  Siuiggs.  The  coal  bed 
is  fifteen  feet  thick,  twelve  feet  of  good  coal,  and  the  other  three  feet 
somewhat  impure,  but  useful  as  a  fuel.  The  dip  is  20°  to  30° ;.  the  roof, 
is  composed  of  yellowish-gray  sandstone,  sometimes  a  pudding-stone, 
witb  only  about  an  inch  or  so  of  clay  between.  An  air  shaft  sunk  by 
Mr.  Spriggs  passed  through  the  sandstone  sixty  feet,  Mr.  Spriggs  in- 
formed me  that  there  were  six  difiterent  seams  of  coal  in  this  region. 
Just  above  the  third  seam  there  is  a  layer  of  oyster  shells  about  four 
feet  thick ;  the  clay  under  the  coal  varies  iu  thickness,  sometimes  sixteen 
feetj  again  eighteen  inches ;  below  this  is  a  yellowish-gray  or  brown 
sandstone.  Looking  doM'n  the  Weber  Valley,  the  group  of  beds  forma 
sort  of  semicircle,  dipphig  west  and  northwest.  In  the  high  ridge  that 
lies  immediately  north  of  Chalk  Creek,  we  have  a  series  of  yellowish 
and  brown-gray  clays  and  sands,  with  one  or  two  beds  of  light,  brick- 
red,  arenaceous  clay,  the  whole  extending  up  two  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  above  the  coal,  apparently.  On  the  summit  of  this  ridge,  and  in 
different  layers  along  the  outcropping  edges  of  the  ridge,  are  great 
quantities  of  marine  shells,  which  are  regarded  as  of  very  modern  cre- 
taceous types.  A  few  hundred  feet  south  of  Spriggs's  opening,  a  party 
sunk  a  shaft  eighty  ieet  with  the  intention  of  cutting  the  bed  of  coal ; 
the  shaft  cut  through  the  black  clays  of  what  I  regard  as  cretaceous 
No.  4.  In  the  clays  that  were  thrown  out  of  the  shaft  were  great  quan- 
tities of  Inoceraimis^  Ammonites^  Ostrca,  &c.  The  coal  is  evidently  iu  close 
proximity  to  these  cretaceous  clays,  but,  I  think,  above  them.  From 
Chalk  Creek  to  Echo  City  it  is  about  four  miles  iu  a  straight  line ; 
about  two  and  a  half  miles  of  it  is  occupied  b^-  eight  to  twelve  ridges 
of  the  coal  strata,  inclining  10°  to  30°,  averaging  20°.  There  is  not  less 
than  one  thousand  feet  of  them  exposed  here,  but  the  coal  is  mostly, 
and  perhaps  all  the  workable  beds  are,  iu  the  lower  ])ortion.  There  is 
a  sort  of  valley  which  forms  the  line  of  separatiou  between  the  coal 
strata  and  the  Wasatch  Group;  the  remaining  one  and  a  half  miles  is 
composed  of  the  Wasatch  conglomerates.  In  the  group  of  coal  strata, 
all  of  which  I  suppose  lie  above  the  Coalville  bed,  shells  of  the  gen- 
era Anchura.,  Gyrodcs.  Inoceramus^  and  Ostrea,  are  found.  The  evi- 
dence seems  to  point  to  the  cretaceous  age  of  the  coal  grouj)  iu  Weber 
VaUey.    It  is  the  only  locality  iu  the  West  that  has  come  under  my  ob- 


168  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

servation  where  the  proofs  seem  to  be  so  condusive ;  and  yet  I  ^ish  to 
make  a  still  more  careful  examination  of  this  locality  before  I  commit 
myself  fully.  My  reading  of  the  rocks  is,  that  they  are  either  upper 
cretaceous,  above  what  we  have  usually  regarded  as  No.  5,  or  a  portion 
of  my  transition  series,  more  purely  marine  in  their  character  than 
usual. 

If  it  is  true  that  there  must  have  beeu  such  a  continuity  in  the  pro- 
gress of  events  during  geological  times  that  there  can  be  no  general  phys- 
ical line  of  separation  between  any  of  the  great  periods,  and  that  the 
names  Jurassic,  cretaceous,  or  tertiary  are  merely  terms  of  convenience — 
milestones,  as  it  were,  to  mark  steps  of  time — then  why  should  not  cer- 
tain marine  forms  of  life  extend  up  into  the  lower  eocene,  or  in  other 
words,  did  not  the  cretaceous  deposits  at  certain  localities  continue  on 
up,  unchanged,  into  tertiary  time'?  Whether  the  coal  strata  of  the 
West  are  of  cretaceous  or  tertiary  age,  or  both,  is  a  matter  of  indifference 
to  me ;  I  only  wish  to  discuss  tlje  subject  from  time  to  time,  as  the  occa- 
sion offers,  in  the  light  of  sucli  facts  as  I  can  secure.  The  geologist  is 
simply  the  interpreter  of  nature.  He  must  seek  to  read  the  records  as 
the  Creator  has  written  them  upon  the  tablets  of  stone,  and  his  ob- 
servations will  be  of  i)ermanent  value  only  when  he  is  able  to  arrive  at 
the  true  reading.  Experience  has  shown  that  with  a  simple  love  of  the 
truth,  untrammeled  by  tradition  or  preconceived  notions  one  is  led  step 
by  step,  slowly,  perhaps,  and  through  many  difficulties,  but  eventually, 
to  the  light. 

We  will  now  pass  rapidly  down  the  valley  of  the  Weber  River.  iChe 
geological  structure  is  very  complicated,  and  there  is  mnch  that  is 
yet  obscure.  We  only  hope,  at  present,  to  contribute  something  toward 
a  knowledge  of  it.  Every  year  we  hope  to  gather  more  facts  and  ex- 
tend our  examinations  over  larger  areas.  Before  proceeding  further  we 
might  say  a  word  in  regard  to  the  conglomerates  which  form  the  most 
conspicuous  feature  in  the  geology  of  this  region.  I  now  regard  the 
whole  group  as  distinct  from  any  other — a  separate  lake  basin.  The  east- 
ern shore  of  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  same  as  the  eastern  rim  of  the 
great  basin,  of  which  Salt  Lake  Valley  forms  a  part.  The  great  thick- 
ness of  variegated  clays,  sands,  and  sandstones,  which  we  see  from  Car- 
ter Station  to  the  middle  of  Echo  Caiion,  lie  beneath  the  vast  body 
of  conglomerates  in  Echo  and  Weber  Valleys.  I  have  never  been  able 
to  find  a  single  well-defined  fossil  in  this  group,  only  a  few  small  frag- 
ments of  the  shell  of  a  fresh- water  turtle.  It  occupies  so  large  an  area 
that  it  seems  to  me  more  careful  explorations  must  bring  to  light  some 
organic  remains.  From  physical  evidence  I  am  inclined  to  the  belief 
that  it  began  its  existence  after  that  of  the  Green  River  Group,  but  be- 
fore the  close  of  that  period  and  extending  up  through  the  time  of  the 
deposition  of  the  Bridger  Group  ;  that  is,  the  conglomerates  are  prob- 
ably on  a  parallel  with  the  Bridger  Group,  or  upper  miocene.  These 
conglomerates  originally  extended  entirely  across  the  Wasatch  Moun- 
tains. In  City  Creek  Caiion,  on  the  west  side  of  the  range,  these  con- 
glomerates are  finely  shown,  a  thousand  feet  or  more  in  thickness,  ip- 
clining  from  the  range.  There  is  the  same  evidence  of  want  of  con- 
formity as  is  shown  near  the  "  Narrows,"  but  no  rocks  more  recent  than 
the  Jurassic  limestones  were  observed  between  them.  I  do  not  donbt 
that  further  to  the  southward  both  cretaceous  and  older  tertiary  beds 
occur  on  the  flanks  of  the  mountains.  The  immense  thickness  of  strata 
exposed  in  the  Weber  Valley  seems  to  be  made  np,  so  far  as  I  can  as- 
certain, of  Jurassic,  triassic,  and  carboniferous  rocks.  Near  Morgan 
Station,  in  limestones  which  appear  to  hold  a  position  at  the  base  of  the 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        169 

series,  1  saw  great  quantities  of  fossils,  among  them  several  varieties 
of  Productus,  Spirifer,  &c.,  well-known  carboniferous  forms.  Fossils  of 
the  same  age  are  quite  abiiudant  just  over  the  range  near  Salt  LalvO 
City,  and  in  many  other  localities  all  over  the  valley.  There  may  be 
restricted  areas  in  the  Salt  Lake  basin  where  unchauged  rocks  of  older 
date  than  the  carboniferous  occur,  but  they  have  so  far  escaped  my 
observation,  and  we  have  no  evidence  of  their  existence  from  the  ex- 
aminations of  other  explorers. 

In  my  last  preliminary  report  1  alluded  brietly  to  a  series  of  sands, 
sandstones,  marls,  &c.,  in  the  Weber  Valley,  between  Morgan  Station 
and  Devil's  Gate,  and  also  along  the  foot  of  the  mountains  in  Salt 
Lake  Valley  proper.  That  they  form  a  separate  group  from  all  others 
I  do  not  doubt,  although  in  point  of  time  they  may  be  regarded  as  an 
extension  upward  of  the  Wasatch  Group.  I  have  given  these  the  name 
of  the  Salt  Lake  Group,  and  I  believe  them  to  be  of  pliocene  age.  All 
through  the  mountain  districts  these  later  pliocene  deposits  occur,  com- 
posed of  light-colored  clays, -sands,  marls,  &c.,  not  unfrequently  yielding 
numbers  of  vertebrate  remains.  The  Salt  Lake  Group  has  so  far  revealed 
but  few  fossils,  only  one  species  of  Helix.  During  the  middle  tertiary 
period,  it  seems  probable  that  the  metamor})hic  and  granitic  rocks 
which  form  the  nu(;leus  of  the  mountain  ranges  were  exposed  to  the 
erosive  action  of  the  waters  to  a  great  extent,  and  thus  their  decomposi- 
tion, mostly  feldspar,  supplied  the  materials  for  these  pliocene  deposits. 
Their  uniformity  in  composition  and  color  is  quite  remarkable.  In  most 
cases  these  beds  have  been  very  sltghtly  disturbed  and  do  not  conform 
to  the  older  rocks,  though  I  think  they  conform  to  the  conglomerates. 
These  recent  beds  underlie  the  benches  or  terraces  which  form  so 
marked  a  feature  in  Salt  Lake  Valley.  There  are  still  more  recent 
deposits  in  Salt  Lake  Valley,  which,  from  their  magnitude,  deserve 
mention.  As  we  emerge  from  the  Weber  Canon  into  Salt  Lake  Valley 
we  see  on  either  hand  high,  rounded  hills,  which  jut  close  up  to'the  foot 
of  the  mountains.  All  the  older  rocks  seem  to  have  been  swept  away, 
leaving  a  ver}'  large  area,  from  a  point  about  ten  miles  north  of  Salt 
Lake  City  to  the  mouth  of  Bear  Eiver,  occupied  only  by  the  arenaceous 
clays  of  the  quarternary  period.  The  cuts  along  the  railroad  show 
the  character  of  these  deposits  quite  clearly.  Still  more  recent, 
and  probably  forming  a  portion  of  this  deposit,  are  the  immense  accu- 
mulations of  loose  sands  and  drift  or  worn  pebbles  and  boulders  which 
are  found  everywhere  in  Salt  Lake  Valley  and  extend  high  up  the 
valleys  of  the  streams  which  empty  their  waters  into  Salt  Lake.  From 
the  mouth  of  Echo  Creek  to  the  Salt  Lake  Valley,  Weber  Valley  is 
covered  with  a  prodigious  quantity  of  worn  rocks  of  greater  or  less  size, 
from  a  small  pebble  to  boulders  two  or  thre^  feet  in  diameter.  The 
terraces  are  composed  of  fine  sediments,  mingled  with  jiebbles  and 
boulders.  On  the  sides  of  the  Weber  River,  in  its  passage  through  the 
Wasatch  range,  we  see  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet  of  this  fine  sand,  gravel, 
and  boulders,  with  a  kind  of  irregular  stratification,  which  indicates 
deposition  in  moving  waters.  I  mention  these  details  to  show  with  what 
fidelity  the  records  of  the  various  changes,  geographical  and  geological, 
of  this  valley,  have  been  preserved.  We  see  that  by  careful  examination 
we  can  trace  the  history  step  by  step  far  back,  from  the  middle  of  the 
tertiary  period  up  to  the  present  time. 

Let  us  for  a  moment  glance  at  some  of  these  intermediate  steps  and 
ascertain  what  bearing  they  have  on  the  progress  of  the  growth  of  our 
continent.  The  Salt  Lake  Group,  which  I  have  already  described,  I  re- 
gard as  an  important  feature  in  th^  history-. 


170       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES 

The  sediments  reach  a  thickness  of  eight  hundred  to  one  thousand 
two  hundred  feet  at  least.  It  not  only  occupied  a  vast  area  in  the  great 
basin,  but  extended  up  the  valleys  of  the  luimerous  rivers  that  How 
therein.  In  the  Weber  Valley  above  the  Devil's  Gate,  or  on  the ^  east 
side  of  the  Wasatch  range,  this  group  occuj)ies  an  oval  area  of  twelve 
miles  long  and  eight  miles  wide,  or  about  one  hundred  square  miles.  It 
forms  one  of  the  series  of  mountain  lakes  which  occupied  hundreds  of 
the  oval  areas,  or  parks  as  they  are  now  called,  in  the  great  mountain 
system  which  extends  from  the  Arctic  on  the  north  to  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien  on  the  south,  and  I  presume  also  to  Patagonia,  in  South  America. 

The  Salt  Lake  Group  I  regard  as  of  pliocene  age  and  contemporane- 
ous with  the  Niobrara,  Arkansas,  and  Santa  Fe  Groups,  with  numerous 
other  small  accumulations  of  marls  and  sands  in  the  Middle  Park,  and 
among  the  mountains  far  to  the  northward  and  throughout  the  Hum- 
boldt Valley,  Oregon,  «S^c.  All  the  proofs  we  can  secure,  up  to  the  pres- 
ent time,  indicate  their  fresh- water  origin.  What  geographical  changes 
have  occurred  in  this  long  period  of  time  we  will  not  now  attempt  to  de- 
termine; we  wish  simply  to  express  our  belief  that,  at  least  since  the 
middle  tertiary  period,  the  salt  ocean  has  not  had  access  to  this  great 
basin.  If  now  we  pass  to  what  may  be  called  for  convenience  the  quar- 
tenary  period,  or  the  one  that  gradually  merges  into  the  present,  we 
shall  find  that  it  presents  geological  features  of  no  ordinary  interest. 
In  descending  the  Weber  Valley,  after  we  emerge  from  the  caiion  of  the 
Wasatch  range  into  the  open  valley  of  Salt  Lake,  we  observe  on  either 
side  thick  beds  of  sands  and  arenaceous  clays,  which  must  have  been  de- 
posited in  the  quiet  waters  of  a  lake. 

In  the  valley  of  Sait  Lake,  and  especially  in  that  of  the  Weber  River, 
these  drift  deposits  i)0ssess  a  thickness  of  several  hundred  feet,  and  of 
these  materials  the  terraces  are  formed.  Near  Salt  Lake  City,  in  dig- 
ging a  well,  fresh-water  shells  were  found  in  these  deposits,  forty  feet 
below  the  surface,  and  on  the  north  side  of  the  lake,  where  these  de])0sits 
are  very  largely  exhibited,  the  cuts  in  the  railroad,  through  the  gravel 
and  sands,  reveal  the  greatest  abundance  of  fresh- water  shells,  showing 
that  at  this  time  the  physical  conditions  were  unusually  favorable  for 
the  existence  of  fresh- water  molluscous  life.  So  far  as  I  could  ascer- 
tain, these  conditions  do  not  exist  at  the  present  time,  or  if  they  do,  it 
must  be  only  to  a  limited  extent. 

I  am  indebted  to  the  kindness  of  Mr.  George  W.  Tryon,  jr.,  for  the 
identification  of  the  species  obtained  from  this  drift : 

1.  Fluminicola  fusca.  Tbis  species  seems  to  have  been  very  abundant ; 
it  exi.sts  at  the  present  time  in  the  mountain  streams. 

2.  Fomatiopsis  Cincinnatiensis. 

3.  Amnicola  limosa. 

4.  Valvata  sincera.  I 

5.  L-imnea  desidiosa. 

6.  Liinnea  catiscopium. 

From  these  observations  I  infer  that  a  vast  fresh-water  lake  once  oc- 
cupied all  this  immense  basin ;  that  the  smaller  ranges  of  mountains 
were  scattered  over  it  as  isolated  islands,  their  summits  projecting  above 
the  surface ;  that  the  waters  have  gradually  and  slowly  passed  away 
by  evaporation,  and  the  terraces  are  left  to  reveal  certain  oscillations  of 
level  and  the  steps  of  progress  toward  the  present  order  of  things;  and 
that  the  briny  waters  have  concentrated  in  those  lake  basins,  which  have 
no  outlet.  The  entire  country  seems  to  be  full  of  salt  springs,  which 
have,  in  all  probability,  contributed  a  great  share  to  the  saline  charac- 
ter of  the  waters. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    TIIP:    TERRITORIES.  171 

But  Tre  must  not  omit  to  mention  in  this  connection  the  Warm  Springs, 
which  are  located  about  a' mile  north  of  the  city.  They  issue  from  the 
limestone  rocks  near  the  foot  of  the  mountains ;  all  around  the  place 
are  tnfa-like  incrustations  of  sufficient  hardness  to  be  used  for  walls  and 
fences.  The  baths  at  this  place  are  the  most  grateful  I  luive  ever  enjoyed, 
and  1  cannot  well  conceive  of  a  more  desirable  locality  for  invalids  in  a 
sanitary  point  of  view.  The  following  analysis  of  the  water,  made  by 
Dr.  Charles  S.  Jackson,  of  Boston,  is  posted  on  the  walls  of  tiie  bathing- 
house,  which  any  one  can  have  the  privilege  of  reading  or  copying: 

Three  fluid  ounces  of  the  water,  on  evaporating  to  entire  dryness  in  a  platina  cap- 
snle,  gave  8.25  grains  of  solid  dry  saline  matter : 

Carbonate  of  lime  and  magnesia 0.240  1.280 

Peroxide  of  iron 0.040  0.208 

Lime ---    0.545  2.907 

Chlorine 3.454  18.421 

Soda : 2.877  15.344 

Magnesia (^.370  2.073 

iSulphuric  acid 0.703  3.748 

8.2-2'J         43.981 


It  is  slightly  charged  with  hydro-sulphuric  acid  gas  and  with  carbonic  acid  gas,  and 
is  a  pleasant,  saline  mineral  water,  having  the  valuable  properties  belonging  to  saline 
sulphur  springs. 

The  above  is  a  true  copy  of  the  analysis,  and  the  reader  can  extract 
for  himself  whatever  information  of  value  it  may  contain. 

About  three  miles  north  of  the  city  are  the  Hot  Springs,  which  are 
well  worth  the  examination  of  the  traveler.  The  water  boils  np  from 
beneath  beds  of  limestone  at  the  base  of  the  mountains,  and  it  is  only 
necessary  to  thrust  the  hand  into  it  to  ascertain  that  it  is  boiling  hot. 
Meat  is  readily  cooked  in  it,  and  eggs  will  be  ready  for  the  table  in  three 
minutes.  The  dense  column  of  steam  that  rises  perpetually  will  always 
point  out  the  locality  of  the  springs.  Quite  a  large  volume  of  water 
issues  forth,  forming  a  stream  four  or  five  feet  in  width  and  six  inches  in 
depth.  It  flows  into  a  beautiful  lake  not  far  distant  to  the  west,  called 
Hot  Spring  Lake.  This  lake  is  supposed  to  be  supplied  to  some  extent 
with  water  from  hot  springs  beneath  the  surface.  Still  the  hot  water  is 
not  sufficient  to  prevent  the  existence  of  some  kinds  of  excellent  fish, 
among  them  fine  large  trout.  Springs  which,  if  they  existed  on  the 
Atlantic  coast,  would  be  of  great  value,  are  so  common  throughout  all 
this  region  that  they  attract  but  little  attention.  Hot,  warm,  and  cold 
springs  frequently  issue  from  the  ground  only  a  few  yards  apart. 

In  no  portion  of  the  inland  West  will  the  traveler  so  delight  to  linger 
and  enjoy  the  novelty  and  beauty  of  the  scenery  and  the  exhilarating 
influence  of  the  atmosphere.  But  before  leaving  this  pleasant  region 
we  may  devote  a  paragraph  at  least  to  the  remarkable  inland  sea  which 
gives  the  name  and  fame  to  (Central  Utah. 

Although  such  streams  as  the  Jordan,  Weber,  and  Bear  Eivers,  with 
numerous  smaller  ones,  have  been  for  ages  pouring  a  vast  volume  of 
water  into  this  lake,  it  is  now  well  known  that  it  has  no  visible  outlet; 
the  question  naturally  arises.  What  becomes  of  all  the  water  thus 
gathered  into  this  area  ?  We  believe  that  it  all  disappears  by  evapora- 
tion. It  seems,  however,  that  of  later  years  the  evaporation  has  not  been 
going  on  as  rapidly  as  in  former  times.  It  is  stated  by  the  railroad 
engineers  that  the  waters  of  the  lake  have  risen  nine  vertical  feet  since 
1804,  and  the  general  impression  is,  that  all  the  lakes  of  the  West  are 
rising  more  or  less. 


172       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

We  might  note,  in  this  connection,  many  changes  which  this  valley 
must  have  been  subjected  to  since  the  present  configuration  of  the  sur- 
face wns  outlined  by  the  elevation  of  the  mountain  chains.  Several 
times  this  valley  must  have  been  filled  high  up  on  the  mountain  sides 
with  water;  water,  too,  with  but  very  little  of  that  saline  character  which 
it  i^ossesses  at  this  time.  Indeed,  I  am  convinced  that,  while  the  lake 
itself  is  not  of  modern  origin,  yet  as  a  salt  lake,  in  its  present  condition, 
it  is  of  comparatively  recent  date.  We  find  all  along  the  flanks  of  the 
mountains,  and  high  up  in  the  valleys  of  the  ravines  opening  into  this 
basin,  groups  of  strata  hundreds  of  feet  in  thickness,  which  are  doubtless 
of  fresh-water  origin,  dating  back  into  the  pliocene  or  upper  tertiary 
period.  Then  these  beds  have  been  disturbed  by  the  elevations  of  the 
mountains,  showing  that  while  these  ranges  formed  shore  lines  for  the 
halves  of  this  i)eriod,  they  did  not  reach  their  present  height  until  after 
the  deposition  of  these  tertiary  beds.  Eesting  upon  them,  and  appar- 
ently deposited  after  the  upheaval  movements  had  ceased,  are  heavy 
beds  of  sand  and  gravel,  and  the  flanks  of  the  mountains  all  around  the 
valley,  as  well  as  the  sides  of  the  mountains  in  the  islands  of  the  lake, 
reveal  numerous  water  lines,  showing  most  clearly  the  elevations  to 
which  the  waters  of  the  lake  must  have  reached  in  later  geological  times. 
We  can  hardly  suppose  that  during  these  periods  the  waters  here  were 
sufliciently  salt  to  difter  from  the  other  lakes  in  the  West.  I  am  inclined 
to  the  belief,  therefore,  that  the  saline  materials  of  a  vast  area  have  been 
concentrated  by  time  into  the  basin  now  occupied  by  Salt  Lake,  and 
that  it  is  owing  to  its  partial  evaporation  that  its  water  is  become  so  salt. 

Let  us  for  a  moment  take  a  bird's-eye  view  of  the  great  inland  basin 
of  which  Salt  Lake  Valley  forms  only  a  part.  We  shall  find  that  what 
is  termed  the  Great  Basin  of  the  West  comprises  the  vast  area  inclosed 
by  the  Wasatch  Mountains  on  the  east,  and  the  Sierra  Nevada  on  the 
west,  the  crest  or  water  divide  of  the  Columbia  on  the  north,  and  that 
of  the  Colorado  on  the  south.  We  shall  also  observe  that  this  great 
region  has  no  visible  outlet;  that  it  is  composed  of  a  multitude  of 
smaller  basins  or  valleys,  each  of  which  has  its  little  lakes,  s])rings,  and 
water-courses,  their  surplus  water  either  evaporating  or  sinking  beneath 
the  surface.  If  we  examine  the  elevations  in  this  region,  we  observe  a 
w'onderful  uniformity  in  the  surface  of  the  valleys,  and  find  that  none 
of  them  are  much  above  the  level  of  the  waters  of  Great  Salt  Lake.  As 
Captain  Stansbury  has  remarked: 

These  plains  are  but  little  elevated  above  the  present  level  of  the  lake,  and  have, 
beyond  question,  at  one  time  formed  a  part  of  it ;  an  elevation  of  but  a  few  feet  above 
the  present  level  of  the  lake  would  float  this  entire  flat  to  a  great  distance,  thus  forming 
a  vast  inland  sea. 

It  seems  probable,  also,  that  at  a  comparatively  modern  i)eriod  the 
briny  waters  spread  out  over  a  much  larger  area  than  at  present, 
for  both  Fremont  and  Stansbury  make  frequent  mention  of  large  tracts 
covered  with  an  incrustation  of  salt.  The  latter,  in  describing  the  broad 
plain  country  to  the  west  of  Great  Salt  Lake,  says: 

The  first  part  of  the  plaia  consisted  simply  of  dried  mud,  with  small  crystals  of  salt 
scattered  thickly  over  the  surface.  Crossing  this,  we  came  upon  another  portion  of  it, 
three  miles  in  width,  where  the  ground  was  entirely  covered  with  a  thin  layer  of  salt 
in  a  state  of  deliqiaescence,  and  of  so  soft  a  consistence  that  the  feet  of  our  mules  sank 
at  every  step  iuto  tlie  mud  beneath.  But  we  soon  came  upon  a  portion  of  the  idain 
where  the  salt  lay  in  a  solid  state  in  oue  unbroken  sheet,  extending,  apparently,  to  its 
western  border.  So  firm  and  strong  was  this  unique  and  snowy  floor,  that  it  sustained 
the  weight  of  our  entire  train  without  in  the  least  giving  way  or  cracking  beneath  the 
pressure.  Our  mules  walked  upon  it  as  upon  a  sheet  of  solid  ice.  The  whole  field  was 
crossed  by  a  network  of  little  ridges,  projecting  about  half  an  inch,  as  if  the  salt  had 
expanded  in  the  process  of  crystalizatiou.     I  estiuiated  this  field  to  be  at  least  seven 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        173 

miles  wide  aud  ten  miles  in  length.  How  luuch  farther  it  extended  nortliwai'd  I  conld 
not  tell,  but  if  it  covered  the  plain  in  that  direction  as  it  did  where  we  crossed,  its 
extent  must  have  been  very  much  greater.  The  salt,  which  was  very  pure  and  white, 
averaged  from  one-half  to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  in  thickness,  and  was  etiual  in  all 
respects  to  our  linest  specimens  for  table  use.  Assuming  these  data,  the  quantity  that 
here  lay  upon  the  grouiul  in*  one  body,  exclusive  of  that  in  a  deli([uescent  state, 
amounted  to  over  four  and  a  half  millions  of  cubic  yards,  or  about  one  hundred 
millions  of  bushels. 

Areas  of  greater  or  less  extent,  covered  with  this  saline  incrustation, 
occur  in  numerous  localities,  so  that  we  may  infer  that  in  all  probability, 
at  no  very  distant  period  in  the  past  the  salt  lake  extended  either  con- 
nectedly, or  in  isolated  portions,  over  the  greater  part  of  the  Great 
Basin. 

It  would  be  a.  most  interesting  subject  to  trace  the  history  of  this 
wonderful  lake  far  back  in  the  geological  past ;  from  the  records  which 
have  been  left  in  the  sediments,  I  have  obtained  comparatively  few  facts 
as  yet,  but  they  seem  to  be  quite  conclusive,  and  I  believe  that  each 
successive  step  in  the  changes  which  this  great  region  has  undergone  can 
be  interpreted  with  accuracy  from  the  records  left  in  the  surfVice  deposits, 
if  they  could  be  studied  in  detail. 

One  of  the  most  conspicuous  features  in  this  basin,  is  the  system  of 
terraces  or  benches  which  borders  the  valleys  as  well  as  the  streams. 
These  terraces  seem  to  form  an  independent  system  in  this  basin,  discon- 
nected, both  in  regard  to  time  and  the  causes  that  produce  them,  from 
those  so  well  known  along  the  Missouri  and  Columbia  Elvers. 

Not  only  do  they  seem  to  be  universal  over  this  gi^eat  basiu,  but  they 
are  all  of  about  the  same  level.  I  have  never  observed  more  than  two  or 
three  of  these  benches  well  defined,  but  Captain  Stansbury  speaks  of 
counting  thirteen  successive  terraces  at  the  northern  end  of  the  lake,  the 
highest  about  two  hundred  feet  above  the  valley. 

In  volume  II  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  Reports,  page  97,  there  is  a  most 
interesting  note  in  regard  to  these  remarkable  shore  lines,  which  I  am 
sure  will  be  as  instructive  to  those  who  may  read  this  volume  as  it  has 
been  to  me : 

The  old  shore  lines  existing  in  the  vicinity  of  the  C4reat  Salt  Lake  present  an  interest- 
ing study.  Some  of  them  are  elevated  but  a  few  feet  (from  live  to  twenty)  above  the 
present  level  of  the  lake,  and  are  as  distinct  and  well  defined  as  its  present  beaches,  whilst 
their  magnitude  and  smoothly- worn  forms  as  unmistakably  indicate  the  levels  which 
the  waters  maintained  at  their  respective  formations  for  verj^  considerable  periods. 
In  the  Tuilla  Valley,  at  the  south  end  of  the  lake,  they  are  so  remarkably  distinct 
and  peculiar  in  form  and  position  that  they  attracted  the  attention  of  the  least-informed 
teamsters  of  my  party,  to  whom  they  appeared  artificial.  From  these  beaches  the  Tuilla 
Valley  ascends  gradually  toward  the  south,  and  in  a  few  miles  becomes  blocked  up  by 
a  cross  range  of  mountains,  with  passages  at  either  side,  leading,  however,  over  quite 
as  remarkable  beaches,  into  what  is  known  to  the  Mormons  as  Rush  Valley,  in  which 
there  are  still  small  lakes  or  ponds,  once  doubtless  forming  part  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake. 

The  recessions  of  the  waters  of  the  lake  from  the  beaches  at  these  comparatively 
slight  elevations  must  have  taken  place  within  a  very  modern  geological  period,  and 
the  volume  of  the  water  of  the  lake  at  each  subsidence — by  whatever  cause  produced, 
whether  gradual  or  spasmodic — seems  as  plainly  to  have  been  diminished  ;  for  its  pres- 
ent volume  is  not  sufficient  to  form  a  lake  of  even  two  or  three  feet  in  dejjth  over  the 
area  indicated  by  these  shores,  and,  if  existing,  would  be  annually  dried  up  during  the 
summer. 

These  banks  are  not  peculiar  to  the  vicinity  of  this  lake  of  the  basin,  but  were  ob- 
served near  the  lakes  in  Franklin  Valley,  and  will  probably  be  found  near  other  lakes, 
and  in  the  numerous  small  basins  which,  united,  form  the  Great  Basin.  They  clearly 
seem  to  have  been  formed  and  left  dry  within  a  period  so  recent  that  it  would  seem  im- 
possible for  the  waters  which  formed  them  to  have  escaped  into  the  sea,  either  by  great 
convulsions  opening  jiassages  for  them,  or  by  the  gradual  breaking  up  of  the  distant 
shore,  (rim  of  the  basin,)  thus  draining  them  off,  without  leaving  abundant  records  of 
the  escaping  waters,  as  legible  at  least  as  the  old  shores  they  formed. 

But  high  above  these  diminutive  banks  of  recent  date  are  seen,  on  the  mountains  to 
the  east,  south,  aud  west,  aud  ou  the  islands  of  Great  Salt  Lake,  formations  preserving 


174       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

apparently  a  uniform  elevation  as  far  as  the  eye  can  extend — foriuatiousv/hich,  hastily 
examined,  seem  no  less  unmistakably  than  the  former  to  indicate  their  shore  origin. 
They  are  elevated  from  tvro  hundred  or  three  hundred  to  six  hundred  or  eight  hundred 
feet  above  the  present  lake,  and  may  on  cai'eful  examination  afford  the  nieaus  of  de- 
termining the  character  of  the  sea  by  which  they  were  formed,  whether  an  internal 
one,  subsequently  drained  oft'  by  the  breaking  or  weariag  away  of  the  rim  of  the  basin, 
or  an  arm  of  the  main  sea,  which  with  the  continent  has  been  elevated  to  its  present 
position  and  drained  by  the  successive  steps  indicated  by  these  shores. 

These  terraces  seem  to  be  a  marked  feature  of  tbe  valleys  of  streams 
ou  both  sides  of  the  Rocky  Mouiitaius.  lu  the  valleys  of  the  Missouri 
•  River  and  its  tributaries,  even  the  smallest  branch,  they  are  to  be  seen 
more  or  less  conspicuous.  Professor  Dana  describes  them  with  much 
care,  as  universal  ou  the  Pacific  coast.  So  far  as  those  terraces  are  con- 
cerned which  occur  ou  the  Pacilic  coast  and  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains,  I  believe  they  have  a  common  origin  ;  but  the  ter- 
races of  this  great  inland  basin  might  be  synchronous  or  quite  independ- 
ent of  the  others.  Still,  as  both  must  have  been  formed  near  the  close 
of  the  quarternary  i)eriod,  constituting  the  last  act  in  the  drama,  we 
might  consider  them  all  as  having  a  common  origin.  If  we  v/ere  to  ex- 
amine the  whole  country  west  of  the  Mississippi,  the  broad  plains  of  the 
eastern  slope  rising  gradually  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains  and  to  the 
very  summits  of  the  loftiest  ranges,  descend  into  the  plains  on  the  oppo- 
site side,  and  explore  the  valleys  of  the  inland  streams,  the  parks  and  ba- 
sins, we  shall  lind  everywhere,  to  a  greater  or  lesser  extent,  the  proofs  of  a 
very  modern  drift  deposit,  or  that  among  the  latest  events  in  the  geo- 
graphical history  of  our  continent  is  the  evidence  that  it  was  nearly  or 
quite  submerged  with  water.  Some  of  the  highest  peaks  may  have  pro- 
jected above  the  almost  universal  sea  of  waters ;  but  the  tops  of  the 
highest  mountains,  as  the  Wind  River,  Big  Horn,  Uinta,  show  the  drift 
boulders  at  an  elevation  of  twelve  thousand  feet  above  the  sea.  So  far 
as  my  own  observations  are  concerned,  all  the  evidences  I  have  been  able 
to  detect  show  that  the  superiicial  or  quarternary  deposits  of  the  West  are 
of  local  origin.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  mountain  ranges  the  proofs  of  the 
origin  of  the  vast  mass  of  the  boulder  drift  is  very  api)areut.  The  hills  at 
the  base  of  the  mountains  are  often  covered  with  masses  of  rocks,  usuall}' 
out  slightly  worn.  And  as  we  recede  from  the  mountains  these  rocks 
become  smalles  and  more  worn,  until  far  out  in  the  plains  they  are  re- 
duced to  mere  pebbles.  But  il  is  in  the  inland  plains  and  i)arks,  as 
Laramie  Plains,  the  Great  Salt  Lake  Basin,  North,  Middle,  and  South 
Parks,  &c.,  that  the  greatest  exhibition  of  this  local  drift  action  is  best 
shown.  In  the  Missouri  Valley,  and  especially  north  in  Minnesota  and 
Dakota,  these  stray  masses  are  scattered  in  the  greatest  profusion  all 
over  the  surface  of  those  broad,  treeless  plains.  The  character  of  the 
rocks  themselves  shows  that  they  came  from  the  mountains.  Sometimes 
these  rocks  are  strewn  in  belts  across  the  cotintry,  taking  a  uniform 
direction.  iSTorth  of  the  Missouri  River,  from  the  Big  Sioux  River  to 
Fort  Clark,  there  are  districts  Avhere  one  might  walk  for  miles  atiross 
the  iJlains  and  over  the  hills  without  stei^ping  upon  the  ground,  so 
closely  paved  is  it  with  worn  or  partially- worn  boulders.  The  cele- 
brated Ooteau  de  Prairie  was  no  doubt  outlined  by  these  drift  forces,  and 
scattered  over  the  hills  are  masses  of  these  rocks.  The  accompanying 
figure  17  will  convey  an  idea  of  a  strip  of  country  which  fornis  a  sort  of 
water  divide  between  the  drainage  of  the  Missouri,  Mississippi,  and  the 
Red  River  of  the  North. 

As  we  have  previously  remarked,  we  believe  that  the  quaternary 
period,  although  more  difficult  to  study,  will  be  found  to  be  scarcely 
second  in  importance  to  any  of  the  previous  great  epochs  in  geology. 


GEOLOGICAL    SL^RVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 


175 


A  careful  study  of  these  u\odern  deposits  will  undoubtedly  show  coiisec- 
ntivii  links  by  which  it  was  united  to  the  tertiary  period,  in  the  same 
manner  as   the  cretaceous  and  teitiary  are  connected  in  the  case  of 

Fig.  17. 


Coteau  des  Prairies,  on  the  Missouri. 

the  great  tertiary  lake  now  indicated  by  the  deposits. on  White  and 
Niobrara  Rivers,  in  Nebraska,  in  which  the  waters  continued  to  cover  n 
greater  or  less  area  through  most  of  the  quaternarj^  period,  at  least, 
as  is  shown  by  the  thick  deposits  of  fine  sand,  with  bones  of  raammals 
and  shells  of  existing  species,  on  Loup  Fork  and  its  tributaries.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  the  bluff  deposit,  or  loess,  which  is  so  well  displayed 
along  the  Missouri  from  Fort  Pierre  down  beiowSt.  Louis,  and,  probably, 
to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico.  At  a  modern  i>eriod  it  is  probable  that  the 
waters  of  the  ocean  swept  high  up  inland,  reaching  nearly  to  the  foot  of 
the  mountains.  The  great  water-courses  had  already  beeu  marked  out, 
consequently  we  find  the  yellow  marl  or  loess  fifty  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  thick  in  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Missouri,  but  thinning  out  as  we 
recede  from  it,  or  the  valleys  of  any  of  its  branches.  The  existence  of 
so  many  fresh-water  mollusca  and  the  entire  absence  of  any-  marine 
forms  indicate  that  the  waters  of  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri  were 
either  cut  off  from  the  direct  access  to  the  sea,  or  that  the  influx  of  such 
a  vast  quantity  of  fresh  water  as  must  have  flowed  down  from  the 
mouiitaiu  districts  rendered  completely  fresh  the  inland  jwrtions. 

We  may  suppose  the  temperature  just  prior  to  the  present  period  to  have 
been  extremely  low,  and  that  the  elevated  portions  of  the  West  were 
covered  with  vast  masses  of  snow  and  ice ;  that  as  the  temperature  be- 
came warmer  this  snow  and  ice  melted,  producing  such  an  accession  to 
the  already  existing  waters  that  they  covered  all  the  country,  except- 
ing, })erhaps,  the  summits  of  the  highest  peaks ;  that  masses  of  ice  tilled 
with  fragments  of  rocks,  worn  and  unworn,  floated  oft"  into  this  gi"eat 
sea,  and  melting,  scattered  the  contents  over  the  hills  and  plains  belov/ ; 
that  as  the  waters  diminished  these  masses  of  ice  would  accumulate  on 
the  summits  of  the  foot-hills  of  the  mountains,  or  at  certain  localities  in 
the  i)lains;  and  thus  account  for  the  great  local  accumulations  of  stray 
rocks  at  certain  places.  The  materials,  also,  which  must  have  beeu  re- 
moved from  all  portions  of  the  West  drained  by  the  Missouri  and  its 
tributaries  by  surface  denudation,  as  is  illustrated  by  the  "  bad  lands," 
&c.,  were  also  swept  into  this  vast  inland  lake,  and  then,  carried  beyond 
the  reach  of  currents,  would  settle  quietly  to  the  bottom,  almost  with- 
out lines  of  stratification,  as  we  observe  in  the  loess.  The  last  act  was 
the  recession  of  these  waters  to  their  present  position,  and  the  forma- 
tion of  the  terraces.    We  believe  the  terraces  constitute  the  last  change 


176 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OP  THE  TERRITORIES. 


of  any  importance  in  the  surface  of  the  western  continent.  We  suppose 
tliat  the  channels  of  all  tlie  streams  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the  Kocky 
Mountains  were  at  one  time  occupied  with  water  from  hill  to  hill,  and 
that  the  drainage  was  toward  the  sea.  But  in  the  Great  Basin,  which, 
so  far  as  we  know,  has  no  outlet,  the  drainage  must  have  been  by  evap- 
oration, for  the  evidence  points  to  the  conclusion  that  it  was  entirely 
tilled  with  water  high  up  on  the  sides  of  the  mountains.  There  is 
greater  uuiformity  in  the  terraces  in  the  Great  Basin  than  in  the  valley 
of  the  Missouri,  which  indicates  a  far  more  equable  drainage.  Still, 
those  along  the  flanks  of  the  Wasatch  Mountains  number  two  or  three 
principal  ones,  but  these  formations  separate  into  five  or  six  5  and  iStans- 
bury  mentions  one  locality  where  there  are  ten  or  twelve  of  them.  In 
the  Missouri  Valley,  and  along  the  eastern  slope  generally,  the  terraces 
vary  much  in  height  and  importance. 

Fig.  18  shows  the  peculiar  form  of  the  main  terrace  as  shown  on  the 
Missouri  Eiver,  just  above  Omaha. 


Fig.  18. 


The  distant  hills  are  composed  of  the  yellow  marl  or  loess,  and  the 
surface  has  be^n  weathered  into  the  rounded,  conical  hills.  This  por- 
tion is  often  covered  with  the  drift  or  stray  rocks,  or  what  I  have  called 
in  a  former  report  the  erratic  block  deposit.  On  the  terraces  these  erratic 
masses  are  scarcely  ever  found,  and  in  the  broad  bottoms  of  the  Missouri 
River  seldom  if  ever.  This  fact  strengthens  the  opinion  that  the  terraces 
are  really  one  of  the  latest  features,  and  that  they  were  formed  during 
the  drainage  of  the  waters  toward  the  sea  after  the  temperature  had 
reached  nearly  its  present  state.  Oscillations  of  level  may  have  contrib- 
uted somewhat  to  the  formation  of  the  terraces,  but  I  am  inclined  to 
believe  that  the  drainage  or  the  contraction  of  the  waters  is  the  main 
cause.  This  is  an  important  point,  and  I  hope  hereafter  to  treat  it  more 
fully  when  I  have  accumulated  a  greater  number  of  facts.  It  has  been 
my  belief  for  years,  that  not  only  the  Missouri  Eiver,  but  all  the 
branches,  from  the  largest  river,  like  the  Yellowstone  or  Platte,  that 
flowed  into  it,  to  the  smallest  creek,  that  has  cut  its  caiiou  deep  iut« 
the  sides  of  the  mountains,  were  once  filled  with  water  from  side  to 
side,  but  have  gradually  shrunk  to  their  present  diminutive  proportions. 
All  over  the  West  are  large,  dry  beds  which  must  have  at  one  time 
given  passage  to  vast  bodies  of  water.  The  flanks  of  the  mountains, 
from  the  north  line  to  Mexico,  are  gashed  with  gullies  or  canons,  many 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       177 

of  which  are  now  dry  as  the  dusty  road  for  the  greater  portion  of  the 
year.  I  mention  some  of  these  details  here  simply  to  show  how  closely 
the  story  of  the  physical  growth  of  our  western  continent  is  linked 
together,  and  that  it  needs  only  the  careful,  conscientious  grouping 
together  of  the  facts  to  secure  this  history  step  by  step  from  the  earliest 
commencement  to  the  present  time,  and  mold  it  into  one  harmonious 
whole. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

OBSERVATIONS  ON  MINES— ANALYSES  OF  COALS,  ORES,  AND  SALTS. 

Although  many  valuable  observations  have  been  made  in  regard  to 
the  gold  and  silver  mines  of  the  West,  I  shall  not  attempt  to  present 
them  in  detail  at  this  time.  The  elaborate  and  elegantly  illustrated 
"  Report  on  Mining  Industry,"  prepared  under  the  direction  of  Mr. 
Clarence  King,  United  States  geologist  of  the  40th  parallel,  about  to  be 
issued  from  the  Public  Printing  Office,  covers  this  grouud  far  more 
efficiently  than  my  incidental  labors  could  do.  Mr.  R.  W.  Raymond  is 
making  a  series  of  valuable  reports  as  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Mining  Statistics,  and  the  one  already  published  for  the  years  lS69-'70 
is  quite  exhaustive,  and  to  these  works  the  reader  is  referred.  The 
latter  report  contains  an  excellent  and  lengthy  statement  of  the  condi- 
tion of  the  mines  of  the  Sweetwater  district.  In  the  preceding  pages 
some  information  is  given  in  regard  to  those  mines,  and  in  this  chapter 
a  few  additional  notes,  taken  by  Mr.  A.  L.  Ford,  mineralogist  of  the 
survey,  will  be  of  interest. 

The  object  of  this  survey  is  to  study  the  mineral  regions  more  in 
reference  to  their  geological  relations  than  with  any  special  practical 
end  in  view.  * 

In  a  previous  report  the  remarkable  parallelism  of  the  lodes  was  al- 
luded to,  and  an  attemjjt  was  made  to  show  that  this  fact  is  only  one  link 
in  a  chain  of  facts  which  may  yet  serve  to  unite  the  physical  history  of  the 
mountain  regions  of  the  West  together.  Hundreds  of  observations 
were  taken  the  past  season,  which  serve  to  show  the  definite  direction 
of  the  two  principal  sets  of  fissures  or  clefts.  The  unity  of  the  origin 
of  all  these  fissures,  whether  they  assume  the  form  of  mineral  lodes, 
dikes,  or  lines  of  fracture  of  mountain  ranges,  is  a  thought  around  which 
I  wisli  to  cluster  all  the  facts  that  can  be  secured.  Hereafter  all  these 
observations  will  be  carefully  sifted,  and  rig.  19. 

those  which  seem  to  contain  the  elements 
of  truth  will  be  found  valuable. 

In  this  connection,  two  illustrations  of 
these  fissures  may  be  introduced,  which 
will  be  of  interest.  They  are  made  by  the 
Jewett  line  relief  process,  and  are  very 
excellent.  One  of  them  presents  a  fine 
section  of  the  well-known  Gregory  lode 
at  Central  City.  This  fissure  has  a  strike 
about  northeast  and  southwest.  The 
country  rock  is  trne  gneiss,   while  the  ^ 

gangue  of  the  lode  is  mostly  feldspar  and       Gregory  Lode,  central  city, 

quartz.     So  far  as  the  history  of  its  min-  Colorado. 

eral  contents  is  concerned,  it  is  so  well  known  that  I  need  not  describe- 
it,  and  the  cut  will  explain  itself. 
12  G 


178 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 


The  dike  is  in  the  same  mountain,  not  more  than  three  hundred  yards 
from  the  Gregory  lode.    It  is  exposed  by  an  artificial  cut  for  a  road  up 

the  side  of  the  mountain,  and  but  for 
this  circumstance  "would  not  have 
been  visible  from  the  surface.  It  is 
vertical,  twenty  feet  high,  and  three 
to  four  feet  wide.  The  materials  in- 
closed in  the  dike  are  evidently  very 
old  basalt,  yellow  buff  color,  with 
cavities  filled  with  decomposed  feld- 
spar. The  country  rock  does  not  ap- 
X3ear  to  have  suff'ered  changes,  but  the 
lines  of  bedding  are  entirely  inter- 
rupted, and  curved  upward. 

The  following  notes  on  the  Sweet- 
water Mines  were  taken  by  Mr.  Ar- 
thur L.  Ford,  the  mineralogist  of  the 
expedition : 

Dyke,  near  Central  City,  CaHso    ilfmes.  —  Worked    by    Mr. 

coLojiADo.  Eoberts,  of  South  Pass  City.    Shaft 

one  hundred  and  forty  feet  deep,  sunk  in  vein  of  very  refractory  quartz- 
ite  averaging  four  and  one-half  feet  in  thickness;  strike  of  vein  north- 
west and  southeast,  with  dip  of  70°  to  northeast.  Cap  rock  and  wall 
rock  consist  of  tough  gneissoid  slate  containing  a  little  free  gold,  and 
occasionally  showing  a  few  small  cubes  of  iron  pyrites.  The  gold  con- 
taining the  quartz  is  very  finely  disseminated,  but  is  "  free  "  and  very 
pure,  and  hence  easily  amalgamated ;  it  contains  about  one-half  ounce  of 
silver.  About  four  tons  of  ore  are  being  taken  out  daily,  with  an  average 
yield  of  $75  per  ton,  and  sometimes  doubling  that  amount.  The  quartz 
is  of  remarkably  even  quality,  seldom  falling  much  below  the  average 
yield.  Mr.  Eoberts  estimates  the  gold  already  produced  to  amount  to 
about  $75,000.  The  mine  makes  very  little  water,  about  eight  or  ten 
buckets  being  taken  out  hourly. 

Young  America  Mine — Mr.  Incath,  manager.  On  same  lode  as  the 
Cariso  ;  quartz  contains  considerable  disseminated  oxide  of  iron,  but  is 
not  on  that  account  less  refractory.  Ore  averages  about  $23  per  ton — not 
visited. 

East  End  Mine — On  Miner's  Delight  lode,  Mr.  A.  C.  Hasey,  manager. 
Shaft  sunk  sixty  feet,  through  slightly  laminated,  easily- worked  quartz 
of  varying  color,  that  having  a  clear  blue  tinge  su^jposed  to  be  the  best, 
especially  if  breaking  easily  into  lamina  of  from  one  to  one  and  one- 
half  inches  in  thickness.  Strike  of  vein  northwest  and  southeast,  with 
dip  nearly  i^erpendicular.  Vein,  like  the  Cariso,  conforms  with  the 
gneissoid  slates  which  form  the  wall  rock,  and  which  are  supplanted 
toward  the  surface  by  a  porphyritic  gneiss  holding  small  quantities  of 
gold  and  overlying  the  vein,  though  not  forming  a  true  cap  rock.  Very 
small  traces  of  i^yrites  are  contained  in  both  wall  rock  and  quartz.  All 
gold,  however,  seems  to  be  full.  Seven  tons  per  day  of  ore  were  being 
taken  out  by  hand  labor,  ore  averaging  $20  per  ton.  Gold  not  so  pure 
as  that  of  Cariso,  though  very  bright  and  easily  amalgamated.  A  great 
deal  of  the  gold  is  in  flakes  of  considerable  size,  especially  between  the 
lamina  of  the  quartz.  The  quartz  is  so  soft  that  no  blasting  is  needed. 
A  good  deal  of  moss  agate  occurs  in  the  vein,  noticeable  when  the  quartz 
is  clear. 

Miner's  Delight  Mine — Just  west  of  preceding;  the  claims  join.  Lode 
is  the  same,  but  pinches  to  an  average  width  of  two  feet.    Vein  stopped 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        179 

down  eiglity-five  feet,  ore  averaging  $35  per  ton.  Mine  not  in  opera- 
tion at  present,  as  buiklings  and  macliiriery  are  in  course  of  erection. 
Tlie  superintendent  expects  to  take  out  fifteen  tons  per  day. 

Young  Canadian  Mine — One-quarter  of  a  mile  west  of  the  i)receding. 
Shaft  sunl:  eighty  feet  through  barren  lode  before  reaching  pay  streak, 
which  was  struck  only  two  or  three  days  before  the  mine  was  visited.  The 
ore  had  not  been  assayed,  but  was  pronounced  by  all  miners  in  the  vicin- 
ity to  far  exceed  in  richness  any  ore  yet  discovered  in  the  neighborhood. 

THE  COALS  OF  THE  ROCKY  MOUNTAINS.* 

The  coals  of  the  portion  of  our  continent  lying  west  of  the  Missouri 
Eiver  are  only  just  beginning  to  attract  that  attention  which  their  im- 
portance deserves.  In  the  works  heretofore  published  on  the  coal-fields 
of  the  United  States,  they  have  been  almost  neglected,  and  even  in 
Dana's  last  compendious  work  on  mineralogy,  he  disposes  of  them  with 
the  remark  that  "  tertiary  coal  occurs  on  the  Cowlitz  in  Oregon  and  in 
many  places  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  where  a 
'  lignite  formation'  is  very  widely  distributed;  but  it  is  rarely  in  beds  of 
economical  importance."  In  his  enumeration  of  the  coal-fields  of  the 
United  States  he  mentions  the  Appalachian,  the  Illinois,  the  Ehode 
Island,  and  the  Michigan  basins.  To  the  former  two  he  accords  an  area 
of  one  hundred  and  twenty  thousand  square  miles;  to  the  latter  five 
thousand  square  miles;  while  the  area  of  the  Ehode  Island  basin  is  left 
out  of  the  account  altogether;  the  total  coal  area  of  the  United  States 
being  given  as  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  thousand  square  miles. 
But  besides  these  four  basins  there  are  the  Eastern  and  Middle  Eocky 
Mountain,  the  Monte  Diablo,  and  the  Oregon  and  Alaska  beds  to  be 
considered.  Those  beds  which  occur  on  the  east  flank  of  the  Eocky 
Mountains  have  been  followed  for  five  hundred  miles  and  more,  north  and 
south;  and  if  it  be  true  that  these  are  "fragments  of  one  great  basin, 
interrupted  here  and  there  by  the  upheaval  of  mountain  chaihis,  or  con- 
cealed by  the  deposition  of  newer  formations,"!  then  their  extension 
east  and  west,  or  from  the  eastern  range  of  the  Eocky  Mountains  or 
Black  Hills  to  Weber  Caiion,  where  an  excellent  coal  is  mined,  will  fall 
but  little  short  of  five  hundred  miles.  Throughout  this  extent  these  beds 
of  coal  are  found  between  the  upper  cretaceous  and  lower  tertiary,  (or 
in  the  transition  beds  of  Hayden,)  wherever  these  transition  beds  occur, 
whether  on  the  extreme  flanks  or  in  the  valleys  and  parks  between  the 
numerous  mountain  ranges.  Assuming  that  the  eroding  agencies  -to- 
gether have  cut  off  one-half  of  the  coal  from  this  area,  and  taking  one- 
half  of  the  remainder  as  their  average  longitudinal  extent,  we  have  over 
fifty  thousand  square  miles  of  coal-lands,  accounting  the  latitudinal  ex- 
tent as  only  five  hundred  miles ;  whereas  we  have  no  reason  to  believe 
that  it  terminates  within  these  bounds,  but  on  the  contrary  good  reason 
for  supposing  that  it  extends  northward  far  into  Canada  and  south- 
ward with  the  Cordilleras.  All  this  territory  has  been  omitted  in  the 
estimate  of  the  extent  of  our  coal-fields. 

Classification  of  coals. 

The  best  classification  of  the  coals  is  that  of  Professor  Eogers  in  the 
second  volume  of  his  report  on  the  geology  of  Pennsylvania. 

*  By  Persifor  Frazier,  jr. 

t  Hayden's  Report  on  Geology  of  Colorado  and  New  Mexico. 


180       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

The  basis  of  this  division  is  partly  chemical  and  partly  structural,  the 
genera  being  derived  from  differences  in  chemical  constitution,  while 
the  species  are  made  with  reference  to  the  physical  properties  of  the 
coals.    Thus  he  separates  all  coals  into — 

^  1.  Anthracites  containing  3  to  10  jier  cent,  of  gaseous  matter,  of 
which  1  to  2  per  cent,  is  water ;  ash  in  any  ratio;  specific  grav- 
I.  {  ity  1.50. 

2.  Semi-anthracites  containing  7  to  8  per  cent,  of  volatile  combusti- 
ble matter;  does  not  intumesce. 

r  1.  Bituminous ;  carbon,  52  to  84  per  cent.;  volatile  substances  16 

jy    J  to  48  per  cent.;  ash,  2  to  20  per  cent.;  specific  gravity,  1.269. 

I  2.  Semi-bituminous ;  volatile  substances  more  than  11  to  12  j)er 

I        cent,  and  less  than  18  per  cent. 

jjy    (Hydrogenous;   volatile  substances,  30  to  70  per  ceut.;  specific 

^^^-    \     ^    gravity,  1.272. 

These  varieties  are  further  split  up,  in  the  case  of  bituminous,  into  la, 
caking  coal;  1&,  cherry  coal;  and  Ic,  splint  coal.  The  semi-bituminous 
into  2(1,  semi-bituminous  cherry  coal;  and  2/>,  semi-bituminous  splint 
coal.  The  hydrogenous,  1,  cannel  coals ;  2,  hydrogenous  shaly  coals, 
(Torbanehill,  &c.;)  and,  3,  asphaltic  coal,  (Albert  mine.) 

This  classification  takes  no  account  of  the  age  of  the  coals,  but  merely 
considers  the  nature  of  the  mineral.  Accordingly  it  will  be  found  con- 
venient of  application  to  coals  about  whose  age  there  is  yet  some  differ- 
ence of  opinion  among  geologists. 

3Iode  of  occurrence. 

The  coal  of  the  Eocky  Mountains  is  distributed  ailong  their  flanks 
as  several  leaves  in  the  great  book  of  folded  strata  and  invariably 
in  the  transition  beds  or  between  the  tertiary  and  cretaceous.  !N"o- 
where  in  the  world  is  there  such  a  vast  development  of  the  recent 
coal  measifi-es,  and  in  few  places  is  their  existence  more  necessary 
to  the  advancement  and  improvement  of  the  region  in  which  they  occur. 
They  lie  regularly  and  in  the  main  quite  horizontally,  though  close  to 
the  mountain  the  beds  are  naturally  tilted.  The  coals  are  called  vari- 
ously lignites,  brown,  semi-bituminous  and  bituminous,  though  from 
their  chemical  constitution  they  ally  themselves  much  more  nearly  with 
the  latter.  They  are  distinguished  by  their  cleavage  planes,  which  latter 
are  nearly  perpendicular  to  the  planes  of  lamination  and  to  each  other, 
and  give  to  the  coal  (which  is  usually  friable)  a  stair  form  structure, 
almost  resembling  the  crystallization  of  some  clusters  of  iron  pyrites. 
It  is  hardly  worth  while  to  say  that  these  coals  differ  in  different  local- 
ities as  to  general  structure  and  chemical  composition. 

It  would  be  an  exceedingly  interesting  piece  of  work  to  follow  up 
those  beds  from  their  easternmost  outcrop  westward  and  to  seek  to 
identify  them  in  their  different  plications.  Paleontologically  these  coals, 
containing  almost  exclusively  i)lant  fossils,  comparatively  few  shells 
have  been  discovered,  and  those  of  species  which  leave  the  real  question 
of  "  cretaceous  or  tertiary"  undecided.  The  great  mass  of  the  fossils 
are  of  deciduous  leaves,  very  much  resembling  now  existing  varieties. 
Broad  leaves  like  the  oaks  and  even  nuts  transformed  into  dull  red 
sandstone  {San  Lazaro)  (in  one  case  showing  the  kernel  and  shell  beau- 
tifully distinct  from  each  other,  where  a  fracture  of  the  latter  had  ex- 
posed the  former  to  ^iew)  are  met  with  in  the  drab  clay  and  more  espe- 
cially in  some  dark-colored  sandstones  near  the  coal.    Here,  almost  on 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       181 

tlie  threshold  of  our  own  era,  the  conditions  are  similar  in  many  respects 
to  those  which  produced  the  long  ago  carboniferous  age  ;  the  same 
great  cretaceous  sand  formation  ushering  in  the  coal  as  the  Pennsylvania 
No.  10  did  the  ftilse  coal  measures  and  the  great  conglomerate  the  real 
ones.  Here  also  we  see  mammoth  veins  and  small  veins,  indicating  a 
longer  or  shorter  period  of  deposition  or  a  greater  or  less  activity  in 
vegetable  growth.  Here,  too,  anthracites  and  semi-anthracites  have  been 
reported,  but  occupying  areas  much  more  geographically  restricted  than 
is  the  case  in  Pennsylvania.  And  stranger  than  all,  here,  too,  are  oil 
wells,  apparently  the  product  of  this  same  coal  age,  but  whose  supply 
has  trickled  through  the  loose  cretaceous  and  Jurassic  formations  and 
found  lodgment  only  in  the  impervious  triassic  beds,  perhaps  on  the 
granite  itself.  It  has  been  stated  above  that  these  coals  belong  in  the 
main  to  the  class  of  the  bituminous  coals,  both  hj  right  of  their  chemical 
constitution  and  their  i)hysical  properties.  All  the  specimens,  from  what- 
ever quarter,  which  were  obtained  by  your  expedition  belong  to  the  bitumi- 
nous class,  so  that  the  inference  seems  fair  that  only  the  middle  member 
of  the  Pennsylvania  series  of  anthracite,  semi-anthracite,  semi-bituminous, 
bituminous,  and  hydrogenous  are  represented  to  any  extent  in  this  por- 
tion of  the  Eocky  Mountains.  On  the  other  hand  I)r.  Le  Conte,  in  his 
report,  mentions  a  true  anthracite,  (88  to  91  per  centum  of  fixed  carbon,) 
and  Hollister  in  his  "  INIines  of  Colorado,"  (tlie  mineralogical  part  of 
which  was  written  by  Mr.  J.  Alden  Smith)  speaks  of  albertine  coal  as 
occurring  in  certain  parts  of  western  Colorado.  Albertine  coal  (or  solid- 
ified petroleum,  as  it  is  sometimes  improperly  called)  is  one  of  the  most 
hydrogenous  coals  known,  and  if  it  really  exists,  as  Professor  Denton  of 
Massachusetts  asserts  it  does  in  White  Eiver  in  West  Coioradb,  the 
extremes  and  middle  members  of  the  series  are  to  be  found  west  of  the 
Missouri.  Still  the  general  character  of  these  coals  is  bituminous.  The 
following  are  some  analyses  of  them. 

Bituriiinous  coal  from  Old  Placer  2Ii)ies,  San  Lazaro  Mountains,  Neio 
Mexico. — This  coal  differs  in  appearance  from  all  other  coals  found  on 
the  flanks  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  both  in  color  and  fracture.  The 
former  is  jet  black  except  on  the  couchoidal  cleavage  surfaces,  where 
the  half  metallic  bronze  lustre,  similar  to  that  of  the  anthracites,  is 
observable.  Fracture  conchoidal  and  uneven,  splintery ;  specific  gravity 
less  than  that  of  the  Pennsylvania  anthracites. 

Milligram. 

Weight  in  air  of  specimen 338. 6 

Weight  in  water  with  plat  wire  after  boiling ^ 110.  0 

Weight  of  wire  7  milligrams,  allowing  for  1  milligram  loss  of  weight  of  plat 

wire  in  water,  6  milligrams 104. 0 

338.6—104.0=234.6. 
338.6-^234.6=1,443.3  specific  gravity. 

First  analysis : 

Per  cent. 

Water  and  volatile  substances 22. 0 

Ash 8.2 

Fixed  carbon 69. 8 

Total 100.0 

/  Second  analysis : 

Water 3.0 

Volatile  substances 21.0 

Ash 7.5 

Fixed  carbon 68. 5 

Total 100.0 


182       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Third  analysis : 

Per  cent. 

Water 3.0 

Volatile  siibstancfes 22.  0 

Ash 7.5 

Fixed  carbon 67.  5 

Total 100.0 

Fourth  analysis  : 

Water  and  volatile  substances 22.  0 

Ash  7.5 

Fixed  carbon 70.5 

Total 100.0 

Fifth  analysis : 

Water  and  volatile  substances 23. 0 

Ash  7.5 

Carbon 69. 5 

Total 100.0 

*  Sixth  analysis,  (F.  P. :) 

Water 2.25 

Volatile  substances 20. 75 

Ash 6.40 

Fixed  carbon '. 70. 60 

Total 100.00 

Seventh  analysis,  (F.  P. :) 

AYater 3.75 

Volatile  substances 21. 25 

Ash 6.00 

Fixed  carbon 68.00 

Total 100.00 

Average  of  seven  analyses : 

Water 3.00 

Volatile  substances 20.  85 

Ash 7.23 

Fixed  carbon 69.  09 

Total 100.17 

Of  sidjihur  0.72  per  cent,  was  obtained. 

Bituminous  coal  from  Marshall's  jproperty  near  Boulder  City,  Colorado 
Territory. — This  coal  is  black,  (in  powder  dark  brown,)  and  wlien  ex- 
posed to  the  atmosphere  friable,  as  are  all  of  these  tertiary  coals.  Its  frac- 
ture is  conchoidal  and  the  luster  of  the  smooth  surfaces  of  fracture 
resinous. 

Specific  gravity 1.  412 

Weight  in  air 595.  06 

Weight  in  water 173.03 

First  analysis : 

Per  cent. 

Water 16.00 

Volatile  substances 38. 00 

Fixed  carbon , 42.00 

Ash 4.00 

Total 100.00 

*The  analyses  marked  P.  P.  were  made  by  Mr.  Franklin  Piatt,  jr. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.  183 

Per  cent. 
Second  analysis : 

Water  and  volatile  substances 54. 00 

Ash 4.00 

Fixed  carbon 42.00 

Total 100.00 

Third  analysis : 

Water 16.00 

Volatile  substances 38.  00 

Ash 4.50 

Fixed  carbon 41. 50 

Total 100.00 

Fourth  analysis : 

Water , 10.00 

Volatile  substances 38. 00 

Ash 5.00 

Fixed  carbon 41.  00 

Total 100.00 

Fifth  analysis : 

Water 16.00 

Volatile  substances 38.  00 

Fixed  carbon 41.  00 

Ash 5.00 

Total •  100.00 


Average  of  five  analyses : 

Water 16.00 

Volatile  substances 38. 00 

Ash 4.50 

Fixed  carbon 41. 50 


Total 100.00 

Bituminous  coal  from  Spriggs's  Mine,  Weher  Canon,  Utah  Territory. 

Water  and  volatile  substances 50.  80 

Ash 3.60 

Fixed  carbon 45.  60 

Total 100.00 


Bituminous  coal  from  Evanstown,  Union  Pacific  Railroad. — This  coal 
is  black,  (even  in  powder,)  has  a  highly  resinous  luster,  and  a  fracture 
like  the  other  coals  of  this  class,  irregular  and  conchoidal.  It  appears 
better  able  to  resist  the  action  of  the  atmosphere  than  the  other  tertiary 
coals  examined,  and  is  not  nearly  so  friable.     Its  specific  gravity  is  1.341. 

Per  cent. 
First  analysis : 

Water 6.00 

Volatile  substances 38. 00 

Ash 7.50 

Fixed  carbon 49. 50 

100. 00 

Second  analysis : 

Water 5.50 

V^olatile  substances 37. 00 


184       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Per  cent. 

Ash 7.70 

Fixed  carbon 49.80 

100.  00 

Third  analysis,  F.  P. : 

Water 6.00 

Volatile  substances 37.  00 

Ash 7,00 

Carbon 49.40 

100.  00 

Average  of  three  analyses : 

Water 5.83 

Volatile  substances 37. 40 

Ash 7.46 

Fixed  carbon 49. 50 


100. 19 


Coal  from  Ullco. — A  lignite  of  liglit-brown  color  aud  low  specific 
gravity,  possessing  tlie  feel  and  muck  of  the  appearance  of  wood  ;  is 
tougb  aud  tenacious  when  pounded  or  rubbed  in  a  mortar.  Tt  is  filled 
with  minute  specks,  of  metallic  color  and  luster. 

As  the  coal  had  been  kept  a  long  time  in  a  warm  room,  and  had  there- 
fore altered  in  respect  to  its  per  centage  of  water,  this  aud  the  volatile 
substances  were  determined  together..  A  frcsU  si>ecimen  would  proba- 
bly contain  from  7  to  10  j)er  cent,  water. 

Per  cent. 

Water  and  volatile  substances 63. 50 

Carbon 22.05 

Ash 14.50 

Sulphur 0.82 

100.  82 


Ash  is  of  a  pure  gray  color,  a  fine  dust-like  powder,  containing  but  a 
small  percentage  of  soluble  salts. 

loica  coals. — From  specimens  of  coal  sent  by  ^Rlr.  Miller,  of  the  Omaha 
Herald,  from  Des  Moines  and  Ottumwa,  Iowa,  the  following  analyses 
were  made,  and  may  be  interesting  to  compare  with  those  of  the  Eocky 
Mountain  coals : 

Per  cent. 
No.  1,  (Ottumwa,)  specific  gravity,  1.327: 

Water 12.00 

Volatile  substances 32.  00 

Ash 12.00 

Fixed  carbon "-  -  -  44. 00 

Total 100.00 

No.  2,  (Des  Moines :) 

Water 7.0 

Volatile  substances 47. 6 

Fixed  carbon 41.  4 

Ash 40.0 

Total 100.0 


Sulphur  existed  in  both  the  specimens  to  the  extent  of,  perhaps,  1  to 
2  per  cent.,  but  was  not  quantitively  determined. 


GEOLOGICAL  SDKVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       185 

Considerations  affecting  economic  value  of  these  coals. 

A  coal  to  be  of  value  in  the  arts  and  as  a  domestic  fuel  should  have 
certain  properties  which  render  it  easy  of  transportation,  not  easily  nor 
deleteriously  aifected  by  weather  or  climate ;  should  be  capable  of  rapid 
ignition,  and  of  having  its  combustion  regulated  to  suit  the  different 
circumstances  attending  its  employment;  should  be  capable  of  raising 
proportionately  to  its  bulk  and  weight  a  large  amount  of  water  to  the 
state  of  vapor,  and  should  contain  within  itself  the  least  quantities  of 
such  substances  as  by  contact  with  the  grate  bars  at  a  high  beat  woukl 
injure  them,  or  whose  products  of  combustion  are  poisonous  to  vegeta- 
tion, or  to  animal  life,  or  are  corrosive. 

It  follows  fi'om  some  of  these  conditions  that  the  coal  to  be  of  the 
greatest  possible  use  must  neither  be  crumbly  nor  so  compact  and  tough 
as  to  render  its  oxidation  difficult  by  permitting  a  comparatively  small 
extent  of  coal  surface  to  be  brought  in  contact  with  the  oxygen  of  the 
draught.  Also,  for  the  same  reasons,  it  must  not  cake  or  run  together 
so  as  to  exclude  the  air  from  its  interior  parts,  nor  pulverize  whereby 
much  loss  is  sustained  by  the  dust  being  carried  through  the  flame  and 
up  the  chimney  without  being  consumed.  Then  the  cleavage  of  the  coal 
should  be  such  that  a  large  amount  can  be  stored  without  waste  of  room 
in  the  interstices  between  the  lumps,  for  it  is  evident  that  more  material 
can  be  packed  in  a  given  space  when  the  form  of  the  separate  pieces  is 
somewhat  regular  and  the  surfaces  are  close  together,  than  where  each 
lump  touches  the  neighboring  lump  in  only  a  few  points,  leaving  an  un- 
occupied space  between  their  surfaces.  It  should  be  "hard  enough  to 
resist  the  grinding  and  pulverizing  effect  produced  by  motion  as  in  the 
bins  of  a  steamer  or  the  tender  of  a  locomotive.  In  the  article  on  the 
subject  in  Professor  Eogers's  report  on  the  geological  survey  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  author  for  many  reasons  leans  to  the  belief  that  to  the  many 
economic  purposes  the  semi-bituminous  coals  are  better  adapted  than 
any  others.  From  the  blacksmith's  forge  and  the  smelting  and  roasting 
furnace  to  the  uses  of  the  locomotive  or  the  kitchen,  the  Eocky  Mount- 
ain coals  have  been  sufficiently  proved  in  the  last  few  years  to  answer 
admirably  all  the  requirements  made  of  them.  As  it  is  not  possible 
to  obtain  all  these  good  qualities  in  any  single  fuel,  (see  Eogers's 
report,)  the  problem  in  every  case  is  to  select  that  which  possesses  the 
greatest  number  of  them.  For  instance,  for  railway  purposes  the  coal 
of  the  Eeal  Dolores,  though  containing  a  higher  percentage  of  fixed  car- 
bon, is  less  valuable  than  some  of  the  semi-bituminous  coals,  because  it 
is  neither  so  easily  ignited  nor  is  its  combustion  so  easily  regulated, 
whereas  for  domestic  and  all  other  purposes  where  the  hard  dry  coals 
are  preferred  it  is  a  most  excellent  fuel.  Those  coals  which  disintegrate 
readily  on  exposure  to  the  weather,  (this  includes  most  of  the  beds  on 
the  eastern  flanks  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  and  in  fact  the  majority  of 
the  western  coals  everywhere,)  are  not  so  serviceable  to  the  engine- 
driver  (whatever  their  percentage  of  carbon  may  be)  as  others  with 
more  ash  and  water  but  also  more  power  of  resistance  to  atmospheric 
influences. 

The  examination  of  two  samples  of  brown  coal  from  Wyoming  Terri- 
tory, by  the  very  able  chemist.  Dr.  F.  A  Genth,  of  Philadelphia,  will  be 
usefid  for  comparison  in  this  connection : 

1.  Coal  fi-om  seven  miles  east  of  Cooper  Station,  on  the  old  stage  road,  Laramie 
Plains,  Wyoming  Territory,  gave : 

Per  cent. 

Moisture 9. 28 

Volatile  matter 39.12 


186       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Per  cent. 

Carbon 47.04 

Ash,  yellowisli  brown „. . '.        4. 56 

100. 00 


It  contains  1.38  per  cent,  of  sulphur,  wliioli  is  equal  to  2.59  per  cent,  of  pyrites. 

A  determination  of  the  caloric  power  of  this  coal  showed  a  reduction  22.20  parts  of 
lead  from  the  oxide,  by  one  part  of  coal,  while  pure  carbon  reduces  34  parts  of  lead. 

2.  Coal  from  Point  of  Rocks  Station,  North  Pacific  Railroad,  Wyoming  Territory, 
gave : 

Per  cent. 

Moisture 8.  54 

Volatile  matter 30.60 

Carbon 52.34 

Ash,  white 8.  52 


100. 00 


It  contains  a  very  minute  quantity  of  sulphur,  only  0.04  per  cent.,  which  is  equal  to 
0.075  per  cent.  j)yrites.  One  part  of  this  coal  is  capable  of  reducing  21.80  parts  of  lead 
fi'om  the  oxide. 

The  following  notes  present  the  results  of  actual  experiments  on  our 
diifereut  western  coals,  by  Mr.  Samuel  Puruell,  superintendent  of  the 
Omaha  Gas  Works.  It  will  be  seen  at  a  glance  that  their  practical 
character  renders  them  worthy  of  attention.  It  is  my  wish  to  include 
in  these  reports  all  the  information  possible  that  will  be  likely  to  jirove 
of  practical  interest  to  the  West : 

The  results  of  the  working  of  one  ton  of  lignite,  or  Rocky  Mountain  coal,  from 
Evanston,  Utah,  in  the  Omaha  Gas  Works,  are  as  follows  : 

Weight  of  coal  used,  2,000  pounds ;  gas  made,  7,400  cubic  feet ;  time  of  charges  3^ 
hours;  tested  in  clay  retorts,  at  bright  orange  heat,  (21  90°;)  candle  power  of  the  gas 
at  the  works,  7  to  8 ;  but  will  not  carry  its  carbon  in  the  street  mains,  burning  blue  in 
the  town ;  water  produced  from  the  coal,  20  gallons ;  tar  xiroduced,  1  gallon. 

The  gas  possessed  a  most  offensive  sulphurous  odor,  which  neither  lime  nor  oxide  of 
iron  puriiicatiou  would  remove,  and  which  was  neutral  to  test  papers.  The  residue  in 
the  retorts,  as  coke,  consisted  of  12  bushels  of  earthy  breeze,  in  small  cubes,  which, 
when  put  in  the  furnace  fires,  smothered  them.  The  coke  is  worthless  for  heating  pur- 
poses.   The  coal  is  worthless  for  gas  purposes. 

Coal  from  Rock  Springs,  Wyoming,  was  also  tested,  and  it  is  precisely  similar. 

I  have  carefully  analyzed  a  sample  of  coal  taken  from  a  bed  seven  inches  thick,  nine 
miles  below  Omaha,  on  the  Omaha  and  Great  Western  Railroad. 

Per  cent. 

Volatile  matter 42.  62 

Coke 54.88 

Ash 11.00 

Sulphur 00.50 

100.  00 


The  coal  is  black,  bituminous,  and  contains  in  small  quantity  sulphide  of  lime,  sul- 
phide of  iron,  and  oxide  of  iron.  The  coke  is  good,  of  moderate  firmness,  and  of  bright 
luster.  By  the  sujoiued  table  of  comparative  analyses,  the  coal  is  found  to  be  almost 
identical  with  the  Missouri  and  Iowa  coals. 

Coal.                                               Volatile  matter.  Coke.  Ash 

Omaha 42.87  46.13  11.00 

Des  Moines,  Iowa 44.  00  47. 50  8. 50 

Ottumwa,  Iowa 44.50  44.57  10.93 

Frederick,  Iowa 47.67  42.33  10.00 

Osage  River,  Missouri 43.50  51.16  5.34 

Rock  River,  Illinois 44.50  45.50  10.00 

Clarksburg,  West  Virginia 41.66  56.74  1.60 


GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY    OF    THE    TERRITOEIES.  187 

ALICALI  FROM  PUNTIA  PASS.* 

The-  word  alkali  is  used  on  tlie  Plains  to  indicate  a  saline  deposit 
wliich  covers  often  manj^  miles  of  low,  arid  country,  and  appears  in 
streaks  stretching  far  away  in  all  directions  and  sometimes  giving'  the 
country  the  appearance  of  a  plain  covered  by  a  sheet  of  snow.  It  is 
very  generally  believed  by  the  inhabitants  that  this  alkali  is  the  cause  of 
the  sterility  in  connection  with  which  it  almost  always  occurs ;  but  the 
fact  is  that  one  circumstance  favors  its  continuance  upon  the  soil  and 
interferes  with  vegetation,  and  that  is  the  want  of  rain.  Any  contina- 
ous  rain  would  undosibtedly  dissolve  this  material  and  carry  it  away  in 
the  streams  or  through  the  subsoil.  It  is  not  quite  certain  that  a  soil 
charged  with  the  salts  of  which  this  alkali  is  composed  would  not  fur- 
nish more  nutriment  than  another  to  certain  kinds  of  growth.  At  all 
events,  where  the  experiment  has  been  tried  the  j)lants  have  grown  re- 
markably well  upon  it  with  i^roper  treatment. 

The  probable  origin  of  these  deposits  has  been  thought  to  be  the 
evaporation  of  numerous  shallow  pools,  perhaps  left  by  the  subsidence 
of  a  large  inland  sea  or  system  of  lakes,  and  the  analogy  in  chemical 
constitution  between  this  material  and  the  deposit  around  the  margins 
of  still-existing  pools  (like  the  Soda  Lake,  twelve  miles  from  Denver) 
seems  to  bear  out  the  hypothesis. 

This  alkali  is  a  grayish-white  deposit,  mixed  up  with  the  dry  roots 
and  stems  of  sage-brush  and  other  vegetation,  from  which  it  derives 
frequently  a  reddish-brown  tinge.    It  is  -dry  and  efflorescent. 

It  has  a  decided  alkaline  and  salty  taste  and  low  specific  gravity. 

It  contains  soda,  lime,  and  magnesia,  sulphuric  acid,  hydrochloric 
acid,  and  a  small  quantity'  of  nitric  acid,  and  consists  of  sulphates  of 
soda,  lime,  and  magnesia,  chloride  of  sodium,  and  nitrate  of  soda. 

SODA  FROM  SODA  LAKE. 
(12  miles  from  Denver,  Colorado  Territory.) 

A  white,  efflorescent  salt,  falling  to  powder  on  exposure  to  the  air,  con- 
taining sulphate  of  soda,  sulphate  of  lime,  sulphate  of  magnesia,  and 
chloride  of  sodium. 

Per  cent. 

Sulphate  of  soda 63.87 

SuliAato  of  lime 9. 70 

"Water  of  crystalization  of  the  effloresence 21.  88 

Chloride  of  sodium,  sulphate  of  magnesia.,  &c 4.55 

tl  inclose  the  results  of  the  analysis  of  the  specimens  of  alkali  col- 
lected during  last  summer's  survey  of  Wyoming  Territory. 

jSTo.  1.  From  Alkaline  Lake  two  miles  east  of  Independence  Eock,  in 
the  Sweetwater  Valley : 

Per  cent. 

Sulphate  of  soda,  (NaO,  SO3) 73.17 

Chloride  of  sodium,  (Na,  CI) 3.85 

Carbonate  of  soda,  |  (by  loss) 22.  98 

100. 00 


*  Prepared  by  Persifor  Frazer,  jr. 

t  Prepared  by  Arther  L.  Ford,  mineralogist  to  the  survey. 

t  Owing  to  this  siiecimen's  effervescing  on  being  dissolved  in  water,  it  was  impossi- 
ble to  determine  the  proportion  of  carbonic  acid,  but  the  salt  seems  to  have  been  a 
sesquicarbonate,  the  whole  specimen  being  probably  identical  with  or  similar  to  that 
referred  to  by  Dana  in  his  mineralogy,  under  the  head  of  Trona,  as  occurring  near  the 
Sweetwa-ter  River. 


188     •   GEOLOGICAL  SUKVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

No.  2.  From  alkaline  effloresence  ou  damp  ground,  seven  miles  west 
of  St.  Mary's  Station,  in  the  Sweetwater  Valley : 

Per  cent. 

Sulphate  of  soda,  (Na  O,  S  O3),  to 88.93 

Chloride  of  sodium,  (Na,  CI),  to 11.63 

100, 56 

No.  3.  From  deposit  near  Pacific  Springs : 

Per  cent. 

Sulphate  of  soda,  (Na  0,  S  O3) 82.23 

Chloride  of  sodium,  (Na,  CI) 3,95 

Carbonate  of  soda,  (by  loss) 14, 82 

100. 00 

No.  4.  From  deposit  by  evaporation  of  Alkaline  Pond,  near  Big  Sandy 
Eiver. 
No.  4,  (a.)  From  upper  part  of  bank,  where  deposition  commenced : 

Per  cent. 

Sulphate  of  soda,  (Na  O,  S  O3) 64.65 

Chloride  of  sodium  (Na,  CI... 35.46 

100. 11 
No.  4,  (&.)  Taking  half  way  between  upper  and  lower  limit  of  deposit : 

Vex  cent. 

Sulphate  of  soda,  NaO,  S  O3) .\.  94.92 

Chloride  of  sodium,  (Na,  CI) 5.23 

100. 15 

No.  4,  (c.)  From  lowest  part  of  pond,  when  last  deposition  took  place, 
consists  of  slender  orthorhombic  prisms  of  pure  sulphate  of  soda — she- 
nardite : 

Per  cent. 
Sulphate  of  soda,  (Na  O,  S  O3) 100.00 

All  the  specimens  appear  to  be  absolutely  free  from  any  salts  of  po- 
tassa,  an  examination  by  the  spectroscope  even  failing  to  show  the  pres- 
ence of  that  base. 


I>J!lRT     III. 


REPORT  OF  PROFESSOR  CYRUS  THOMAS. 


PART  I.— AGRICULTURE. 

PART  II. -A  LIST  AND  DESCRIPTIONS  OF  NEW  SPECIES  OF  ORTHOPTERA, 
WITH  REMARKS  ON  THE  CALOPIENUS  SPBETUS,  OR  "HATEFUL 
GRASSHOPPER." 


KEPORT 


Deae  Sir  :  I  herewith  present  a  report  of  my  investigations  in  regard 
to  the  agricultural  capacity  of  that  part  of  the  Kocky  Mountain  region 
over  which  your  operations  as  United  States  geologist  have  extended 
during  the  past  season.  Although  the  immediate  route  of  this  expedi- 
tion Avas  confined  principally  to  Wyoming  Territory,  I  have,  in  accord- 
ance with  your  instructions,  endeavored  to  complete  my  report  on  that 
part  of  Colorado  and  New  Mexico  examined  in  18G9.  By  your  direction 
I  also  visited  the  Salt  Lake  basin,  and  have  added  a  short  account  of 
that  interesting  section,  including  a  few  items  concerning  other  portions 
of  Utah. 

At  the  risk  of  being  somewhat  monotonous  by  the  repetition  of  sim- 
ilar details,  I  have  endeavored  to  confine  myself  strictly  within  the  lim- 
its of  the  subject  upon  which  I  have  been  required  to  report. 

Instead  of  giving  details  in  a  journalistic  form,  which  would  have 
amounted  to  little  more  than  an  itinerary,  I  have  endeavored  to  follow  out 
as  far  as  possible  the  plan  pursued  in  my  report  of  last  year,  describing 
the  areas  in  these  Territories  drained  by  the  large  rivers,  as  separate  dis- 
tricts. I  have  divided  the  entire  region  into  two  parts  called  "  divi- 
sions," one  including  the  area  east  of  the  divide,  between  the  waters  of 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific,  and  the  other  the  area  west  of  it.  The  east- 
ern division  contains  five  districts,  corresponding  with  the  Rio  Grande, 
Arkansas,  South  Platte,  North  Platte,  and  Wind  Elvers.  The  western 
comprises  the  Green  lliver  District  and  Great  Salt  Lake  basin. 

I  have  attempted  in  most  instances  to  make  some  estimate  of  the 
amount  of  tillable  lands  in  the  different  districts  and  sections. 

As  a  matter  of  course  I  do  not  claim  that  these  are  anything  more 
than  approximations,  made  in  some  instances  upon  slender  data,  yet 
they  are  not  mere  guesses,  but  are  made  up  fi'om  estimates  of  the  smal- 
ler subdivisions  and  separate  areas,  and  are,  at  least,  near  enough  the 
correct  amounts  to  give  a  general  idea  of  the  agricultural  value  of  the 
diilierent  districts  and  sections.  Although  I  exclude  from  these  esti- 
mates any  probable  future  success  and  use  of  artesian  wells,  yet  I  in- 
clude all  possible  j)resent  means  of  irrigation. 

Eespecting  those  parts  of  these  sections  which  I  was  unable  to  visit 
in  i^erson,  I  have  endeavored  to  obtidn  the  most  reliable  information 
l)0ssible. 

Your  operations  during  the  past  season  have  developed  the  fact  that 
in  regions  which  have  generally  been  considered  sterile  and  unproduc- 
tive, there  are  large  areas  of  land  which  by  proper  eflbrts  may  be  ren- 
dered tillable  and  made  to  produce  useful  crops. 

In  my  investigations  I  have  constantly  looked  forward  to  the  con- 
struction of  a  map  of  these  Territories  which  will  show  the  comparative 
extent  and  locality  of  the  irrigable  areas,  the  pastoral  lands,  and  the 
timbered  sections.  Such  a  map,  accompanied  by  a  condensed  state- 
ment of  all  important  facts  connected  therewith,  would  not  only  be  of 
great  value  to  those  who  contemplate  removing  to  the  West,  but  would 
be  a  valuable  vade  meciim  for  our  public  officers,  Senators  and  Eepresen* 
tatives,  and  the  public  generally.  ,     / 


192  GEOLOGICAL   SUEVEY    OF   THE    TEREITOEIES. 

The  subject  of  irrigation  is  one  inseparably  connected  witli  tlie  agri- 
cultural development  of  this  section,  and  deserves  to  be  carefully  stud- 
ied. The  time  given  for  the  preparation  of  this  preliminary  report  has 
been  too  short  to  enter  upon  a  thorough  discussion  of  it,  but  I  have 
added  a  few  facts  in  my  concluding  remarks,  in  order  to  direct  atten- 
tion to  the  data  needed  in  its  investigation. 

If  you  continue  your  surveys  I  would  suggest  the  propriety  ot  falhng 
up  as  rapidly  as  possible  the  vacuities  in  the  data  obtained  in  regard  to 
the  sections  already  passed  over.  I  am  aware  that  you  did  not  possess 
the  facilities  for  doing  this  in  your  previous  expeditions,  but  the  value  of 
your  previous  labors,  so  far  as  the  agricultural  investigations  go,  will  be 
very  much  enhanced  by  doing  this.  I  allude  to  the  measurement  of  the 
principal  streams,  their  descent,  volume,  velocity,  &c.,  and  the  couipar- 
ative  altitude  of  the  different  levels  and  plains  above  the  level  ot  the 
irrigating  streams,  by  some  instrument  more  accurate  than  the  ba- 

I  take  pleasure  in  acknowledging  my  obligations  to  the  citizens  gen- 
erally along  our  route,  for  information  obtained  from  them,  and  espe- 
cially to  the  oflacers  and  others  at  the  military  posts,  for  their  uniform 
kindness  and  willingness  to  assist  me  in  my  investigations.  1  am  also 
under  obligations  to  the  Denver  Pacific  and  the  Kansas  Pacific  Eail- 
roads,  for  passes  over  these  roads  and  information  furnished.  Nor  can 
I  refrain  from  mentioning  the  fact  that  I  am  indebted  to  Wm.  N.  Byers, 
esq.,  of  Denver,  and  Dr.  Latham,  of  Laramie  City,  for  valuable  ma- 
terial furnished  me  for  this  report.  ,    ,    ^  -x  •    ^     r 

I  am  aware  this  report  bears  marks  of  haste,  and  that  it  is  tar  trom 
being  complete,  but  trusting  that  it  will  prove  satisfactory, 

•     I  remaia  yours,  ™ry  respectfully,  OYEUS  THOMAS. 

Professor  P.  V.  Hayden, 

United  States  Geologist. 


PAET  I.— AGEICULTUEE. 

INTRODUCTION. 

In  studying  the  agricultural  capacity  of  the  vast  Eocky  Mountain 
reo-ion  and  broad  plains  of  the  West,  and  calculating  the  probable 
development  of  the  same,  it  is  necessary  to  lay  aside,  to  a  great  extent, 
all  our  ideas  of  agriculture  based  upon  experience  m  the  States.  Por 
not  only  are  the  physical  aspects  of  this  portion  of  the  West  so  differeait 
from  the  eastern  half  of  our  country  as  to  strike  the  most  superficial 
observer,  but  the  climate  is  almost  completely  reversed,  the  thermom- 
etric  and  hygrometric  conditions  bearing  no  such  relations  to  vegetation 
and  agriculture  here  as  there.  „     .,.,         ,        i     ,  • 

Hence,  the  criteria  by  which  we  judge  of  the  fertility  and  productive- 
ness of  the  soil,  and  of  its  adaptation  to  given  products,  (except,  perJiaps, 
the  strictly  chemical  test,)  do  not  hold  good  here.  The  pale  appearance 
of  the  soil,  the  barren  look  and  stunted  growth  of  a  spot,  are  by  no  means 
conclusive  evidences  of  its  sterility,  for  the  application  of  water  may 
show  it  to  be  rich  in  vegetative  force.  Plants  which  are  Considered  as 
incompatible  in  other  sections  are  often  here  found  growing  side  by 
side,  while  others  usually  associated  are  here  never,  or  but  seldom,  found 
too-ether.    Even  the  constants— latitude  and  elevation— cannot  always 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        193 

be  taken  as  true  indices  of  temperature  and  vegetable  life,  on  account 
of  strong  counteracting  local  intiuenees.  The  tem])eratnre  of  a  valley, 
during  the  latter  lialf  of  the  summer  and  through  autumn,  may  ])resent 
an  average  which  -would  indicate  a  climate  adapted  to  the  production 
of  even  tender  fruits;  while  a  record  of  the  temperature  of  the  same 
place,  during  the  spring  and  the  first  half  of  the  summer,  would  show  a 
very  different  average.  And  even  a  knowkMlge  of  this  fact  nniy  not 
thoroughly  acquaint  us  with  the  cliuuite  and  the  agricultural  capacity 
of  the  place,  as  the  presence  of  lofty  mountains  near  by,  with  snow- 
covered  summits,  may  reduce  the  temperature  of  the  nights  very  low  as 
compared  with  that  of  the  day,  and  thus  retard  tlu^,  growth  of  crops 
which  otherwise  would  mature  and  produce  well.  On  the  contrary,  at 
other  points  a  lofty  range  may  act  as  a  wall  against  the  cold  winds,  and 
under  its  cover  may  be  found  nestling  little  valleys  with  a  ('omparatively 
mild  climate.  Nor  are  these  imaginary  cases,  for  I  could  refer  to  numer- 
ous instances  of  each  class. 

Hence,  I  conclude  that  any  attempt  to  generalize  by  talang  latitude 
and  elevation,  or  even  the  average  annual  temi)erature,  would  require 
so  many  exceptions  that  the  result  would  be  of  no  practical  value.  Yet 
these  are  by  no  means  to  be  excluded. 

On  account  of  the  reasons  given,  and  others  equally  potent  which 
might  be  mentioned,  the  agricultural  capacity  of  this  region  must  be 
studied  from  its  own  stand-point ;  and  each  section  must  be  carefnllj' 
examined.  Otherwise  we  are  very  apt,  from  our  experience  in  other 
portions  of  the  country,  to  form  erroneous  conclusions.  Injustice,  on 
this  account,  is  often  done  to  this  section  by  travelers  who  pass  hastily 
through  it,  along  the-  railroad  lines,  judging  of  the  fertility  and  pro- 
ductiveness of  aspot  by  comparing  it  with  the  rain-moistened  land  of 
the  States.  I  recollect  an  incident  which  will  serve  to  illustrate  the 
truth  of  this  remark.  Eiding  in  the  cars,  along  the  slightly- elevated 
bottom  which  Hanked  a  little  stream,  but  which,  to  the  eye,  had  a  very 
barren  appearance — being  sparsely  covered  with  "  grease- wood  "  {Obi- 
one  canescens)  and  little  tufts  of  dry  grass — I  remarked  to  a  passenger 
that,  notwithstanding  its  barren  appearance,  this  bottom  could  be  irri- 
gated from  the  stream  and  would  produce  good  crops  of  wheat,  oats, 
barley,  and  the  hardier  vegetables.  I  could  see  that  this  remark  pro- 
A'oked  a  smile  of  derision  on  the  countenances  of  those  in  ear-shot.  Yet 
if  they  hatl  gone  a  few  miles  from  the  road  they  could  have  seen  my 
assertion  verified.  But  this  erroneous  idea  stops  not  with  the  uninter- 
ested traveler,  who  is  only  anxious  to  reach  the  terminus  of  his  journey  ; 
even  official  documents,  issuing  from  quarters  we  would  have  supposed 
best  informed,  have  sometimes  too  hastily  and  in  too  general  terms  con- 
demned this  vast  area  as  sterile  and  desolate. 

The  following  extracts  from  an  opinion  deliberately  penned,  even  after 
the  extensive  surveys  of  1853  and  1854,  will  stand  in  strong  contrast 
with  the  evidences  of  to-day  : 

The  concurring  testimony  of  reliable  observers  had  indicated  that  the  second  divis- 
ion, or  that  called  the  sterile  region,  (the  Plains),  was  so  inferior  in  vegetation  and 
character  of  soil,  and  so  dehcient  in  moisture,  that  it  had  received,  and  probably  de- 
served, the  name  of  desert.  This  opinion  is  confirmed  by  the  results  of  recent  explora- 
tions, which  prove  that  the  soil  of  the  greater  part  of  this  region  is,  from  its  consiitumt 
2)arts,  necessarily  sterile  ;  and  that  of  the  remaining  part,  although  well  constituted  for 
fertility,  is,  from  the  absence  of  rains  at  certain  seasons,  except  where  capable  of  irri- 
gation, as  uncnltivable  and  unproductive  as  the  other.  This  general  character  of  ex- 
treme sterility  likewise  belongs  to  the  country  embraced  in  the  mountain  region. 

The  winter  then  proceeds  to  sum  i\])  the  areas  susceptible  of  cultiva- 
tion as  follows:  Near  the  route  of  the  47th  parallel  one  thousand  square 
13  G 


194  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

miles;  along  the  41st  and  38tli  parallels  only  the  Great  Salt  Lake  basin, 
estimated  at  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  eight  square  miles;  and 
that  in  New  Mexico  at  seven  hundred  square  miles. 

Experiments  made  during  the  fifteen  years  which,  have  elapsed  since 
the  above  was  written,  have  sbov^ai  that  about  one-third  of  the  entire 
amount  of  arable  land  mentioned  can  be  found  in  the  little  triangle  be- 
tween the  South  Platte  and  the  mountains,  in  Northern  Colorado. 

Startling  as  the  statement  may  appear  to  those  who  have  swept 
across  the  continent  along  the  barren-looking  track  of  the  Union  Pacific 
Ilailroad,  I  assert  it  as  my  firm  conviction  that  there  are  but  few  lands 
in  all  this  portion  of  the  country  which  are  really  unproductive ;  that 
wherever  there  is  soil,  if  water  can  be  applied  to  it,  it  will  be  found  rich 
in  all  the  primary  elements  necessary  to  the  production  of  useful  crops 
of  some  kind.  Without  water  as  a  matter  of  course  it  cannot  be  made 
to  yield,  and  the  crops  produced  will  vary  with  the  climate ;  but  these 
facts  do  not  affect  the  position  I  take  in  regard  to  the  primitive  fertility 
of  the  soil. 

As  I  have  heretofore  stated  that  the  tests  of  fertility  in  the  rain- 
moistened  regions  would  not  apply  here,  the  question  maybe  asked.  Upon 
what  is  the  assertion  based  that  this  soil  possesses  the  elements  of  pro- 
ductiveness"?  Upon  numerous  experiments,  the  only  means  I  know  by 
which  I  could  have  been  convinced  of  the  fact. 

It  is  only  after  a  careful  examination  of  a  vast  number  of  experiments 
made  in  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  Wyoming,  Utah,  &c.,  that  I  am  fonjed 
to  acknowledge  what  I  before  did  not  believe,  viz:  that  wherever  there 
is  soil  in  these  regions^  it  is  rich  in  the  primary  elements  of  fertilitij. 

Emory,  in  his  "  Ileconnoissance  in  New  Mexico  and  California,"  speak- 
ing of  the  Moro  Valley,  says :  "  The  plains  were  strewed  with  fragments  of 
brick-dust  colored  lava,  scoriae,  and  slag ;  the  hills  to  the  left  capped 
with  white  granular  quartz.  The  plains  are  almost  destitute  of  vege- 
tation ;  the  hills  bear  a  stunted  growth  of  piiion  and  red  cedar."  And 
although  he  adds  that  rain  had  recently  fallen,  and  that  the  grass  in  the 
bottom  was  good,  yet  it  fails  to  obliterate  the  picture  of  barrenness  he 
had  drawn.  But  that  which  wore  such  a  desolate  a[)pearance  in  1846  is 
now  one  of  the  richest  wheat-growing  valleys  in  the  whole  Territory, 
its  only  rival  being  the  Taos  Valley,  which  was  once  covered  with  nothing 
l)ut  sage-bushes,  {Artemisia,)  and  was  likewise  counted  as  barren  and 
worthless. 

Nestling  high  amid  the  snow-crowned  granite  peaks  of  the  Eocky 
Mountains  lies  the  little  valley  of  the  Upper  Arkansas,  where  we  would 
scarcely  expect  to  find  an  arable  spot.  Yet  experiment  proves  that  even 
this  elevated  place,  covered  with  the  rough  local  drift  from  the  barren 
metamorphic  peaks  around  it,  when  irrigated,  is  productive,  and  yields 
rich  crops  of  the  cereals,  potatoes,  &c.  The  fossil-bearing  deposits  in 
the  Bridger  basin,  on  account  of  their  worn,  washed,  and  barren  ap- 
pearance, have  been  compared  with  the  Mauvaises  Terres  of  Dakota, 
and  have  generally  been  considered  by  travelers  utterly  worthless  in  an 
agricultural  point  of  view  ;  yet  the  productive  farais  along  Smith's  Eork 
will  suffice  to  convince  the  most  incredulous  of  the  error  of  this  opin- 
ion. Necessity  for  a  sui^ply  of  fresh  vegetables  to  the  mining  popula- 
tion around  South  Pass  has  brought  out  the  fact  that  the  valleys  along 
the  tributaries  of  Wind  Hi ^^er  will  produce  fine  and  abundant  crops  of 
all  the  hardier  vegetables.  And  almost  on  the  mountain  crest  at  Fort 
Sanders  the  industrious  officers  and  soldiers  of  the  post  have  demon- 
strated the  fact  that,  despite  the  barren  appearance  of  the  soil,  the  bleak 
winds  of  their  elevated  position,  and  the  early  frosts  and  snows  of  their 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       195 

climato,  useful  crops  can  be  pi'odnced  even  berc ;  and  prolonged  exper- 
iments have  shown  that  even  si)Ots  so  thickly  frosted  over  with  alka- 
line deposit.s  as  to  destroy  vegetable  and  animal  life  can  be  rendered 
fertile  and  made  to  ])ro(lnce  abundant  crops. 

As  a  final  illustration,  1  would  refer  to  the  efforts  of  the  Mormons  on 
the  Rio  Virgin,  along  the  Arizonian  border,  where  1  might  truly  say, 
amid  basaltic  hills  and  drifting  sands  the  desert  is  being  turned  into  a 
blooming  garden.  Perhaps  a  more  desolate-looking  region  tban  the 
vicinity  of  St.  George  could  scarcely  have  been  selected  ;  yet  the  ap- 
plication of  water  shows  that  here,  as  elsewhere,  the  soil  is  rich  in  the 
mineral  elements  necessary  to  fertility. 

Another  fact  with  which  our  investigations  must  begin  is,  that  as  a 
rule,  which  has  but  few  exceptions,  irrigation  is  necessary  to  the  culti- 
vation of  the  soil. 

As  Avater  is,  therefore,  the  great  desideratum  in  the  agricultural 
development  of  this  country,  in  the  method  of  its  distribution  we  shall 
find  the  true  key  to  the  agricultnral  systems  of  the  West,  and  its  turn- 
ing sheds  the  boundaries  of  the  districts.  I  adopted  this  as  the  basis 
of  the  plan  of  my  report  of  last  season,  and  subsequent  and  more  ex- 
tended observations  and  investigations  have  served  to  confirm  me  in 
the  position  then  taken. 

If  I  am  correct  in  the  foregoing  opii^ions,  then  a  general  description 
of  the  arable  lands  of  this  section  implies  a  description  of  the  portions 
that  can  be  irrigated.  But  a  description  of  what  may  hereafter  possi- 
bly become  arable  widens  the  field  and  introdnces  the  question  of  an 
increase  of  moisture,  with  which  I  do  not  propose  dealing  at  present, 
but  may  allude  to  hereafter. 

Althongh  there  is  not  one  monotonous  uniformity  throughout  this 
vast  extent  of  country,  yet  there  is  nothing  like  the  variety  to  be  found 
between  the  Mississippi  and  Atlantic.  To  know  that  a  given  spot  is 
covered  with  a  sufticient  depth  of  soil,  and  is  susceptible  of  irrigation^ 
is  to  know  that  it  will  produce  the  cereals,  the  common  vegetables  and 
frnits,  except  so  far  as  limited  by  climate.  The  change  in  soil  and  veg- 
etation in  passing  from  the  eastern  to  the  western  "slope  of  the  great 
divide  between  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  is  tar  less  than  is 
generally  supposed. 

Daring  the  two  years  I  have  been  connected  with  the  United  States 
geological  survey  of  these  Territories,  having  traversed  the  country 
north  and  sonth,  from  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Grande  to  the  southern 
tributaries  of  the  Yellowstone;  aiul  east  and  west  from  the  plains  east 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  to  the  Great  Salt  Lake  basin,  I  shall  give,  in 
as  full  and  comprehensive  manner  as  possible,  in  a  short  preliminary  re- 
port, a  description  of  the  various  arable  districts  embraced  within  the 
boundary  mentioned,  omitting  what  has  already  been  reported  upon. 
Following  out  the  plan  already  suggested,  the  different  water-sheds, 
and  systems  of  valleys  which  lead  to  the  large  streams  that  drain  the 
country,  will  form  the  districts  to  be  considered  separately.  And  these 
are  generally  so  Avell  marked  that  but  little  ditficulty  is  experienced 
in  tracing  them. 

The  central  axis  of  the  Rocky  Mountain  chain  divides  this  area  into 
two  unequal  and  irregular  divisions  ;  the  eastern  division  being  drained 
by  the  following  rivers:  the  Rio  Grande,  the  Arkausas,  the  Platte, 
and  the  Big  Horn,  which  form  the  water  systems  of  the  eastern  shed 
within  the  territory  under  consideration.  The  western  division  com- 
prises two  very  dilierent  systeijis,  the  one  being  drained  by  Green  River, 
whose  waters  ultimately  reach  the  Pacific  through  the  Gulf  of  Califor- 


196       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Ilia.    The  other  is  the  Great  Salt  Lake  basin,  whose  waters  empty  into 
the  hikes  contained  within  it,  or  are  lost  in  the  sands  of  its  plains. 

THE  EASTERN  DIVISION. 

As  before  stated,  this  division  includes  all  the  territory  under  consid- 
eration which  lies  east  of  the  divide  between  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic 
and  Pacific.  It  embraces  the  areas  drained  by  the  Rio  Grande,  the  Ar- 
kansas, the  Platte,  (or  rather  the  Plattes.)  and  the  Big  Horn  Elvers  and 
their  tributaries.  These  areas,  although  very  irregular  and  unequal,  are 
generally  separated  from  each  other  bj^  very  distinct  boundaries,  and 
can  be  traced  without  difficulty. 

The  Eio  Grande  basin,  although  belonging  to  this  division,  because 
its  waters  find  their  way  to  the  Atlantic,  is  in  fact  situated  in  a  bifur- 
cation of  the  Ivocky  Mountain  range,  pointing  southward.  And  as  the 
larger  and  loftier  extension  of  this  bifurcation  is  the  eastern  prong,  the 
basin  lies  west  of  it.  The  western  rim  of  this  division,  which  is  the 
divide  between  the  waters  of  the  east  and  the  west,  beginning  at  the 
southern  extremity  and  going  northward,  runs  about  as  follows :  With 
the  Mimbres  Mountains  to  the  i)lains  of  San  Augusta;  thence  slightly 
northwest  along  the  Zuni  range  to  Campbell's  Pass,  where,  turning  north- 
east, it  passes  along  Mesa  Fachada  to  the  Sierra  de  San  Juan,  which 
forms  the  western  rim  of  the  San  Luis  Valley.  From  the  vicinity  of 
Coochetopa  Pass,  running  west  of  the  Upper  Arkansas  Valley,  and 
west  of  South  Park,  it  saddeuly  turns  eastward  and  wands  around  Mid- 
dle Park,  throwing  this  basin  on  the  west.  North  of  this  it  again  bends 
westward  arou_ud  the  Isl^orth  Park,  where  the  character  of  the  range  is 
again  changed.  Ijosiug  its  compact  form,  it  breaks  up  into  irregular 
branches  and  broken  chains,  separated  by  elevated  intervening  plains, 
which  are  traversed  by  short  ridges  and  mountains.  The  main  divide, 
which  is  less  elevated  here  than  farther  south,  bends  somewhat  abruptly 
to  the  northwest,  connecting  with  the  Wind  River  Mountains,  near 
South  Pass.  The  latter  range  forms  the  western  boundary  of  the  Big 
Horn  basin,  the  northern  district  of  the  division  under  consideration. 

The  eastern  boundary  of  this  division,  as  fixed  by  nature,  is  the  line 
where  irrigation  becomes  necessary  as  we  move  west  from  the  Mississippi. 
But  since  this  is  difficult  to  determine  definitely,  I  have  limited  my  ex- 
aminations to  the  boundaries  of  the  three  Territories  within  which  the 
work  of  the  expedition  was  principally  confined  daring  18G9  and  1870. 
This  embraces  nearly  all  of  Kew  Mexico,  the  eastern  half  of  Colorado, 
and  (by  including  the  Powder  River  country)  all  of  Wyoming,  except 
a  small  triangular  area  in  the  southwest  corner,  and  amounts  in  the 
aggregate  to  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square  miles. 

Of  this  area  perhaps  three-tenths,  or  seventy-five  thousand  square 
miles,  could  no"t  be  cultivated  if  every  other  obstacle  except  its  rugged- 
uess  were  removed.  Of  the  remaining  seven-tenths  we  may  set  down 
five-tenths  as  at  present  without  a  sufficient  supply  of  water  for  irriga- 
tion. This  leaves  two-tenths,  or  about  fifty  thousand  square  miles,  which 
are,  or  may  be  rendered  arable  by  irrigation,  and  whi(;h,  at  a  moderate 
estimate,  would  support  a  population  of  several  millions.  It  is  true  that 
this  is  but  an  estimate  in  round  numbers,  liable  to  be  considerably  modi- 
fied, and  which  will,  by  many,  be  considered  as  exaggerated,  but  I  make 
it  after  having  traversed  the  entire  division  from  one  extremity  to  the 
other;  and  I  believe  it  will  inwove  to  be  nearer  correct  than  the  limited 
estimates  which  ha^e  heretofore  been  made  in  regard  to  the  (udtivable 
lands  of  these  Territories.     And  I  think  it  quite  probable  that  addi- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       197 

tional  ami  new  metliods  of  obtaining,  liusbaudiug,  and  api)]ying  water, 
as  by  reservoirs,  wells,  pumps,  elevatiug  nuKjliinery,  &c.,  may  show  tbat 
even  this  estimate  is  far  below  the  proper  figures. 

Efforts  already  made,  and  canals  nuder  way  and  projected  in  this 
division,  when  completed,  will  demonstrate  the  feasibility  of  bri-jgkig 
under  culture  a  large  extent  of  the  lands  in  these  Territories  lying  east 
of  the  mountains. 

In  order  to  avoid  i-epetition  and  confusion  I  shall  follow  out  the  plan 
adopted  in  my  last  report,  using  the  term  "  district"  to  designate  the 
area  drained  by  one  of  the  large  streams  named,  (the  Plattes,  north  and 
south,  being  described  separately  ;)  the  term  "  section"  being  applied  to 
the  larger  subdivisions  of  a  district.  The  terms  "tillable,"  "arable," 
"susceptible  of  cultivation,"  not  being  used  as  excluding  the  idea  of  the 
future  possibility  of  cultivating  other  portions,  but  simply  to  express 
the  fact  that  those  portions  so  termed  are  now  sutlicieutly  supplied  with 
water  ibr  farming  purposes. 

THE  RIO   GRANDE  DISTRICT. 

This  district,  although  chiefly  confined  within  the  bounds  of  New 
Mexico,  penetrates  into  the  southern  portion  of  Colorado.  Beginning 
at  Poncho  Pass,  about  38°  30'  north  latitude,  it  extends  southward  to 
the  southern  boundary  of  the  Territory,  and  is  about  five  hundred  miles 
long.  As  far  south  as  Santa  Fe  its  width  is  tolerably  uniform,  averag- 
ing very  near  one  hundred  miles;  but  here  it  begins  to  expand  rapidly 
on  the  eastern  side  to  embrace  the  area  drained  by  the  Pecos,  termin- 
ating in  this  direction  in  the  Llano  Estacado.  Excluding  the  "  Staked 
Plains"  from  our  calculation,  the  entire  area  of  this  district  amounts  to 
about  seventy  thousand  square  miles,  about  five  thousand  five  hundred 
of  which  belong  to  Colorado,  (according  to  the  old  boundary  line.) 

This  district  may  conveniently  be  divided  into  three  sections,  corre- 
sponding with  the  natural  asi)ect  of  the  country :  First,  the  San  Luis 
Valley,  (sometimes  called  the  San  Luis  Park,)  which  constitutes  that 
portion  of  the  district  which  lies  north  of  the  point  where  the  Eio  de 
Taos  enters  into  the  Ilio  Grande ;  second,  the  central  portion  of  the 
Territory,  including  the  Eio  Grande  Valley  proper  and  the  tributary 
valleys  leading  into  it  between  the  southern  rim  of  the  San  Luis  Valley 
and  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Territory;  third,  the  Pecos  Valley, 
which,  beginning  east  of  the  mountains,  about  opposite  Santa  Fe,  runs 
a  little  east  of  south  to  the  Texas  line,  and  includes  only  the  area  drained 
by  the  Pecos  Eiver. 

This  district  embraces  nearly  two-thirds  of  New  Mexico,  leaving  a  strip 
along  the  western  boundary  varying  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  miles  in 
width,  and  drained  by  the  tributaries  of  the  Colorado  and  Gila  Eivers, 
and  a  triangular  area  in  the  northeast  corner  drained  by  the  Canadian 
Eiver.  It  embraces  the  central,  and,  with  the  exception  of  a  few  val- 
leys, the  most  productive  portion  of  the  Territory ;  and,  although  much 
of  it  is  occupied  by  broken  ranges  of  mountains  and  elevated  mesas,  yet 
there  is  a  large  portion  which  can  be  irrigated  by  the  streams  that 
traverse  it,  and  a  still  larger  ratio  which  affords  rich  pasturage  for  sheep 
and  cattle.  Here  also  can  be  found  every  variety  of  climate,  from  the 
cold  of  the  mountain  region  along  its  northern  rim,  to  the  tropical 
valleys  of  its  southern  border. 

SAN  LUIS  VALLEY. 

This  valley,  or  park,  has  been  correctly  described  as  "  an  immense 


198  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

elliptical  basin  enveloping  the  sources  of  the  Eio  Grande."  Its  entire 
length,  in  a  direct  hue  from  the  summit  of  Poncho  Pass  to  the  mouth 
of  the  Eio  de  Taos,  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  and  its  great- 
est widtli,  counting  from  the  crest  of  the  rim,  about  one  huudred  miles; 
but  its  surface  area  cannot  properly  be  esiimated  at  more  than  one  hun- 
dred and  forty  miles  long,  by  an  average  width  of  sixty  miles,  giving  an 
area  of  eight  thousand  four  hundred  square  miles.  Of  this  amount 
perhaps  one-fourth,  or  about  one  million  three  huudred  and  fift^'  thou- 
sand acjes,  can  be  irrigated  and  brought  under  cultivation  by  ordinary 
means,  and  by  damuiing  up  and.  drawiug  off  in  cauals  the  waters  of  the 
Eio  Grande  the  area  of  cultivable  land  may  be  exi^auded  above  these 
figures. 

The  mesa  plains,  mountain  foot-hills,  and  slopes  afford  nutritious 
grasses  suitable  to  the  pasturage  of  sheep  and  cattle.  The  average  ele- 
vation of  the  surface  is  about  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea. 

The  northern  part  of  this  section  is  occupied  by  an  isolated  basin  of 
considerable  extent,  to  which  the  name  San  Luis  Park  is  sometimes  lim- 
ited ;  it  is  also  called  the  "  Eincon,"  and  "  Sah watch  Basin."  The  waters 
of  this  basin,  instead  of  entering  the  Eio  Grande,  are  poured  into  a  reser- 
voir near  the  western  base  of  the  Sierra  Blanca,  which  has  received  the 
name  Sahwatch  Lake.  For  a  long  time  the  vevy  existence  of  this  lake 
was  a  matter  of  doubt,  and  even  at  the  present  day,  with  settlements 
beginniug  around  it,  its  extent  is  a  matter  of  dispute,  the  estimates  vary- 
ing from  three  to  sixty  miles.  I  cannot  describe  this  singular  basin  and 
reservoir  in  any  better  manner  than  by  quoting  the  language  of  the 
United  States  geologist,  (chief  of  our  expedition,)  found  in  his  prelimi- 
nary report  of  last  year:  ''This  northern  portion  [of  the  San  Luis  Valley] 
above  the  bow  of  the  Eio  Grande  is  about  sixty  miles  in  length,  and  has 
an  average  width  of  fifteen  or  twenty  miles.  About  the  center  (rather 
in  the  southeast  part)  of  this  park  is  a  singular  depression,  about  ten 
miles  wide  and  thirty  miles  long,  which  looks  like  one  vast  thicket  of 
grease- wood  {tSarcobatus  vernicularis)  and  other  chenopodiaceous  shrubs. 
Into  it  flow  some  twelve  or  fifteen  good-sized  streams,  and  yet  there  is 
no  outlet,  neither  is  there  any  large  body  of  water  visible.  It  seems  to 
be  one  vast  swamp  or  bog  with  a  few  small  lakes,  one  of  which  is  said 
to  be  three  miles  in  length.  Although  disconnected  from  any  other 
water  system,  the  little  streams  are  full  of  trout." 

The  boggy  nature  of  the  broad  mafgin,  the  shallowness  of  the  streams 
where  they  enter  it,  and  want  of  interest  on  the  part  of  those  residing 
in  the  vicinity,  have  probably  prevented  an  examination  sufficient  to 
determine,  with  any  degree  of  accuracy,  the  extent  of  the  lake  or  lakes 
contained  therein.  During  the  spring  and  early  part  of  summer  the 
streams  which  run  into  it  must  carry  down  a  large  amount  of  water, 
part  of  which  probably  sinks  into  the  margin  which  has  dried  during 
the  autumn,  the  rest  evaporating  into  the  dry  atmosphere.  The  streams 
on  the  east  side  generally  dry  up  in  the  latter  part  of  the  season,  but 
those  on  the  west  and  north  are  constant  runners. 

Commencing  at  Poncho  Pass  on  the  northern  extremity  of  the  section 
and  moving  southward,  we  enter  the  valley  of  Homan's  (or  San  Luis) 
Creek,  which  expands  for  a  part  of  its  length  into  what  is  called  Homau's 
Park.  This  is  about  four  or  five  miles  wide  at  its  broadest  part,  and 
some  seven  or  eight  miles  long.  The  arable  portion,  which  lies  chiefly 
on  the  west  side,  although  somewhat  inclined,  can  be  easily  irrigated 
from  the  little  streams  which  descend  across  it  to  the  principal  channel. 
The  soil,  though  mixed  Avith  coarse  sand,  is  quite  good,  and  will  produce 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       199 

good  crops  of  wheat,  oats,  and  the  hardy  vegetables,  the  climate  being: 
too  cold  lor  anything-  of  a  tender  nature.  Some  trees  of  a  considerable 
size,  princii>ally  cottonwood,  grow  in  the  valley,  while  the  mouutains 
around  produce  an  abundance  of  pine. 

The  soil  of  the  lower  level,  especially  near  the  north  end,  is  strongly 
impregnated  with  alkali. 

This  is  a  most  excellent  point  for  a  few  stock  ranches,  as  water  is 
abundant,  and  as  not  only  the  valley  proper,  but  also  the  little  openings 
up  into  the  mountains  and  slopes  on  the  north  and  west,  afford  most 
excellent  grass,  and  would  furnish  pasturage  for  quite  a  number  of  cattle. 

Below  this  point  the  valley  contracts,  but  again  expands  near  where 
it  opens  into  the  Sahwatch  Basin,  affording  a  small  area  of  arable  land. 
Here  also  are  a  number  of  hot  springs  which  emit  a  strong  vapor,  the 
temperature  ranging  at  abont  120°  Fahrenheit. 

Banning  in  from  the  northwest  is  Sahwatch  Creek,  which  affords  a 
rich  valley  some  three  or  four  miles  wide  and  some  ten  or  twelve  miles 
long.  The  bottoms  which  dank  this  stream  are  generally  flat,  and  as 
they  are  raised  but  slightly  above  the  water-level,  can  be  easily  irriga- 
tedj  the  supply  of  water  being  abundant.  A  settlement  has  already 
been  made  here,  and  although  the  seasons  are  short,  yet  experiment  has 
XJroved  that  wheat,  oats,  &c.,  can  be  profitably  raised,  the  yield  being 
good  and  the  grain  fine.  I  dislike  to  introduce  i)ersonal  incidents  into 
a  report  of  this  kind,  yet  as  they  sometimes  serve  to  give  stronger  im- 
pressions than  can  otherwise  be  made,  1  trust  I  will  be  excused  for  in- 
troducing one  here  to  show  how  difficult  it  is  to  produce  a  belief  in  the 
agricultural  capacity  of  these  regions.  As  we  entered  this  valley  from 
the  west,  we  noticed  that  the  oats,  which  appeared  to  be  of  a  very  inferior 
quality,  had  been  cut  quite  green  ;  this  was  late  in  the  season,  (Septem- 
ber 30,)  and  the  night  was  very  cold  and  frosty.  I  at  once  conchided 
that  the  climate  was  too  cold  and  the  seasons  too  short  to  produce  the 
cereals,  and  even  the  leader  of  our  expedition,  who  had  been  exploring 
the  Rocky  Mountain  regions  for  fifteen  years,  and  who  long  since  had 
gotten  over  first  impressions,  was  inclined  to  the  same  opinion.  Yet 
next  morning,  when  we  passed  over  to  the  other  side  of  the  valley,  we 
were  surprised  to  see  some  large  fields  of  the  finest  quality  of  wheat. 
Although  it  was  being  harvested  at  this  late  date,  having  been  sowed 
late  in  May,  the  grains  were  large  and  plump,  and  fully  ripened. 

The  broad  margin  that  surrounds  the  boggy  basin  before  described, 
is  sufficiently  level  for  agricultural  purj)oses,  and,  as  far  as  the  supply  oi 
water  will  go,  can  be  easily  irrigated  and  brought  under  cultivation. 
The  lands  along  the  east  side,  which  slope  in  from  the  base  of  the  Sierra 
Blanca,  are  rather  sandy,  and  in  places  almost  destitute  of  vegetation, 
the  supply  of  water  on  this  side  not  being  constant.  Yet  I  think  it 
probable  that  during  the  spring  and  first  of  summer,  when  most  needed, 
and  while  the  snows  on  the  west  side  of  the  mountain  are  melting,  there 
will  be  a  sufficiency  of  water  to  irrigate  a  considerable  breadth  of  land 
even  here. 

On  the  west  side  are  the  Carnero  and  Gareta  Creeks,  pretty  little 
streams  which  pour  down  their  pure,  limpid  waters  through  ditch-like 
channels  but  a  few  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  plain,  rendering  the  ir- 
rigation of  the  bordering  lands  remarkably  easy  and  inexpensive.  The 
soil  here  is  very  good,  in  some  places  being  a  dark,  rich  loam,  covered 
with  a  tall  and  rank  growth  of  grass.  The  temi)erature  is  about  the 
same  as  in  the  Sahwatch  Valley,  but  although  more  open  and  i)erhaps 
warmer  during  the  day,  is  more  subject  to  irregular  early  frosts,  a  fact 


200       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

wliicli  is  often  noticed  in  comparing  tlie  climate  of  open  plains  with  tbat 
of  adjaceut  monntain  valleys. 

Should  the  time  come  when  there  will  be  an  nrgent  demand  for  land 
in  this  vicinity,  an  encroachment  could  be  made  upon  the  marshy  bor- 
ders of  the  central  basin,  which  if  redeemed  would  afibrd  several  thou- 
sands of  acres  of  rich  soil. 

On  the  southwest  this  basin  is  bordered  by  a  somewhat  elevated, 
gravelly  plateau,  varying  in  width  from  eight  to  fifteen  miles,  which, 
beginning  at  the  mountains  on  the  west,  passes  eastward  between  the 
Eio  Grande  and  Gareta  round  the  south  end  of  the  basin,  separating  it 
from  the  Eio  Grande  bottoms.  In  regard  to  the  possibility  of  irrigating 
this  ridge  I  will  speak  hereafter. 

The  Ivio  Grande,  rising  in  the  mountains  to  the  west.  Hows  directly 
east  until  it  reaches  the  middle  of  the  valley,  where,  making  an  abrupt 
bend,  it  runs  south  through  the  entire  length  of  the  valley,  dividing  it 
into  nearly  equal  parts.  On  the  east  side,  between  the  Sahwatch  basin 
and  the  Eio  Costillo,  lies  a  broad,  slightly-inclined  plain,  averaging 
about  twenty  miles  in  width.  It  is  interrupted,  in  its  southwest  por- 
tion, by  a  mesa  of  considerable  extent,  and  by  occasional  foot-hills  which 
shoot  out  from  the  mountain  on  the  east.  The  southern  half  isxmdulat- 
ing,  but  the  northern  portion  is  composed  of  three  levels:  first  and  low- 
est, the  river  bottom,  some  five  or  six  miles  wide  ;  the  second  correspond- 
ing with  the  plateau  before  mentioned,  and  which  occupies  the  region 
about  Fort  Garland,  having  an  area  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  or  two 
hundred  square  miles ;  the  third,  which  is  the  highest,  lying  south  of 
the  second.  The  bottoms  along  the  Eio  Grande  are  composed  of  deep 
rich  soil,  generally  covered  with  tall  grass,  or  thickets  of  bushes,  with 
here  and  there  open  groves  of  cotton  wood.  They  can,  without  much 
difficulty,  be  irrigated  irom  the  river,  but  I  am  of  the  0})iniou  (and  oh 
this  account  have  been  thus  minute  in  my  description  of  this  locality) 
that,  by  commencing  a  canal  where  the  river  emerges  from  the  mount- 
ains, and  bringing  it  along  the  plateau  and  around  the  bend  upon  the 
second  level,  not  onl}^  the  plateau  and  a  great  portion  of  the  second 
level,  but  the  southern  slope  of  Sahwatch  basin  and  Eio  Grande  bottoms 
might  all  be  irrigated  from  it.  It  is  i)ossible  there  may  be  a  depression 
between  the  Eio  Grande  and  Gareta  at  the  up'per  portion,  which  would 
necessitate  the  building  of  an  aqueduct,  and  thus  increase  the  expense, 
but  in  regard  to  this  I  cannot  speak  positively.  This  canal  would  irri- 
gate at  least  five  hundred  thousand  acres,  at  a  moderate  cost  per  acre. 

From  the  Trenchera  most  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the  second  level 
can  be  irrigated  5  and  it  is  possible  a  portion  of  the  higher  level  might 
be  reached  by  water  from  this  stream  and  the  Culebra,  near  their 
sources  in  the  mountains. 

An  old  Mexican  claim  extends  over  a  considerable  portion  of  this  part 
of  the  valley.  Eeachiiig  from  the  south  end  of  the  Sierra  Blauca  to  the 
Eio  Costillo,  it  embraces  the  entire  valleys  of  the  Trenchera,  Culebra, 
and  Costillo,  amounting  to  one  million  three  hundred  thousand  acres. 

The  Eio  Culebra  furnishes  one  of  the  prettiest  and  richest  valleys  of 
this  section,  its  chief  expanse  being  along  the  eastern  margin  near  the 
mountains,  from  which  numerous  little  tributaries  pour  down  their  cool, 
clear  waters.  This  ex[)anse,  lying  between  the  mountains  on  the  east 
and  the  "  cerillos"  on  the  west,  has  been  very  appropriately  designated 
the  "vegas"  or  meadows,  on  account  of  the  luxuriant  growth  of  grass 
that  covers  its  soil.  There  is  quite  a  settlement  here,  chiefly  Mexican, 
and  a  large  portion  of  the  valley  at  this  point  is  already  under  cultiva- 
tion.   The  county  seat  of  Costillo  County,  San  Luis,  (or  Culebra,)  is  lo- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOKIES.       201 

cated  here.  The  second  or  upper  level  liere,  and  also  that  bordering  the 
Costillo  Valley,  might  be  irrigated,  thus  increasing  the  breadth  ot  the 
arable  area.  Near  the  llio  Grande  lie  a  succession  of  l)asaltic  mesas  and 
ridges,  through  which  the  Cnlebra  and  Costillo  have  cut  channels  for 
their  waters.  The  llio  Grande  afibrds  no  bottom  along  this  part  of  its 
course,  its  waters  being  conlined  to  a  deep  narrow  caiion  of  basalt  for 
sixty-five  miles,  from  La  Joya  to  the  crossing  of  tlie  road  to  Conejos. 
The  llio  Colorado  affords  another  valley  of  moderate  width,  which,  like 
the  others,  is  broadest  and  most  extensive  at  its  upper  end,  narrowing 
as  it  approaches  the  Eio  Grande.  Between  this  and  the  Taos  Valley, 
though  a  few  spots  of  limited  extent  may  be  found  which  can  be  culti- 
vated, the  greater  part  is  elevated  and  broken,  and  is  covered  with  a 
heavy  growth  of  timber. 

The  area  west  of  the  Kio  Grande  is  similar  in  character  to  that  east. 
It  is  watered  by  Pintado  Creek,  Eio  de  Jara,  and  the  Conejos  River,  and 
contains  some  as  fine  land  as  is  to  be  found  in  the  San  Luis  Valley. 

The  valleys  of  the  Pintado  and  de  Jara  are  of  but  moderate  extent, 
traversing  a  more  uneven  country  than  that  farther  south.  The  Conejos 
Eiver  and  its  tributaries  afford  a  valley  which  at  its  central  part  pre- 
sents a  broad  and  fertile  area,  where  quite  a  number  of  Mexican  settle- 
ments have  already  been  made.  The  southern  portion  of  this  side  of 
the  San  Luis  Valley  is  principally  an  elevated  basaltic  i)lateau,  or  mesa, 
which  is  covered  with  grass,  and  well  adapted  for  grazing  purposes,  but 
cannot  be  brought  under  cultivation,  as  it  is  beyond  the  reach  of  irriga- 
tion. But  there  is  on  this  side,  as  on  the  east,  a  large  extent  of  laud, 
principally  on  the  second  level,  which  by  proper  efforts  might  be  irrigated, 
thus  adding  a  broad  margin  to  the  arable  lands  of  this  section. 

The  soil  of  the  lower  valleys  and  bottoms  throughout  the  section  is 
generally  comi^osed  of  a  rich  sandy  loam,  containing  more  or  less  com- 
minuted m  arl.  That  of  the  upper  levels  and  ridges  has  more  or  less  gravel 
and  coarse  sand  mingled  with  it. 

Having  an  elevation  of  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
and  being  partiallj'  surrounded  by  mountains,  whose  summits  bear  upon 
them  snow  throughout  the  year,  this  basin  must  necessarily  have  a 
tolerably  cold  climate.  Yet  the  days  and  the  average  temperature 
during  the  growing  season,  as  shown  by, the  thermometer,  would  indicate 
a  more  favorable  climate  than  the  surronndings  do ;  but  this  is  to  a  cer- 
tain degree  deceptive,  as  the  nights  during  the  warmer  half  of  the  year 
are  quite  cold  as  compared  with  the  temperature  of  the  days.  And  this 
fact,  as  will  be  seen,  has  an  important  bearing  in  estimating  the  agricul- 
tural capacity  of  this  section.  Frosts  geuerall}^  set  in  between  the  1st 
and  10th  of  September,  but  snow  seldom  begins  to  fall  on  the  plain 
until  December,  and  the  amount  that  falls  during  the  winter  is  small. 

There  is  scarcely  any  portion  of  the  valley  that  does  not  afford  good 
pasturage  for  cattle  and  sheep,  and  when  every  acre  that  can  be  irrigated 
has  been  brought  under  cultivation,  the  higher  ridges,  mountain  sides, 
and  elevated  valleys  will  still  furnish  sufficient  pasturage  for  numerous 
herds  and  flocks;  and  if  a  means  of  reaching  market  is  ever  obtained, 
few  better  places  for  the  manufacture  of  batter  and  cheese  than  this  cau 
be  found. 

From  Mr.  Stephen  E.  Sterrett,  wiio  has  been  acquainted  with  this 
valley  for  eighteen  years,  and  has  resided  here  for  the  last  ten  years,  I 
obtained  the  following  information  in  regard  to  the  crops. 

The  principal  products  of  the  soil  are  wheat,  oats,  and  potatoes,  very 
little  corn  being  raised.  Wheat  is  generally  sown  between  the  1st  of 
April  and  10th  of  May,  and  harvested  from  1st  to  the  20th  of  September, 


202  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

tlie  average  yield  being  thirty  busliels,  whicb  he  considers  a  low  esti- 
mate as  lie  has  seen  fields  turn  out  as  much  as  sixty  bushels  to  the  acre. 
He  siys  the  reason  why  their  harvest  is  so  late  is  because  the  cold  nights 
in  the  spring  check  its  growth,  and  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer 
retard  its  ripemng.  Oats  grow  finely,  and  yield  about  forty  bnshels 
to  the  acre.  Some  corn  is  raised,  principally  in  the  southern  erid  of  the 
vallev,  yet  the  seasons  are  so  short,  and  its  growth  so  much  retarded  by 
the  cold  nights,  that  it  is  often  injured  by  autumnal  rosts,  a"^l  even 
when  it  matures  is  of  an  inferior  quality,  and  the  yield  light.  He  finds 
by  experience  that  in  the  northern  part  of  the  valley  it  is  less  liable  to 
injury  if  planted  near  the  mountain  than  on  the  open  plain. 

Irish  potatoes  do  well,  yielding  moderate  returns  of  fine-flavored  tubers. 
Turnips  and  ftlexican  squashes  can  be  easily  raised,  feuch  garden  vege- 
tables as  cabbages,  beets,  carrots,  peas,  &c.,can  be  grown  here  without 
difiicultv;  and  tomatoes  and  beans  can  be  raised,  but  are  liable  to  be 
iniured  by  the  frosts.  Very  little  fruit  has  hitherto  been  raised  m  the 
vallev,  but  I  think  if  the  proper  varieties  of  apples  were  selected  and 
well  managed,  a  siiflicient  quantity  might  be  produced  to  su])ply  the 
local  demand.  Currants,  raspberries,  gooseberrie^,  and  strawberries 
will  grow  here  and  produce  fruit,  but  the  cultivated  varieties  will  have 
to  be  planted,  for  although  the  mountain  sides  furnish  an  abundance  ot 
the  wild  kinds,  they  appear  to  fail  when  transplanted  to  the  1  lams. 

Ample  water  power  for  milling  and  manufacturing  purposes  can  be 
readily  obtained;  and  a  supply  of  timber  can  be  had  by  going  to  the 
mountains,  especially  at  the  northern  and  southern  extremities  of  the 
vallev,  and  it  is  verv  probable  a  large  amount  of  the  better  kind  loi 
building  purposes  might  be  floated  down  the  Eio  Grande,  as  far  as  this 
river  has  accessible  points.  i  vi,  i^ori 

The  roads  within  the  valley  are  mostly  good;  and  those  which  lead 
out  of  it  at  Poncho  and  Sangre  de  Christo  passes  and  at  the  south  end 
can  be  made  good  without  any  great  expense.  ,      .    ,  , 

I  have  been  thus  minute  in  my  description  of  this  basin  because  much 
interest  has  been  manifested  concerning  it  of  late  years,  and  yet  so  lit- 
tle in  regard  to  its  agricultural  capacity  seems  to  be  known. 

The  reader  will  notice  that  I  have  omitted  to  speak  ot  the  Taos  Val- 
lev in  mv  description  of  this  basin,  although  in  giving  the  boundaries 
I  included  it.  I  did  so  because  it  is  wholly  distinct  m  its  character 
from  the  rest  of  the  basin,  and  is  almost  completely  isolated. 

TAOS   VALLEY. 

"  The  valley  in  which  Taos  is  situated  may  be  said  to  be  formed  by  a 
notch  or  bend  in  the  mountain  range.  On  the  southwest  is  the  Picaris 
Eange,  with  a  strike  nearly  northeast  and  southwest.  The  next  range 
east  of  this  trends  about  north  and  south."  It  is  about  eighteen  miles 
in  extent  from  east  to  west  and  sixteen  from  north  to  south,  the^narrow 
valley  of  the  Arroyo  Hondo  forming  its  northern  extremity,  iliere  is 
also  an  open  area,  about  eight  miles  wide,  on  the  west  side  of  the  Kio 
Grande,  which  may  properly  be  counted  as  a  pa,rt  of  it.  The  entire 
area,  including  the  strip  west  of  the  river,  amounts  to  about  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  square  miles,  or  one  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  acres, 
a  large  part  of  which  may  ultimately  be  brought  under  cultivation. 

The  deep  arroyo  or  valley  at  the  north  end  is  from  one  to  two  miles 
wide,  affording  a  fertile  spot,  easily  irrigated,  where  there  is  a  small 
Mexican  settlement  and  village.  i  «  n    ^ 

The  entire  valley  of  the  Taos  seems  to  have  been  one  broad  field  ot 
sage,  {Artemisea,)  which,  on  the  parts  where  it  has  not  been  disturbed. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  203 

excludes  every  other  growtb,  giving  a  very  barren  appearance  to  the 
hiiulscape. 

Besides  Taos  there  are  several  other  villages  and  settlements,  chiefly 
Mexican,  in  the  southeast  part  of  tlie  valley.  The  amount  of  land  in 
cultivation  is  not  more  than  fifteen  thousand  acres.  Unless  the  caiiou 
through  which  the  llio  Grande  emerges  into  this  valley  sbould  present 
some  insurmountable  difficulty,  the  greater  part  of  its  area  may  be  irri- 
gated, the  northern  and  -svestern  portion  from  this  river,  and  that  part 
along  the  mountains  from  the  streams  that  flow  into  it. 

The  soil  is  quite  different  from  that  of  the  valleys  further  north,  being- 
very  finely  pulverized  and  loose ;  it  also  is  of  considerable  depth  and 
very  fertile.  The  cause  of  its  fertility  will  be  understood  from  the  fol- 
lowing quotation,  made  from  the  preliminary  report  of  the  United  States 
Geologist  on  the  "  Geological  Survey  of  Colorado  and  ]New  Mexico," 
18G9,  p.  70: 

The  valley  proper  is  scooped  out  of  the  Santa  Fe  marls,  Tvhicli  must  at  one  time 
have  prevailed  extensively,  as  in  the  country  north  of  Santa  Fe,  but  the  surface  has 
heen  smoothed  oli",  so  that  nowhere  are  the  marls  conspicuous  ;  still  they  can  be  seen 
all  along  the  base  of  the  mountains  bordering  the  valley,  where  portions  of  the  recent 
dcpositslle  high  on  the  mountain  side.  No  sedimentary  rocks  of  older  date  are  seen, 
and  the  Santa  Fe  marls  rest  directly  on  the  metamorphic  rocks. 

The  effect  of  this  marl  upon  the  appearance  and  character  of  the  soil 
is  i>lainly  seen.  The  consequence  is,  that  that  which  in  its  wild  state 
appears  as  but  a  barren  sage  ])lain,  across  which  the  wind  sweeps  the 
fine  i)articles  of  the  light  soil,  piling  it  in  little  heaps  around  the  bushes, 
by  the  application  of  water  is  changed  into  a  fertile  field.  And  I  think 
Colonel  Charles  IMcClnre  justified  in  his  statement  to  me,  that  sufficient 
wheat  to  suppl.y  the  Territory  might  be  raised  in  this  valley.  It  is  con- 
sidered the  best  wheat-growing  region  in  New  Mexico.  The  climate 
appears  to  be  milder  here  than  in  the  San  Luis  Valley  proper,  although 
but  narrowly  separated  from  each  other,  and  the  diiferences  of  latitude 
and  altitude  being  slight. 

Having  now  com]deted  my  description  of  this  gTeat  mountain  basin, 
it  is  proper  I  should  refer  to  the  report  of  Lieutenant  E.  G.  Beckwith, 
as  published  in  Vol.  II,  Pacific  Eailroad  Eeports,  whose  opinion  and 
description  differ  somewhat  from  that  I  have  given.  He  remarks  that 
"  in  our  ride  of  over  a  hundred  miles  from  El  Sangre  de  Christo  to  this 
place  (Taos)  we  saw  no  grass  in  the  valleys  worth  naming,  the  vegeta- 
tion being  confined  almost  exclusively  to  artemisia  and  a  few  varieties 
of  cacti,  but  chiefly  the  prickly  pear ;  the  pines  of  the  mountains  at 
times  extend  well  down  to  the  plains.  In  the  high  small  valleys  of  the 
mountains  the  grass  is  luxuriant  and  the  flowers  beautiful." 

There  are  parts  of  the  open  valley  which  are  not  well  grassed  and 
that  have  upon  them  a  tolerably  thick  growth  of  artemisia,  and  also 
some  spots  grown  up  with  chenopodiaceous  shrubs ;  but  as  a  whole  it 
may  properly  be  called  well  grassed.  In  18G9  our  party  traveled  over 
exactly  the  same  road  here  spoken  of,  camping  one  night  in  each  of  the 
principal  valleys,  the  Eio  Colorado,  Eio  Costillo,  and  Culebra,  having 
uo  ditficulty  in  either  in  obtaining  sufficient  grass  Ibr  our  stock.  It  is 
true  that  it  was  not  so  rank  and  abundant  in  the  first  two  as  in  the 
last,  which,  outside  of  the  cultivated  fields,;«'as  one  rich  meadow.  The 
bottoms  of  the  Eio  Grande  and  western  slope  of  the  Sahwatch  basin 
we  found  covered  with  a  very  heavy  growth  of  grass. 

In  summing  up  his  view  of  this  valley,  although  he  calls  it  one  of  the 
finest  in  New  Mexico,  yet  he  goes  on  to  say : 

The  extensive  valley  of  San  Luis,  lying  between  the  Sierra  Blanca  on  the  east  and 
Sierra  San  Juan  on  the  west,  and  watered  by  the  Rio  Grande  del  Norte  and  its  uumer- 


204       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

ous  small  tributaries,  is,  in  general,  one  vast  sage  plain  from  the  Rio  Colorado  to  Gun- 
nison's Pass.  The  grass  on  the  lower  tributaries  of  the  Rio  del  Norte,  in  this  valley,  is 
very  limited  indeed.  It  is  more  abundant  on  the  upper  affluents,  where  a  few  lields 
of  prairie  grass  a  mile  or  two  in  width  were  observed,  and  the  antliority  of  our  guide 
given  for  extensive  grass  prairies  on  the  Rio  del  Norte  itself.  But  all  these  grass  fields, 
Avith  the  greatest  amount  of  cultivation  which  can  be  supplied  with  water  from  the 
little  streams  of  this  valley,  can,  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances,  only  support 
a  meager  population. 

It  is  evident  from  these  remarks  of  Lieutenant  Beckwith  that  he 
bases  his  condusions  on  his  observations  and  experience  in  the  States 
"where  the  soil  is  moistened  by  rain,  and  that  he  considers  the  sage 
ground  as  unfit  for  cultivation.  But  the  experiments  of  the  seventeeu 
years  which  have  elapsed  since  he  was  there,  have  taught  us  that  sage 
land,  when  irrigated,  is  about  as  productive  as  the  grass  fields.  And  the 
broad  sage  field  that  lies  west  of  Fort  Garland,  (then  Fort  Massachu- 
setts,) if  redeemed  by  water,  would  soou  give  evidence  of  this  fact. 

I  do  not  refer  to  the  reports  of  others  in  any  spirit  of  criticism,  but 
as  far  as  possible  to  correct  the  impression  made  by  these  opinions, 
which,  though  given  in  all  candor,  frequently  did  injustice  to  this 
country. 

VALLEY  OF  THE  RIO  GRANDE. 

As  I  have  traveled  over  but  a  small  i^ortion  of  this  section  I  cannot 
enter  as  minutely  into  details  as  I  have  in  regard  to  the  one  north  of  it. 
My  description,  therefore,  will  not  only  be  more  general,  but  made  up  in 
part  from  such  reliable  information  as  I  could  obtain.  But  this  defi- 
ciency is,  to  a  great  degree,  compensated  by  the  narrative  of  Dr.  A. 
Wislizenus,  the  reconnoissanee  of  Lieutenant  Emory,  and  the  reports  of 
General  Pope,  Lieutenant  Whipple,  and  others,  in  which  notices  of  the 
agriculture  and  arable  lauds  of  ditferent  parts  of  the  section  are  to  be 
found. 

The  length  from  north  to  south,  counting  from  the  moutli  of  the  Rio 
de  Taos  to  the  Mexican  line,  is  about  three  hundred  and  fii:ty  miles, 
with  an  average  width  of  one  hundred  and  ten  miles.  It  is  difficult  to  esti- 
mate, even  with  approximate  accuracy,  the  amount  of  arable  land  in  this 
area,  as,  with  the  exception  of  the  comparatively  narrow  valley  proper 
of  the  Eio  Grande,  it  lies  in  small  irregular  valleys  and  detached  spots. 
And,  in  addition  to  this  difficulty,  great  diversity  of  opinion  exists  in 
regard  to  the  average  width  of  this  valley,  varying  from  two  to  twenty 
miles.  Yet  this  diflerence  is  not  wholly  due  to  error  in  either  party,  as 
the  term  "  valley  *'  is  used  in  different  senses,  some  meaning  thereby  only 
the  bottoms  immediately  along  the  river,  while  others  include  the  lower 
terraces  which  at  some  points  flank  the  bottoms.  Perhaps  the  best 
data  we  have  upon  which  to  base  an  estimate  is  to  be  found  in  the  re- 
port of  Lieutenant  Whipple,  who,  after  a  careful  examination,  estimates 
the  cultivable  area  of  a  belt  thirty  miles  wide,  and  one  hundred  and 
eighty  miles  long,  east  and  west — reaching  from  Anton  Chico  to  Camp- 
bell's Pass— at  three  hundred  and  sixty  square  miles,  or  one-fifteenth  of 
the  whole  area.  As  this  belt  reaches  directly  across  the  entire  width  of 
the  section  nnder  consideration,  it  may  be  taken  as  an  average  of  the 
whole ;  for,  although  it  includes  the  valley  of  the  San  Jos6  on  the  west, 
the  east  end  stretches  over  the  broad  Mesa  de  la  Vista  almost  from 
Anton  Chico  to  San  Antonio.  This  proportion  would  give  for  the  sec- 
tion nearly  two  thousand  six  hundred  square  miles  of  tillable  land,  which 
I  think  may  be  increased  by  the  proper  husbanding  of  water. 

In  order  to  understand  properly  the  differences  in  climate  and  pro- 
ductions observable  in  the  different  parts  of  this  section,  it  is  necessary, 
not  only  to  take  into  consideration  the  latitude,  but  also  the  variations 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       205 

iu  altitiulo,  and  proximity  to  high  mountains.  Beginningf  at  the  Sau 
Luis  Valley,  with  an  elevation  of  7,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea, 
we  llntl  wheti  we  reach  Santa  Fe  the  heiglft  is  still  0,840  feet,  which  is 
higher  than  some  of  the  valleys  farther  north.  Keeping  on  the  same 
plateau,  and  moving  south,  the  elevations  of  the  i)rin('ipal  points  are  as 
follows:  Gallisteo  Village,  0,105;  Los  Cerillos,  5,804;  Canon  Ulanno, 
0,31*0,  and  a  little  southwest  of  the  cafion,  near  Laguiia  Blaiica,  0,043 
feet.  ^Moving  southwest  from  this  point  toward  Albuquerque,  we  lind 
the  elevation  at  San  Antonio  is  0,408  feet.  But  when  we  descend  into 
the  immediate  valley  of  the  Eio  Grande,  as  far  north  as  Pena  )ilanca, 
it  is  onlv  5,288  feet  above  the  sea-level,  or  1,552  lower  than  at  Santa  Fe. 
At  San  Felipe  it  is  5,220 ;  at  Albuquerque,  5,020 ;  at  Isleta,  4,910 ;  at 
Socorro,  4,500  ;  at  Alamosa,  4,200;  and  at  El  Paso  about  3,800.  Strange 
as  it  may  appear,  when  we  cross  the  ridge  east  of  Santa  Fe,  to  the 
headwaters  of  the  Pecos,  we  tind  the  altitude  at  Pecos  Village  but  0,300 
feet — about  500  feet  lower  than  at  Santa  Fe  ;  while  at  Anton  Chico  it  is 
only  5,372  feet,  corresponding  very  nearly  with  that  of  the  Eio  Grande 
valley  at  Pena  Blanca. 

I  have  given  these  particulars  in  regard  to  the  elevation  of  this 
region  to  show  that,  sweeping  around  the  southern  terminus  of  the  Eocky 
Mountain  range,  is  an  elevated  plateau,  or  extended  mesa,  v»liich,  reach- 
ing north  along  the  inside  of  the  basin  for  some  distance,  occupies  both 
sides  of  the  river,  but  southward  recedes  from  it.  At  Pena  Blanca  we 
descend  into  the  Eio  Grande  Valley  i^roper,  which  continues  along  the 
southern  course  of  the  river  with  little  interruption  throughout  the  rest 
of  the  Territory.  From  this  point  south,  fruits  and  the  tenderer  vege- 
tables and  plants  are  grown  with  ease,  which  fail  no  farther  north  than 
Santa  Fe. 

But  the  difference  in  altitude  is  not  the  only  influence  tending  to  vary 
the  temperature  and  vegetation  between  the  northern  and  southern 
parts  of  the  section,  for  about  opposite  the  point  where  this  lower  level 
begins,  the  mountain  range  on  the  east  terminates,  and,  as  a  matter  of 
course,  the  depression  of  temperature  and  the  cold  of  the  nights,  so  far 
as  caused  by  the  proximity  of  snowy  peaks  and  icy  waters,  also  cease. 

From  the  region  of  the  Galisteo  south  the  features  of  the  country 
change  ;  instead  of  the  vast  and  lofty  ranges  of  the  Eocky  Mountains, 
a  succession  of  shorter,  narrower,  and  less  lofty  mountains  forming  a 
chain  which  runs  directly  north  and  south  a  short  distance  east  of  the 
river  and  almost  parallel  with  it ;  and  what  is  somewhat  remarkable, 
instead  of  corresponding  with  the  range  east  of  the  San  Luis  Valley, 
this  chain  runs  almost  directly  in  a  line  with  the  bottom  of  the  valley. 
While  the  mountains  have  thus  diminished,  on  the  other  hand  the  minia- 
ture table  lands  of  the  regions  farther  north  are  here  replaced  by  vast 
plateaus  which  spread  over  the  country  forming  its  general  level,  out  of 
which  are  scooped  the  valleys  and  basins. 

On  the  east  side  of  the  Eio  Grande,  between  the  Taos  Valley  and 
Joya,  the  country  is  broken  and  mountainous,  mostly  covered  with  a 
heavy  growth  of  timber,  chiefly  pine  and  fir.  This  area  is  traversed 
east  and  west  by  a  few  small  streams,  which  are  bordered  by  narrow 
strips  of  cultivable  lands.  The  three  principal  ones  are  the  Peuasco, 
Pueblo,  and  Chumesal ;  the  first  being  a  vigorous  creek  which  traverses 
a  valley  varying  in  width  from  one  to  five  miles,  which  is  flanked  on 
each  side  by  high  blufts.  A  good  part  of  it  is  already  under  cultivation, 
and,  as  the  soil  is  fertile  and  the  valley  sheltered,  the  crops  produced  are 
quite  heavy.  The  other  two  are  small  and  less  important  than  the 
Peiiasco. 


206  GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

Between  this  broken  region  and  the  Rio  de  Canado  (or  Santa  Cruz) 
on  the  south,  lying  along  the  Eio  Grande,  is  a  moderate  breadth  of  arable 
laud,  some  of  which  is  verytertile,  and  produces  not  only  the  hardier 
cereals,  as  wheat,  oats,  and  barley,  but  also  corn,  which  grows  large  and 
fine.  The  tillable  area  here  could  be  considerably  enlarged  by  irrigation 
from  the  Eio  Grande,  unless  there  is  some  impediment  which  1  failed  to 
observe. 

The  Rio  de  Santa  Ft^,  Rio  Galisteo,  and  Tuerto  Creek  afford  strips  of 
arable  land,  varying  in  width  from  one  to  ten  miles ;  but  here  also  I 
think  the  amonnt  might  be  increased  by  proper  efforts  and  more  ex- 
tensive acequias. 

I  have  not  visited  the  valleys  of  the  Rio  de  Chama  and  Rio  Puerco. 
The  valley  of  the  Rio  Puerco,  I  understand,  is  flanked  by  elevated  table 
lands,  and  that  its  lower  portion  is  not  supplied  with  living  water  but  a 
part  of  the  year  ;  but  its  i:»rincipal  tributary',  the  San  Jose,  runs  through 
a  fine  wide  valley,  in  which  there  is  a  considerable  amount  of  cultivated 
land  and  a  number  of  villages,  the  breadth  available  for  agricultural 
purposes  being  equal  to  the  capacity  of  the  stream. 

The  average  width  of  the  immediate  valley  of  the  Rio  Grande,  as 
before  stated,  has  received  widely  different  estimates ;  Dr.  Wislizenus 
placing  it  as  high  as  twenty  miles,  evidently  including  the  lower  terrace 
which  is  sometimes  present,  while  Colonel  McClure  stated  to  me  that  he 
would  not  estimate  it  at  more  than  two  miles,  including  only  the  imme- 
diate bottoms  of  the  river.  Lieutenant  Whipple's  calculation  would 
give  about  eight  or  nine  miles  as  the  average,  which  is  probably  nearer 
correct  than  either  of  the  others. 

The  following  memoranda  in  regard  to  various  points  along  this  valley, 
though  not  ver^'  definite,  may  be  of  some  interest  to  the  reader. 

At  San  Domij]go  it  is  quite  narrow  and  continues  so  for  about  six 
miles  below  San  Felipe,  where  it  again  widens  to  six  or  seven  miles,  the 
soil  being  quite  sandy.  At  Bernalillo  it  is  of  considerable  breadth,  but 
gi'ows  narrow  in  the  vicinity  of  Zandia,  again  expanding  and  affording 
a  tolerably  broad  area  at  Alameda.  From  Alameda  to  a  pomt  some 
distance  below  Isleta,  there  is  a  moderate  width  of  good  bottom  land. 
Contracting  near  Peralto,  it  widens  again  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tome 
with  improved  soil,  the  belt  continuing  with  verj'  little  interruption 
to  the  bend  of  the  Rio  Grande,  below  the  mouth  of  the  Puerco,  where 
the  bordering  hills  close  in  upon  it,  reducing  it  to  about  one  mile.  At 
Socorro  there  is  a  medium  belt,  which  expands  southward,  i)resenting  a 
very  fine  agricultural  section,  which  is  interrupted  in  the  vicinity  of  Fra 
Cristobal  Mountains.  Between  San  Antouio  and  Doiia  Ana  are  some 
of  the  finest  portions  of  the  whole  valley,  opposite  which  on  the  east 
side  stretch  the  sandy  wastes  of  the  dreaded  Jornada  del  Muerto. 
Near  Mesilla  and  Doiia  Aiia  are  also  some  fiue  openings,  which  are  par- 
tially cultivated.  In  regard  to  the  ^few  small  tributary  valleys  below 
the  Rio  Puerco,  I  know  nothing. 

The  volume  of  water  sent  down  by  this  river  is  sufficient  to  irrigate 
an  immense  area  of  land.  xVt  Tome  Lieutenant  Emory  found  by  meas- 
urement the  entire  volume,  including  two  acequias,  to  be  equal  to  a  width 
of  ninety-three  feet  and  depth  of  two  feet,  or  the  area  of  a  transverse 
section,  one  hundred  and  eighty-six  square  feet.  The  rate  of  fall  be- 
tween Peiia  Blanca  and  Isleta  is  nearly  six  feet  to  the  mile;  it  may 
therefore  be  possible  to  carry  it  to  some  portions  of  the  higher  ground, 
but  in  regard  to  this  I  am  unable  to  speak  positively.  Judging  from 
the  height  of  the  bluff  at  San  Felipe  above  the  river  level,  one  hundred 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       207 

and  ninety-six  feet,  it  is  not  probable  this  is  practicable  except  where 
there  are  lower  intermediate  levels. 

As  a  general  thing  the  soil  aloni?  the  river  is  (juite  sandy,  but  when 
well  watered  proves  to  be  very  fertile;  and,  although  seeuiingly  adapted 
to  the  growth  of  wheat,  this  cereal  does  not  prove  as  productive  here  as 
farther  north.  Indian  corn  grows  finely,  and  when  the  better  varieties 
are  introduced  and  cultivated,  large  and  remunerative  crops  may  be 
raised.  Here  is  to  be  found  one  of  the  finest  grape-growing  sections  in 
the  Union,  its  only  rivals  being  the  valleys  of  California.  All  the  usual 
varieties  of  fruit  can  be  raised  in  abundance  and  with  great  ease.  Mel- 
ons, pumpkins,  frijoles,  and  in  the  southern  extremity  cotton,  can  be 
produced.  In  the  greater  part  of  this  valley  two  crops  of  cereals  can  be 
raised  in  one  season. 

THE  PECOS  VALLEY. 

As  I  have  visited  only  the  northern  part  of  this  section,  and  have       . 
received  information  in  regard  to  some  detached  i^ortions  only  of  its       w 
southern  half,  I  can  form  no  reliable  estimate  of  the  amount  of  arable        ^l 
laud  it  contiiins.     Yet  I  am  warranted,  by  what  I  have  seen  and  learned,  ^  ^' 
in  saying  that  the  proportion  is  less  than  in  either  of  the  sections  here- 
tofore described.     In  fact,  the  valley  of  this  river  is  one  of  erosion,  worn 
out  of  the  broad  plateau  of  this  region,  and  in-esenting,  north  of  the 
Guadalupe  Mountains,  the  appearance  of  one  vast  arroi/o.     Its  tribu- 
taries are  few,  and,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three,  of  but  little  im- 
portance in  an  agricultural  point  of  view.  .        '^  .- 

The  Gallinas  Eiver  and  its  little  tributaries  afford  narrow  belts  of  fer-  y 
tile  soil,  the  area  being  equal  to  the  supply  of  water.  Around  Las  Vegas  ^-  ' 
a  considerable  breadth  is  under  cultivation,  corn  being  the  chief  crop. 
The  Pecos,  to  its  junction  with  the  Gallinas,  runs  through  a  very  narrow 
valley,  which  has  been  correctly  described  as  "  ribbon-lilie,"  a  few  bay- 
like expansions  forming  the  only  exceptions,  as  at  San  Miguel.  The 
valley  bottom  throughout  this  distance  is  generally  fiauked  by  high 
bluffs,  which  sometimes,  as  in  the  neighborhood  of  La  Guesta,  reach  an 
altitude  of  five  hundred  feet.  Lieutenant  Whipple,  whose  liue  of  survey 
crossed  at  Anton  Chico,  estimates  the  cultivable  land  in  a  belt  thirty 
miles  wide  and  reaching  directh^  across  this  section,  from  Pajarito  Creek 
to  Anton  Chico,  at  one-tliirtieth  of  the  area  embraced.  From  an  exam- 
ination in  person  of  a  similar  belt  immediately  north  of  it,  I  am  inclined 
to  think  this  estimate  very  near  correct ;  it  may  be  a  little  too  low,  but 
not  much.  In  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Sumner,  as  I  was  informed  by 
Mr.  Maxwell,  there  is  a  considerable  breadth  of  fertile  land  which  can 
be  irrigated,  and  which  is  well  adapted  to  the  growth  of  fruits  and 
grapes.  Along  the  headwaters  of  the  liio  Bonito  there  are  some  fertile 
spots,  where  not  only  fine  crops  of  cereals  are  raised,  but  where  fruits, 
grapes,  and  even  sweet  potatoes  grow  well.  Very  little  appears  to  be 
known  in  regard  to  the  valley  of  the  Penasco. 

From  the  north  end  of  the  Guadalupe  Mountains  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Delaware  Eiver  the  valley  of  the  Pecos  is  level  and  very  fertile,  averag- 
ing in  width  some  three  or  four  miles.  But  from  all  I  can  learn  in  re- 
gard to  this  part  of  the  section  the  tillable  area  could  be  extended  far 
beyond  the  immediate  bottoms.  For  here  the  plateau,  instead  of  ter- 
minating in  abrupt  bluffs,  descends  gradually,  and  in  a  somewhat  gen- 
tle slope  to  the  river  bottom.  The  sui^ply  of  water  in  the  river  being- 
ample,  and  the  fall  rapid  in  this  part  of  its  course,  irrigating  canals  could 
be  carried  far  up  the  slope,  if  not  to  the  top  of  the  plateau.    The  soil  on 


208  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

the  upper  level  possesses  alltbe  ingredients  necessary  to  productiveness, 
except  tbat  furnislied  by  water.  Supply  this  and  all  the  table  lands  of 
New  Mexico  will  yield  rich  returns  for  tlie  labor  bestowed  upon  them. 
I  am  of  the  opinion  that  for  a  part  of  its  course  the  Pecos  is  some- 
what sluf;i?ish,  l3ut  I  may  be  mistahen  in  this,  as  I  base  it  entirely  on 
the  following  data,  viz,  that  from  Anton  Chico  to  the  mouth  of  the  Dela- 
ware the  fall  amounts  to  one  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet, 
which  gives  an  average  of  but  little  more  than  four  feet  to  the  mile,  but 
as  the  fall  between  the  north  end  of  the  Guadalupe  Mountains  and  the 
mouth  of  the  Delaware  is  very  rapid,  and  at  the  upper  ]K)rtion  is  also 
above  the  average,  I  mfer  that  for  a  part  of  its  intermediate  distance 
the  fall  is  but  little. 

WESTERN  NEW  MEXICO. 

Although  this  is  not  embraced  in  the  Eio  Grande  district,  it  is  per- 
haps best  to  add  here  what  few  items  I  have  obtained  in  regard  to  its 
agricultural  capacity. 

The  Eio  San  Juan,  a  tributary  of  the  Colorado  of  the  West,  although 
rising  in  tlie  ^au  Juan  Mountains  of  Colorado  Territory,  bends  south 
and  traverses  the  northwest  portion  of  New  Mexico,  Avhere  it  receives  a 
number  of  aliiuents.  Colonel  McClure  and  Governor  Arny  inform  me 
that  these  valleys  afford  a  considerable  breadth  of  very  rich  land,  which 
can  be  irrigated,  and  which  will  produce  fine  crops  of  the  cereals,  veg- 
etables, and  fruits  usually  growni  in  the  Middle  States.  As  this  area 
appears  to  be  almost,  if  not  entirely,  unoccupied,  it  would  j)resent  a 
good  j)oint  for  a  colony. 

The  upper  tributaries  of  the  Puerco  of  the  West,  a  branch  of  Flax 
Eiver,  are  flanked  by  narrow  belts  of  arable  lands,  but  as  the  water  of 
this  river  sinks  as  it  descends,  it  cannot  be  relied  on  for  irrigating  pur- 
poses. But  near  the  mountains  here,  as  along  the  headwaters  of  the 
Zuui,  crops  may  be  raised  without  irrigation,  as  the  supi)ly  of  rain  is 
said  to  be  generally  sufiicieiit  for  this  purpose.  Even  around  Zuili, 
where  an  ample  supply  of  water  can  be  obtained  from  the  Zuili  Eiver, 
there  are  no  acequias,  the  inhabitants  relying  on  the  rains  to  supply  the 
necessary  moisture.  There  is  probably  some  peculiarity  connected  with 
the  local  atmospheric  currents  here  which  collects  the  moisture,  or 
causes  its  separation  and  fall.  The  evidences  of  a  former  quite  numer- 
ous population,  which  have  served  to  render  this  classic  ground,  when 
we  consider  the  fact  that  they  are  unaccompanied  by  the  remains  of 
aqueducts,  would  indicate  that  formerly  the  amount  of  rain  was  sufficient 
for  agricultural  purposes. 

The  Eio  Mimbres  runs  through  a  beautiful  valley  of  moderate  width 
and  fertile  soil,  where  all  the  productions  of  the  Central  States  can  be 
raised,  and  wdiere  even  those  things  which  belong  to  a  more  southern 
climate  can  be  grown  without  difficulty. 

The  Eio  Gila,  near  where  it  leaves  the  Territory,  has  some  good  bot- 
tom lands,  but  farther  north,  toward  the  Sierra  Santa  Eita,  is  pebbly 
and  inferior.  In  regard  to  the  valleys  along  its  head-waters  I  know 
nothing. 

SOIL,   CLIMATE,   AND  PRODUCTIONS. 

Leaving  the  description  of  the  Canadian  sectioii  until  I  come  to  the 
examination  of  the  Arkansas  district,  I  will  close  my  account  of  the  Eio 
Grande  district  with  a  short  summary  of  the  information  obtained  in 
reference  to  the  soil,  climate,  and  productions  of  the  Territory. 


GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       209 

As  a  general  tiling  the  soil  is  sandy  and  looks  poor  and  sterile,  giving 
an  impression  of  extreme  barrenness,  which  it  is  difficult  to  remove  until 
the  efl'ect  of  irrigation  and  cultivation  is  seen.  But  the  general  state- 
ment made  in  the  introduction  respecting  the  soil  in  the  Kocky  Moun- 
tain region  holds  good  here,  for  wherever  sufficient  water  can  be  applied 
the  soil  will  prove  fertile. 

The  best  estimate  I  can  make  of  the  arable  area  of  the  Territory  is 
about  as  follows :  in  the  Eio  Grande  district,  one-twentieth,  or  about 
two  thousand  eight  hundred  square  miles  ;  in  the  strip  along  tlie  west- 
ern border,  one-flftieth,  or  about  six  hundred  square  miles ;  in  the  north- 
eastern triangle,  watered  by  the  Canadian  liiver,  one-fifteen tb,  or  about 
one  thousand  four  hundred  square  miles.  This  calculation  excludes  the 
"  Staked  Plains,"  and  amounts  in  the  aggregate  to  four  thousand  eight 
hundred  square  miles,  or  nearly  two  million  nine  hundred  thousand 
acres.  This,  I  am  aware,  is  larger  than  any  previous  estimate  that  I 
have  seen,  but  when  the  country  is  penetrated  by  one  or  t^^'o  railroads, 
and  a  more  enterprising  agricultural  population  is  introduced,  the  fact 
will  soon  be  developed  that  many  portions  now  considered  Iteyond  the 
reach  of  irrigation  will  be  reclaimed.  I  do  not  found  this  estimate 
wholly  upon  the  observations  made  in  the  small  portions  I  have  visited, 
but  in  addition  thereto  I  have  carefully  examined  the  various  reports 
made  upon  special  sections,  and  have  obtained  all  the  information  I 
could  from  intelligent  persons  who  have  resided  in  the  Territory  for  a 
number  of  years. 

As  the  Territory  inc'ludes  in  its  bounds  some  portions  of  the  Eocky 
Mountain  range  on  which  snow  remains  for  a  great  part  of  the  year^ 
and  also  a  semi-tropical  region  along  its  southern  boundry,  there  is,  of 
necessity,  a  wide  difference  in  the  extremes  of  temperature.  But  with 
the  exception  -jf  the  cold  seasons  of  the  higher  lands  at  the  north,  it  is 
temi)erate  and  regular.  The  summer  days  in  the  lower  valleys  are 
sometimes  quite  warm,  but  as  the  dry  atmosphere  rapidly  absorbs  the 
perspiration  of  the  body,  it  prevents  the  debilitating  effect  experienced 
where  the  air  is  heavier  and  more  saturated  with  moisture.  The  nights 
are  cool  and  refreshing.  The  winters,  except  in  the  mountainous  por- 
tions at  the  north,  are  moderate,  but  the  difference  between  the  north- 
ern and  southern  sections  during  this  season  is  greater  than  during  the 
summer.  The  amount  of  snow  that  falls  is  light  and  seldom  remains 
on- the  ground  longer  than  a  few  hours.  The  rains  principally  fall  dur- 
ing the  months  of  July,  August,  and  September,  but  the  annual  amount 
is  small,  seldom  ^exceeding  a  few  inches.  When  there  are  heavy  snows 
in  the  mountains  during  the  winter,  there  will  be  good  crops  the  follow- 
ing summer,  the  supply  of  water  being  more  abundant,  and  the  quan- 
tity of  sediment  carried  down  greater  than  when  the  snow^s  are  light. 
Good  crops  appear  to  come  in  cycles,  three  or  four  following  in  succes- 
sion, then  one  or  two  inferior  ones.  During  the  autumn  months  the 
wind  is  disagreeable  in  some  places,  especially  near  the  openings  between 
high  ridges,  and  at  the  termini  of  or  passes  through  mountain  ranges. 
There  is,  perhaps,  no  healthier  section  of  country  to  be  found  in  the 
United  States  than  that  embraced  in  the  boundaries  of  Colorado  and 
New  Mexico.  In  fact,  I  think  I  am  justified  in  saying  that  this  area 
includes  the  healthiest  portion  of  the  Union.  Perhaps  it  is  not  improper 
for  me  to  say  that  I  have  no  personal  ends  to  serve  in  making  this  state- 
ment, not  having  one  dollar  invested  in  either  of  these  Territories  in 
any  way  whatever.  I  make  it  simply  because  I  believe  it  to  be  true. 
Nor  would  I  wish  to  be  understood  as  contrasting  with  other  sections 
of  the  Eocky  Mountain  region,  only  so  far  as  these  Territories  have  the 
14  a 


210       GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRIT0EIE9. 

advantage  in  temperature.  It  is  possible  Arizona  should  be  included, 
but  as  I  have  not  visited  it  I  cannot  speak  of  it.  There  is  no  better 
place  of  resort  for  those  suffering  with  pulmonary  complaints  than  here. 
It  is  time  for  the  health- seekers  of  our  country  to  learn  and  appreciate 
the  fact  that  within  our  own  bounds  are  to  be  found  all  the  elements  of 
health  that  can  possibly  be  obtained  by  a  tour  to  the  eastern  continent, 
or  any  other  part  of  the  world.  And  that,  in  addition  to  the  invigor- 
ating air,  is  scenery  as  wild,  grand,  and  varied  as  any  found  amid  the 
Alpine  heights  of  Switzerland.  And  here  too,  from  Middle  Park  to 
Las  Vegas,  is  a  succession  of  mineral  and  hot  springs  of  almost  every 
character. 

The  productions  of  New  Mexico,  as  might  be  inferred  from  the  variety 
of  its  climate,  are  varied,  but  the  staples  will  evidently  be  cattle,  sheep, 
wool,  and  wine,  for  which  it  seems  to  be  peculiarly  adapted.  The  table- 
lands and  mountain  valleys  are  covered  throughout  with  the  nutritious 
gramma  and  other  grasses,  which,  on  account  of  the  dryness  of  the  soil, 
cure  upon  the  ground  and  aftbrd  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  food  for 
flocks  and  herds  both  summer  and  winter.  The  ease  and  comparatively 
small  cost  with  which  they  can  be  kept,  the  raj^idity  with  which  they 
increase,  and  exemption  from  epidemic  diseases,  added  to  the  fact  that 
winter  feeding  is  not  required,  must  make  the  raising  of  stock  and  wool- 
growing  a  prominent  business  of  the  country ;  the  only  serious  draw- 
back at  i)resent  being  the  fear  of  the  hostile  Indian  tribes.  But  as  these 
remarks  apply  equally  well  to  all  these  districts,  I  will  speak  further  in 
regard  to  this  matter  when  I  take  ui)  the  subject  of  grazing  in  this 
division. 

The  cattle  and  sheep  of  this  Territory  are  small,  because  no  care  seems 
to  be  taken  to  improve  the  breed.  San  Miguel  County  appears  to  be 
the  great  j)asturing  ground  for  sheep,  large  numbers  being  driven  here 
from  other  counties  to  graze.  Don  Komaldo  Baca  estimates  that  be- 
tween five  hundred  thousand  and  eight  hundred  thousand  are  annually 
pastured  here ;  about  two-thirds  of  which  are  driven  in  from  other  sec- 
tions. His  own  Hocks  number  between  thirty  thousand  and  forty 
thousand  head;  those  of  his  nephew  twenty-five  thousand  to  thirty 
thousand ;  I\Ir.  Mariano  Trisarry,  of  Bernalillo  County,  owns  about  fifty- 
five  thousand ;  and  Mr.  Gallegos,  of  Santa  ¥6,  nearly  seventy  thousand 
head. 

Don  Eomaldo  Baca  stated  to  me  that  his  flocks  yielded  him  an  annual 
average  of  about  one  and  a  half  pounds  of  washed  wool  to  the  sheep ; 
that  the  average  price  of  sheep  was  not  more  than  two  dollars  per  head ; 
that  the  wool  paid  all  expenses'and  left  the  increase,  which  is  from  fifty 
to  seventy-five  per  cent,  per  annum,  as  his  profit.  From  these  figures 
some  estimate  may  be  formed  of  what  improved  sheep  would  yield. 

Wheat  and  oats  grow  throughout  the  Territory,  but  the  former  does 
not  yield  as  heavily  in  the  southern  as  in  the  northern  part.  If  any 
method  of  watering  the  higher  plateau  is  ever  discovered,  I  think  that 
it  will  produce  heavier  crops  of  wheat  than  the  valley  of  the  Eio  Grande. 

Corn  is  raised  from  the  Vermijo  on  the  east  of  the  mountains  around 
to  the  Culebra  on  the  inside ;  in  fact,  it  is  the  principal  crop  of  San 
Miguel  County,  but  the  quality  and  yield  is  inferior  to  that  which  can 
be  produced  in  the  Eio  Grande  Valley,  and  along  the  Eio  Bonito.  The 
southern  portion  of  the  Eio  Pecos  Valley  and  the  Canadian  bottoms  are 
j)robably  the  best  portions  of  the  Territory  for  this  cereal. 

Apples  will  grow  from  the  Taos  Valley  south ;  but  peaches  cannot  be 
raised  to  any  advantage  north  of  Bernalillo  in  the  central  section,  but  it 
is  likely  they  would  do  well  along  some  of  the  tributaries  and  main 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       211 

valley  of  the  Canadian  Elver.  They  also  appear  to  grow  well  and  pro- 
duce fruit  without  irrigation  in  the  Zuiii  country ;  and  the  valley  of  the 
Mimbres  is  also  adapted  to  their  culture.  Apricots  and  plums  grow 
wherever  apples  or  peaches  can  be  raised.  I  neglected  to  obtain  any 
information  in  regard  to  pears,  but  judging  from  the  similarity  of  soil 
and  climate  here  to  that  of  Utah  and  California,  where  this  fruit  grows 
to  perfection,  I  suppose  that  in  the  central  and  southern  portions 
it  woidd  do  well.  The  grape  will  probably  be  the  chief  or  at  least 
the  most  profitable  product  of  the  soil.  The  soil  and  climate  appear 
to  be  peculiarly  adapted  to  its  growth,  and  the  probability  is  that  as 
a  grape-growing  and  wine-producing  section  it  will  be  second  onlj-  to 
Califoruia.  From  Colonel  McClure  I  learned  that  the  amount  of  wine 
made  in  18G7  was  about  forty  thousand  gallons,  and  that  the  crop  of  18G9 
would  probably  reach  one  hundred  thousand  gallons ;  1  have  not  been 
informed  since  whether  his  estimate  was  verified  or  not.  A  good  many 
vineyards  were  i^lanted  in  18C9,  at  least  double  the  number  of  IS  J  8. 
Several  Americans,  anticipating  the  building  of  a  railroad  through  that 
section,  have  engaged  in  this  branch  of  agriculture.  The  wine  that  is 
made  here  is  said  to  be  of  an  excellent  quality. 

Beets  here,  as  in  Colorado,  grow  to  an  enormous  size,  and  it  is  quite 
likely  that  the  sugar  beet  would  not  only  yield  heavj-  crops,  but  also  con- 
tain a  large  per  cent,  of  saccharine  matter.  I  am  rather  inclined  to  believe 
that  soil  which  is  impregnated  with  alkaline  matter  will  favor  the  pro- 
duction of  the  saccharine  principle.  I  base  this  opinion  wholly  on  ob- 
servations made  in  Utah  in  regard  to  its  effect  on  fruit,  therefore  experi- 
ments may  prove  that  I  am  wholly  mistaken.  It  is  possible  the  experi- 
ment has  been  tried ;  if  so,  I  am  not  aware  of  it. 

The  Irish  potatoes  are  inferior  to  those  raised  farther  north.  Cab- 
bages grow  large  and  fine.  Onions  from  the  Eaton  Mountains  south 
have  the  finest  flavor  of  any  I  ever  tasted,  and  therefore  am  not  sur- 
prised that  Lieutenant  Emory  found  the  dishes  at  Bernalillo  "  all  dressed 
with  the  everlasting  onion."  But  as  to  the  "  chili "  or  pepper  which  is 
so  extensively  raised  and  used  in  New  Mexico,  I  beg  to  be  excused,  un- 
less I  can  have  my  throat  lined  with  something  less  sensitive  than  na- 
ture's coating.  Sweet  potatoes  have  been  successfully  tried  in  the 
vicinity  of  Fort  Siuuner  and  along  the  head- waters  of  the  Eio  Bonito. 
Melons,  pumpkins,  frijoles,  &c.,  are  raised  in  profusion  in  the  lower  val- 
leys ;  and  I  understand  cotton  was  formerly  grown  in  limited  quantities. 

As  a  general  thing  the  mountains  afford  an  abundance  of  pine  for  the 
supply  of  lumber  and  fuel  to  those  sufficiently  near  to  them.  Some  of 
the  valleys  have  a  limited  amount  of  cottonwood  growing  along  them. 
In  addition  to  pine,  spruce  and  cottonwood,  the  stunted  cedar  and  mes- 
quit,  which  is  found  over  a  large  area,  may  be  used  for  fuel.  The  best 
timbered  portion  of  the  Eio  Grande  Valley  is  between  Socorro  and  Dona 
Aiia.  The  east  side  of  the  Guadalupe  range  has  an  abundant  supply  of 
pine  of  large  size.  Around  the  head- waters  of  the  Pecos  is  some  excel- 
lent timber.  Walnut  and  oak  are  found  in  a  few  spots  south,  but  in 
limited  quantities  and  of  too  small  a  size  to  be  of  much  value. 

THE  CANADIAN  SECTION. 

This  section,  in  a  strictly  systematic  arrangement,  would  be  included 
in  the  Arkansas  district,  to  which  it  really  belongs ;  but,  for  conveni- 
ence, and  that  the  plan  of  my  report  of  last  year  may  remain  unchanged, 
I  describe  it  separately.  It  includes  that  part  of  ISTew  Mexico  lying  be- 
tween the  Eaton  Mountains  on  the  north  and  the  Pecos  section,  or 


212       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

"  Llano  Estacado''  on  the  south  and  southwest,  and  contains  about  four- 
teen thousand  square  miles.  The  amount  of  arable  land  in  this  section, 
as  heretofore  stated,  is  estimated  at  about  one  thousand  four  hundred 
square  miles,  or  nine  hundred  thousand  acres.  This  estimate  is  made 
on  Tery  slender  data,  and  therefore  cannot  be  considered  as  very  relia- 
ble, but  I  am  satisfied  that  it  is  not  too  large,  and  I  think  it  is  approxi- 
mately correct. 

The  Canadian*iRiYer,  rising  in  the  Eaton  Mountains,  runs  southeast 
for  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  to  Fort  Bascom,  where  it  turns 
east,  and  passes  out  of  the  Territory,  a  little  north  of  the  thirty-fifth 
parallel — its  whole  length  within  the  limits  of  the  Territory  being  about 
two  hundred  miles.  Most  of  its  tributaries  of  any  importance  in  an  agTi- 
cultural  point  of  view  flow  in  from  the  west,  of  which  the  following  are 
the  principal  ones :  Yermijo,  Little  Cimarron,  Ocate,  Eayada,  (a  branch 
of  the  Ocate,)  Moro,  Eio  Conchas,  Pajarito  Creek,  and  Tucumcari  Creek. 

As  will  be  seen  by  a  glance  at  the  map  of  this  region,  its  western  part 
slopes  eastward,  while  the  general  descent  is  toward  the  south.  Hence 
the  highest  portion  of  its  general  surface  is  found  in  the  northwest  angle, 
where  the  elevation  is  iprobably  about  five  thousand  feet  above  the  sea- 
level,  while  the  southeast  corner,  which  is  the  lowest,  has  an  elevation 
of  only  three  thousand  feet. 

The  fall  of  the  river,  from  the  mouth  of  Pajarito  Creek  east  for  about 
two  hundred  miles,  is  about  nine  feet  to  the  mile.  The  fall  above  this 
is  unknown,  but  it  is  evidently  greater.  It  is  therefore  evident  that  the 
amount  of  land  which. can  be  irrigated  is  limited  only  by  the  sui^ply  of 
water,  which  is  somewhat  uncertain.  I  know  but  little  in  regard  to  the 
valley  of  this  river,  but  understand  that,  as  a  general  thing,  it  is  not 
extensive;  that  at  many  points  the  bluffs  press  closely  upon  it, 
leaving  but  a  narrow  opening  for  the  river,  while  at  others  they  recede, 
leaving  broad  and  fertile  bottoms.  The  bordering  plains  are  generally 
quite  sandy,  supporting  but  a  scanty  vegetation.  The  landscape  is  va- 
ried by  small  elevated  mesas  rising  from  the  comparatively  level  sur- 
face, whose  sharp  outlines  form  a  singular  feature  of  this  country. 

The  following  description  of  the  western  border,  across  which  our 
expedition  iDassed  in  1869,  will  give  a  tolerably  correct  idea  of  the 
section : 

Starting  from  the  crest  of  the  Eaton  Mountains,  immediately  above 
the  source  of  the  Canadian  Eiver,  after  passing  down  through  a  dense 
forest  of  magnificent  pines  and  firs,  we  enter  a  beautiful  little  valley 
covered  over  with  a  thick  sward  of  luxuriant  grass.  Here  a  considera- 
ble amount  is  annually  cut  for  hay  and  taken  to  Trinidad.  But  this 
valley  soon  terminates,  and  the  little  stream  and  road  enter  a  rugged 
caiion  bordered  by  precipitous  bluffs  of  gray  sandstone,  which  continue 
to  the  plains  at  the  base  of  the  mountain.  Here  a  grand  panoramic 
view  spreads  out  toward  the  south ;  a  broad,  valley-like  plain  slopes 
southward  as  far  as  the  vision  will  reach.  Scarcely  a  tree  or  shrub  is 
to  be  seen ;  all  is  one  smooth,  grassy  carpet,  which,  on  the  distant  gentle 
slopes,  looks  more  like  i)ale,  pea-green  velvet  than  anything  else  to 
which  I  can  compare  it.  Eising  up  from  the  broad  base  are  two  or 
three  huge  basaltic  tables,  lifting  their  perfectly  level  surfaces  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  feet  or  more  into  the  air,  and  all  clothed  in  the  same 
velvety  covering,  but  which  fails  to  destroy  the  sharp  outline  of  circular 
rim.  The  little  stream,  like  a  silvery  thread,  is  seen  winding  its  tortu- 
ous course  along  the  gently  descending  i^lain,  joined  now  and  then  by  a 
slender  rill  flowing  down  from  the  mountain  on  the  west.  It  is  a  mag- 
nificent pasture  ground  for  sheep  and  cattle,  where  thousands  might  be 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEERITOEIES.       213 

grazed  and  tended  with  but  little  trouble.  But  the  stream  is  too  small 
to  irrigate  any  great  extent  of  the  lands  through  which  it  passes,  and 
which  could  easily  be  reached  if  the  supply  of  water  was  suflicient ;  yet 
enough  can  be  obtained  to  supply  the  wants  of  a  moderate  pastoral 
settlement. 

The  first  tributary  we  reach  that  will  afford  means  of  irrigation  is  a 
small  stream  that  flows  in  from  the  northwest  along  the  base  of  the 
variegated  mural  boundary  that  hems  in  the  landscape  on  the  west.  I 
believe  it  is  called  Uria.  It  has  some  very  pretty  bottoms,  which  are 
quite  fertile  and  can  be  easily  irrigated  to  the  full  capacity  of  the 
stream,  which  is  but  a  few  feet  wide  and  a  few  inches  deep. 

The  Little  Cimarron  and  Vermijo  afford  considerable  breadth  of  arable 
land,  the  former  presenting  a  valley  some  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles 
long,  varying  in  width  from  one  to  six  miles,  which  can  be  easily  irri- 
gated. The  latter  presents  a  valley  of  more  uniform  width,  and  bordered, 
generall}^,  by  higher  lands.  It  is  about  the  same  length  as  the  former, 
and  where  we  crossed  it  about  two  miles  wide,  and  very  rich  and  fertile, 
the  creek  supplying  sufficient  water  to  irrigate  the  whole  of  it. 

The  Kayada  runs  through  a  valley  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the 
Yermijo,  the  bottoms  being  very  low  and  easily  irrigated,'  but  I  think 
they  are  subject  to  occasional  overflows.  The  creek  is  sufficient  to 
supply  the  lower  level  with  water  for  irrigation,  but  the  second  level  is 
rather  too  high  to  be  reached  except  by  a  lengthy  canal. 

The  Ocate  winds  through  a  narrow  valley  of  erosion,  the  high  border- 
ing bluffs  descending  to  it  in  steej)  curves,  beautifully  carpeted  over 
with  grass.  Not  a  tree  or  bush  is  to  be  seen ;  all  is  as  smooth  as  a 
meadowy  lawn.  The  part  of  this  valley  which  I  visited  is  narrow,  vary- 
ing from  one-half  to  a  mile  or  so  in  width,  but  it  may  expand  as  it 
approaches  the  river. 

The  Moro  Valley  is  the  finest  in  this  section,  and,  next  to  the  Taos 
Valley,  the  best  wheat-growing  region  in  the  Territory.  The  upper  or 
mountain  portion  of  it  is  some  eight  or  ten  miles  long  and  about  three 
miles  wide.  After  passing  out  of  this  through  a  narrow  gorge,  the 
creek  enters  the  more  open  plains,  and  is  bordered  for  the  greater  part 
of  its  length  by  a  tolerably  broad  and  very  fertile  valley.  The  entire 
length  is,  i)erhaps,  some  sixty  or  seventy  miles,  and  the  width  of  the 
irrigable  lands  that  skirt  the  creek  will  probably  average  foiu-  or  five 
miles. 

As  the  topography  of  this  portion  of  the  section  has  been  somewhat 
minutely  described  by  Dr.  Hayden,  (see  Preliminary  Eeport,  18G9,  j)p. 
56-61,)  it  is  unnecessary  for  me  to  repeat  it  here. 

The  comparatively  low  elevation  and  southeastern  exposure  of  this 
section,  together  with  the  mountain  barriers  west  and  north,  give  to  it 
a  more  moderate  climate  than  that  of  the  section  immediately  west. 
Kot  only  is  wheat  which  is  produced  here  remarkably  fine,  but  maize 
grows  large,  with  full,  fine  ears.  The  fruits,  if  cultivated,  would  pro- 
duce crops  almost,  if  not  quite,  equal  to  those  of  the  Eio  Grande  Valley. 
And  in  the  southeast  jjart  of  the  section,  along  the  Canadian  Elver, 
grapes  can  be  grown  without  any  difficulty.  The  native  grape,  without 
having  the  aid  of  irrigation,  grows  here  in  rich  profusion,  the  stunted 
vines  often  being  loaded  down  with  the  clusters. 

As  heretofore  intimated,  the  \^'estern  border  affords  some  of  the  finest 
grazing  fields  in  the  Territory,  especially  for  sheei). 

THE  ARKANSAS  DISTRICT. 

This  district  includes  that  part  of  Colorado  Territory  situated  between 


214  GEOLOGICAL   SUEVEY    OF   THE   TERRITORIES. 

the  ''Divide,"  opposite  South  Park,  and  Eaton  Mountains,  and  lying 
east  of  the  dividing  ridge  of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  It  not  only  embraces 
the  plains  east  of  the  base  of  the  mountains,  but  also  the  Upper  Arkansas 
Valley  or  park  lying  within  them.  It  contains  about  twenty-six  thousand 
square  miles,  of  which  about  one-fourth,  or  six  thousand  square  miles, 
can  be  irrigated  and  brought  under  cultivation.  It  is  being  rapidly  set- 
tled up,  and  will  ultimately  prove  to  be  the  richest  agricultural  portion 
of  the  Territory. 

The  Arkansas  Eiver,  rising  a  little  northwest  of  South  Park,  runs 
southeast  nearly  to  Poncho  Pass,  where,  turning  a  little  more  toward 
the  east,  it  passes  through  a  caiion  for  about  forty  miles,  emerging  upon 
the  open  country  at  Canon  City.  From  this  point  to  the  eastern  bound- 
ary of  the  Territory  it  runs  almost  directly  east. 

The  mountain  valley  has  an  elevation  of  between  seven  and  eight 
thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  while  that  of  the  plain  country  lying  east 
of  the  range  varies  from  six  thousand  near  the  base  of  the  mountains  to 
about  three  thousand  five  hundred  feet  at  the  eastern  boundary  of  the 
Territory.  This  somewhat  rapid  descent  of  the  plains  eastward  is  a  very 
important  item  in  estimating  the  agTicultviral  capacity  of  this  country ; 
for  it  was  for  some  time  a  serious  question  in  my  mind  whether  the 
descent  on  the  broad  open  plains  was  sufficient,  after  leaving  the  moun- 
tains for  some  distance,  to  carry  the  water  of  these  rivers  over  the  sandy 
soil;  but  from  a  list  of  elevations  along  the  Kansas  Pacific  Eailroad, 
kindly  furnished  Dr.  Hayden  by  General  Anderson,  superintendent  of 
that  road,  I  learn  the  following  imi:)ortant  facts  :  That  from  Denver  to 
Port  Hays,  a  distance  of  three  hundred  and  forty-seven  miles,  the  fall  is 
three  thousand  two  hundred  and  seven  feet,  or  a  little  over  nine  feet  to 
the  mile,  showing  it  possible  to  pour  the  waters  of  the  South  Platte  into 
the  channel  ©f  Smoky  Hill  Eiver.  Prom  Cheyenne  Wells,  near  the 
source  of  the  Smoky  Hill  Eiver,  to  the  same  place,  a  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  seventy-three  miles,  the  fall  is  one  thousand  two  hundred 
and  eighty-three  feet,  or  over  seven  feet  to  the  mile,  which  is  sufficient 
to  carry  the  water  upon  levels  sixty,  or  even  one  hundred,  feet  above 
the  stream,  whei;e  the  supply  is  sufficient.  The  Arkasas  Eiver,  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Apishpa  to  the  mouth  of  the  Pawnee,  a  distance  of  two 
hundred  and  six  miles,  has  the  remarkable  fall  of  two  thousand  four 
hundred  and  eight  feet,  or  more  than  eleven  feet  to  the  mile.  This  is 
sufficient  to  reach  the  highest  extensive  levels,  so  that,  east  of  Pue- 
blo, the  extent  of  the  inigable  land  is  limited  only  by  the  supply  of 
water,  which  confirms  an  opinion  expressed  by  Mr.  Byers  in  a  commu- 
nication to  me  concerning  this  valley. 

The  head-waters  of  the  Arkansas  are  in  an  oval  park  situated  directly 
west  of  the  South  Park.  The  altitude  of  this  basin  is  probably  between 
eight  and  nine  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea ;  the  length  is 
about  fifty  miles  from  north  to  south  and  twenty  or  thirty  miles  in  width 
at  the  middle  or  widest  point.  At  the  lower  or  southern  end,  an  attempt 
has  been  made  to  cultivate  the  soil,  which  bids  fair  to  prove  a  success. 
Around  the  Twin  Lakes,  at  the  extreme  point,  oats,  wheat,  barley,  pota- 
toes, and  turnij)s  have  been  raised,  yielding  very  fair  crops.  Below  this 
basin  the  river,  for  twenty  miles,  passes  through  a  narroAv  canon,  along 
which,  with  considerable  difficulty,  a  road  has  been  made.  Emerging 
from  this,  it  enters  the  "  Upper  Arkansas  Valley "  proper,  which  is  a 
widening  of  the  bottom  lands  from  two  to  six  or  eight  miles.  This  valley 
is  some  forty  or  fifty  miles  in  length  and  very  fertile.  Near  the  southern 
extremity  are  some  large  boulder  deposits,  evidently  formed  during  its 
lake  period,  ere  the  southeast  barrier  had  broken  away  before  the  accu- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       215 

mulated  waters.  The  chief  portion  of  the  arable  land  lies  on  the  west 
side  of  the  stream,  which  generally  hngs  closely  the  base  of  the  eastern 
range. 

Several  streams  of  moderate  size  flow  down  from  the  Sahwatch  range 
on  the  west  and  cross  the  main  valley.  The  largest  of  these  is  the  Sonth 
Arkansas,  np  which  an  arm  of  the  park  or  valley  extends  for  several 
miles.  The  average  elevation  is  abont  seven  thousand  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea.  There  is  already  a  considerable  poi>ulation  there,  two 
or  three  small  villages,  a  flonring  mill,  and  at  least  one  hundred  farms. 

Although  somewhat  elevated,  this  region  is  well  protected  from  the 
winds  by  the  lofty  mountain  wall  that  hems  it  on  every  side,  and  stock 
can  be  kept  on  the  grazing  fields  most  of  the  winter,  shelter  and  feeding 
being  but  seldom  required,  and  that  but  for  a  short  time.  Passing 
through  here  in  October,  1869,  we  found  it  clear  of  snow  and  the  weather 
pleasant.  We  also  procured  here  some  of  the  finest  potatoes  I  saw  while 
in  the  Territory.  The  extent  of  irrigable  land  may  be  estimated,  in  the 
entire  basin,  at  three  hundred  square  miles. 

Below  this  the  mountains  and  hills  again  crowd  down  to  the  river, 
leaving  only  a  few  small  openings  suitable  for  settlement.  But,  as  is 
generally  the  case  with  these  little  mountain  valleys  in  this  portion  of 
the  country,  they  are  very  fertile. 

It  is  probably  forty  or  fifty  miles  from  the  lower  end  of  this  valley  to 
CaSon  City,  where  the  river  leaves  the  mountaius.  From  this  point  to 
Pueblo,  which  is  situated  at  the  mouth  of  the  "Fountaine  Qui  Bouille," 
the  distance  is  forty  miles.  The  valley  of  the  river  during  this  part  of 
its  course  is  very  uneven  and  broken.  At  one  point  the  bottom  will 
spread  out  for  five  or  six  miles  in  width ;  then  again  it  is  shut  in  by 
rolling  hills  or  elevated  plateaus.  Mr.  Byers  estimates  the  irrigable 
lands  in  this  part  of  the  valley  at  two  hundred  square  miles.  But  I  am 
inclined  to  think  these  elevated  plateaus  are  not  beyond  the  reach  of 
irrigation  from  the  river.  Take,  for  instance,  the  one  immediately  south 
of  Canon  City,  which,  according  to  my  present  recollection,  is  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  or  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  the  water 
level,  with  the  fall  the  river  has  in  this  part  of  its  course,  which  cannot 
be  less  than  fifteen  feet  to  the  mile,  I  see  no  reason  wffy  the  water  could 
not  be  carried  upon  it.  But  it  is  possible  Mr.  Byers  includes  these  in 
his  estimate,  which  certainly  is  not  extravagant. 

From  Pueblo  eastward  the  valley  is  wide,  with  easy  slopes  right  and 
left  to  the  elevated  plains,  much  like  the  valley  and  bordering  lands  of 
the  South  Platte.  Therefore  we  may  safely  assume  that,  with  a  fall  of 
eleven  feet  to  the  mile,  which  the  river  has  in  this  part  of  its  course,  the 
extent  of  land  which  may  be  irrigated  is  only  limited  by  the  supi^lj-  of 
water.  Starting  from  Pueblo  with  a  width  of  two  or  three  miles,  there 
is  nothing  to  prevent  widening  the  belt  to  thirty  or  forty  miles,  thus 
giving  between  Cafion  City  and  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Territory 
at  least  four  thousand  square  miles,  or  two  milUons  and  a  half  acres  of 
irrigable  land. 

The  fact  that  a  large  quantity  of  the  water  of  a  stream  like  this  sinks 
out  on  the  plains,  should  not  be  set  down  as  conclusive  evidence  that 
the  bordering  lands  cannot  be  irrigated  from  it ;  for,  in  the  first  place, 
they  generally  have  much  more  water  in  them  during  the  season  of  the 
year  when  irrigation  is  necessary  than  in  the  latter  part  of  the  summer 
and  fall,  when  not  required.  And  in  the  second  place,  all  the  water 
that  comes  down  from  the  mountains  may  be  retained  on  the  surface  by 
tapping  the  streams  above  the  point  where  it  sinks.  Suppose  all  the 
water  which  flows  down  from  the  mountains  in  the  Arkansas  and  its 


216  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TEREITOEIES. 

numerous  tributaries  was  gatliered  into  canals  and  equally  distributed 
over  the  broad  plains  of  tliis  part  of  the  Territory,  ^Yiio  will  dare  say  that 
four  thousand  square  miles,  yea  almost  twice  four  thousand,  might  not 
be  irrigated?  Then  the  simple  poiut  to  be  determined  is,  can  this  be 
done  1  I  believe  it  can,  and  that  when  the  demand  for  land  in  this  dis- 
trict requires  it,  it  will  be  done ;  the  great  obstacle  here,  as  elsewhere 
in  these  Territories,  being  to  bring  together  that  amount  of  capital 
or  force  sufficient  to  construct  these  canals  at  a  reasonable  cost  per  acre. 

The  principal  tributaries  of  the  Arkansas  that  flow  in  from  the  south, 
east  of  the  mountains,  are  Hardscrabble  and  Greenhorn  Creeks,  (the  St. 
Charles  is  a  branch  of  the  latter,)  Huerfano  Eiver,  which  has  a  large 
tributary  named  Cuchara;  Apishpa  Elver,  Timpas  Creek,  and  Purgatory 
Eiver.  On  the  north  side.  Fountain  Qui  Bouille  Eiver  and  Squirrel  Creek 
are  the  principal  streams  affording  water. 

Hardscrabble  is  a  small  stream  running  through  a  broken  section,  and 
is  skirted  by  narrow  bottoms  from  a  half  to  two  miles  in  width,  which 
are  low,  easily  irrigated,  and  quite  fertile.  The  St.  Charles  is  a  larger 
stream,  which  traverses  some  arable  lands,  but  is  occasionally  hemmed 
in  by  bluffs.  As  I  crossed  it  only  at  a  deep,  narrow  cut,  I  am  unable  to 
speak  positively  in  regard  to  the  extent  of  its  valley,  but  I  understand 
considerable  bodies  of  irrigable  laud  are  to  be  found  along  its  course, 
and  that  near  its  source  is  a  valley  of  moderate  size  called  Wet  Moun- 
tain Valley,  which  affords  some  good  farming  laud.  The  Greenhorn 
Valley  also  furnishes  level  land  and  irrigating  facilities  sufficient  for 
considerable  agricultural  settlements.  The  length  of  this  valley  is  prob- 
ably thirty  miles,  but  what  its  average  width  is  I  do  not  know.  Along 
the  Huerfano  and  its  chief  tributary  are  some  of  the  best  farming  lands 
in  the  district.  Huerfano  Park,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes  called,  the  Upper 
Huerfano  Valley,  which  lies  west  of  or  behind  the  Wet  Mountains,  is 
about  fifteen  miles  long  and  from  three  to  five  miles  wide,  and  is  already 
tolerably  well  settled.  The  valleys  of  these  two  streams  are  of  moderate 
width,  but  are  occasionally  interrupted  for  some  distance  by  the  upper 
level,  which  presses  close  upon  the  streams,  leaving  only  deep  cuts  or 
caiions.  But  as  the  fall  is  rapid,  the  water  could,  without  much  diffi- 
culty, be  broughffupon  the  upper  surface,  thus  largely  increasing  the 
amount  of  tillable  lands.  Where  we  crossed  the  Cuchara,  the  bottom 
was  about  one  mile  wide,  but  the  second  level,  which  is  ext-ensive,  was 
not  more  than  fifty  feet  above  the  stream,  and,  as  I  learn,  is  generally 
less  than  this  height. 

In  regard  to  the  valley  of  the  Purgatory  I  know  but  little,  as  I  did 
not  have  an  opportunity  of  visiting  it.  Its  upper  portion,  I  believe,  is 
narrow,  and  occasionally  the  bluffs  close  in  upon  the  stream  for  several 
miles ;  but  the  lower  moiety  is  broader,  affording  room  for  extensive 
settlements.  There  is,  I  believe,  as  a  general  thing,  an  ample  supply 
of  water  for  irrigating  purposes,  but  during  the  latter  part  of  the  season 
the  flow  becomes  somewhat  scanty. 

Monument  Creek,  from  its  source  to  where  it  enters  the  Fountaine 
-Qui  Bouille,  is  about  twenty-four  miles  long,  and  affords  water  sufficient 
to  irrigate  an  average  of  only  half  a  mile  on  each  side.  For  a  part  of  its 
course  ifc  runs  through  forests  of  pine,  where  the  growth  is  tall  and  fine 
and  well  suited  for  lumbering  purposes.  The  Fountain  Qui  Bouille,  which 
rises  in  the  mountains  northwest  of  Colorado  City,  has  a  run  of  about 
fifty  miles,  the  immediate  valley  averaging  about  two  miles.  The  plains 
which  flank  it  are  generally  of  but  moderate  height  and  slope  down 
gently,  and  can  be  irrigated,  with  but  little  difficulty,  to  the  full  extent 
of  the  water  in  the  stream. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       217 

This  entire  district  affords  broad  and  extensive  grazing  fields  for  cattle 
and  sheep,  and  quite  a  number  of  herders  and  stock- raisers  are  begin- 
ning already  to  spread  out  theii*  flocks  and  herds  over  these  broad  areas 
of  rich  and  nutritious  grasses.  One  of  the  finest  meadows,  of  moderate 
extent,  that  I  saw  in  tlie  Territory,  was  on  the  divide  near  the  head  of 
Monument  Creek,  and  near  by  was  a  large  pond  of  cool,  clear  water. 

The  temj)eratnre  of  this  section  is  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  Northern 
Missouri,  and  all  the  products  grown  there  can  be  raised  here,  some  with 
a  heavier  yield  and  of  a  finer  quality,  as  wheat,  oats,  «S:c.,  while  others, 
as  corn,  yield  less  and  are  inferior  in  quality. 

An  experiment  made  by  Mr.  John  T.  Smith,  a  short  distance  south  of 
Caiion  City,  proves  conclusively  that  such  fruits  as  apples,  peaches, 
j)ears,  and  cherries  will  grow  here  without  difdculty,  and  produce 
abundant  crops  of  excellent  quality.  I  saw  here  peach  trees  in  fruit 
the  fourth  year  from  the  seed. 

SOUTH  PLATTE  DISTRICT. 

As  my  report  of  1869  covered  this  district,  I  will  only  add  such  addi- 
tional facts  in  regard  to  its  agricultural  prospects  and  development  as  I 
gathered  the  present  j^ear.  The  impetus  given  to  the  settlement  and 
cultivation  of  this  district  by  the  completion  of  the  Kansas  Pacific  and 
Denver  Pacific  Eailroads  is  already  manifest.  At  the  mouth  of  the 
Cache  a  la  Poudre,  where  last  year  only  a  ranch  or  two  were  to  be  seen, 
is  now  a  fine  village.  Farms  are  marked  off  in  the  valley  and  on  the 
plains,  and  extensive  preparations  made  to  test  on  a  broad  scale,  next 
season,  the  productive  powers  of  this  soil.  A  canal  some  fourteen  or 
fifteen  miles  long  has  been  commenced  and  will  shortly  be  completed. 
This  will  bring  water  from  the  Cache  a  la  Poudre  and  aflbrd  means  of 
irrigating  some  fifty  or  sixty  thousand  acres  of  the  plains  that  lie  north 
of  the  Platte.  And,  if  I  am  not  wholly  mistaken,  that  which  has  by 
some  been  ridiculed  as  a  barren  cactus  plain  will  produce  crops  of  cereals 
that  will  rival  the  heaviest  yield  of  the  richest  lands  of  the  States.  I 
may  be  mistaken,  but  will  cling  to  the  opinion,  until  contradicted  by 
fair  experiments,  that  the  uplands  or  ridges  of  this  section,  when  prop- 
erly irrigated  and  cultivated,  will  produce  better  wheat  than  the  creek 
bottoms. 

The  Kansas  Pacific  Eailroad  Company  contemplate  running  a  canal 
from  the  mouth  of  Platte  Caiion  to  some  point  near  the  head-waters  of 
the  Eepublican  Fork,  a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  forty  or  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles.  The  rise  between  Bijou  and  Denver  Junction  may 
present  some  difdculty,  but  this  can  doubtless  be  overcome  by  bending 
round  to  the  north,  where  the  elevation  is  less.  And  the  fall  between 
the  mouth  of  the  caiion  and  Denver,  which  is  probably  two  hundred 
feet  or  more,  may  considerably  lessen  the  flexure.  If  this  great  work  is 
completed  we  may  see  ere  long  the  irrigated  lands  brought  close  to  the 
rain-moistened  region;  a  belt  of  farms  stretching  from  the  Missouri 
Eiver  to  the  Eocky  Mountains.  Such  a  consummation  is  certainly  de- 
sirable. The  "Great  American  Desert"  belted  with  fields  of  golden 
grain  and  pleasant  homes  would  be  a  result  not  anticipated  ten  years 
ago,  and  the  very  mention  of  which  is  ridiculed  by  many  now,  but  which 
those  who  carefully  study  the  country  do  not  concede  as  impossible. 

NORTH  PLATTE  DISTRICT. 

The  boundaries  of  this  district  are  more  difficult  to  describe  than 
those  of  either  of  the  other  districts  of  the  eastern  division.    Not  be- 


218       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

cause  tliey  are  any  less  definite,  but  because  the  water-sheds  at  some 
points  are  not  prominent,  and  have  received  no  well-kno\yn  and  fixed 
names.  The  following  lines  will  designate  the  area  embraced  in  the  dis- 
trict with  sufficient  accuracy  for  present  purposes : 

Commencing  at  Long's  Peak,  it  runs  west,  and  then  north,  leaving 
the  l^orth  Park  to  the  right  5  from  thence  northwest,  by  way  of  Bridger's 
Pass  and  Creston  Station,  it  crosses  over  the  plains  to  South  Pass. 
From  this  point  it  runs  northeast  between  Little  Popoagie  and  Sweet- 
water, and  passes  round  the  Eattlesnake  Hills  between  Bad- Water  and 
Poison  Spring  Creeks.  Prom  here,  turning  east,  it  passes  along  an 
irregular  range  of  hills  to  the  southern  extremity  of  the  Big  Horn  Moun- 
tains ;  then,  turning  southeast,  passes  between  the  waters  of  the  Chey- 
enne and  North  Platte  Elvers  to  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  Territory. 
Following  the  boundary  line  of  the  Territory  southward,  we  may  prop- 
erly include  Lodge  Pole  Yalley,  as  its  upper  portion  appears  to  belong- 
more  to  the  North  Platte  slope  than  that  of  the  South  Platte. 

These  boundaries  embrace  an  area  of  about  twentj'-five  thousand 
square  miles,  and,  exclusive  of  North  Park,  nearly  one-fourth  Of  Wyo- 
ming Territory.  With  the  exception  of  a  few  small  sections,  they  in- 
clude the  most  desirable  portions  of  the  Territory,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  arable  lands. 

This  district  is  not  only  very  irregular  in  its  outline,  but  bears  the 
same  varied  and  irregidar  character  interiorly.  The  mighty  convul- 
sive force  which  heaved  up  these  vast  Eocky  Mountain  ranges  seems  to 
have  obtained  slight  breathing  places  for  its  imprisoned  energies  at  the 
parks  of  Colorado,  while  here,  with  one  terrific  throe,' it  has  scattered 
the  mountains  and  hills  in  wild  confusion  as  a  giant  would  scatter 
pebbles.  In  the  eastern  portion,  stretching  north  and  south,  is  a  range 
of  rough  and  lofty  mountains,  which,  at  its  northern  extremity,  is  rent 
into  fragments  and  scattered  in  decreasing  peaks  and  ridges  to  the 
northwest.  Along  the  southern  border,  turning  in  nearly  every  direc- 
tion of  the  compass,  are  lofty  ranges  whose  summits  wear  crowns  of 
perennial  snow.  Westward  the  mountain  ranges  trending  northwest 
sink  beneath  the  immense  deposit  of  local  drift,  which  here  covers  the 
mighty  chasm,  but  they  show  themselves  further  north  in  the  granite 
peaks,  which,  like  islands,  shoot  up  from  the  Sweetwater  Plains,  and 
further  on  emerge  in  the  Wind  Eiver  range.  Between  these  irregular 
surroundings  lie  the  broad  Laramie  Plains,  which  might  appropriately 
be  called  the  Great  Park  of  Wyoming.  Entirely  east  of  the  Black  Hills 
we  enter  upon  the  plains  which  slope  toward  the  Missouri  Eiver. 

The  area  west  of  the  Black  Hills,  as  shown  by  the  course  of  the 
streams,  and  also  by  the  barometer,  slopes  north  and  east,  pouring  its 
waters  through  the  northeast  angle  of  the  district.  The  average  level 
of  the  entire  district  is  higher  than  that  of  either  of  the  others  of  this 
division,  the  western  portion  being  on  an  average  about  six  thousand 
five  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  diiference  of  level  be- 
tween the  North  Park  and  the  mouth  of  the  Sweetwater  is  about  two 
thousand  feet ;  and  between  South  Pass  and  the  mouth  of  the  Sweet- 
water about  one  thousand  five  hundred  feet.  The  area  east  of  the  moun- 
tains varies  from  four  thousand  four  hundred  to  six  thousand  feet  above  , 
the  sea  level. 

On  account  of  its  altitude,  and  the  direction  and  force  of  its  atmo- 
spheric cuiTcnts,  the  temperature  of  this  district  is  lower  than  that  of  the 
other  districts  east  of  the  divide,  within  the  bounds  under  consideration. 
And  as  a  general  thing  only  those  products  adapted  to  a  cold  climate 
and  short  seasons  can  be  raised  to  any  advantage.    Yet  it  is  exceed- 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  219 

ingly  important  to  know,  not  only  that  a  mining  section  can  produce 
the  principal  cereals,  as  wheat,  oats,  and  barley,  and  the  more  useful 
vegetables  suflScient  to  supply  its  own  wants,  but  also  to  know  something 
in  regard  to  the  locality  and  extent  of  its  arable  lands.  A  few  acres  of 
productive  soil  in  the  vicinity  of  a  rich  mine  will  often  yield  a  greater 
profit  to  the  cultivator  than  a  large  farm  in  Ohio  or  Illinois. 

It  is  difficult  to  give  any  very  reliable  estimate  of  the  land  susceptible 
of  cultivation  in  the  bounds  of  this  district,  as  much  of  it  is  in  small 
bodies  of  irregular  shape ;  yet  I  think  that  by  proper  eftbrts  at  least 
three  thousand  square  miles,  or  about  two  million  acres,  can  be  brought 
under  cultivation.  This  may  be  thought  an  exaggerated  estimate,  Avhen 
we  take  into  consideration  the  large  proportion  of  the  area  occupied  by 
mountains,  the  barren  tract  south  of  the  Sweetwater,  and  the  deficiency 
in  the  supply  of  water  on  the  plains  east  of  the  Black  Hills.  But  when 
more  effectual  means  of  husbanding  the  water  are  adopted,  as  by  tap- 
ping the  streams  nearer  their  exit  from  the  mountains,  and  keeping  it 
above  the  surface,  by  forming  reservoirs,  &c.,  the  supply  will  be  found 
greater  than  at  present  supposed,  and  the  estimate  given,  instead  of  be- 
ing too  large,  will  most  likely  prove  to  be  too  small.  The  cold  climate, 
it  is  true,  is  a  serious  obstacle,  yet  there  are  but  few  arable  spots  in  the 
district  that  cannot  be  made  to  produce  useful  crops  of  some  kind. 

The  district  is  naturally  divided  into  four  sections,  as  follows:  The 
North  Park,  the  Laramie  Plains,  the  Sweetwater  region,  and  the  plains 
lying  eavSt  of  the  Black  Hills,  forming,  as  it  were,  a  winding  series  of 
vast  steps  from  the  mountain  height  to  the  broad  plains  below. 

NORTH  PARK. 

This  elevated  mountain  basin,  in  which  the  North  Platte  takes  its  rise, 
lies  entirely  within  the  bounds  of  Colorado  Territory.  It  is  about 
fifty  miles  long  from  east  to  west,  and  thirty  miles  wide  from  north  to 
south,  containing  a  surface  area  of  some  eight  or  nine  hundred  square 
miles.  The  elevation  varies  from  seven  thousand  five  hundred  feet  to 
nine  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  the  average  being  about 
eight  thousand  feet. 

The  following  description  of  this  mountain  cove,  from  a  former  report 
made  by  Dr.  Hayden,  will  convey  a  better  idea  of  it  in  a  few  words  than 
anv  description  of  my  own.  And,  although  several  years  have  i)assed 
since  it  was  made,  and  glowing  descriptions  have  since  been  published, 
there  seems  to  be  nothing  new  added : 

The  Xorth  Park  is  oval  or  nearly  quadrangular  in  shape.  Viewing  it  from  one  of  the 
high  mountains  on  its  border,  it  appears  like  a  vast  depression  which  might  once  have 
formed  the  bed  of  a  lake.  Its  surface  is  rather  rugged,  yet  there  are  broad  bottoms 
along  the  streams,  especially  the  North  Platte  and  its  branches.  Scarcely  a  tree  is  to  be 
seen  over  the  whole  extent,  while  the  mountains  which  wall  it  in  on  every  side  are  dotted 
with  a  dense  gi'owth  of  pine.  The  grass  grows  in  the  i^ark  quite, abundantly,  often 
yielding  at  least  two  tons  to  the  acre.  Streams  of  the  purest  water  flow  through  the 
park,  and  there  are  some  of  the  finest  springs  I  have  seen,  a  few  of  them  forming  good- 
sized  streams  where  they  issue  from  the  ground.  I  am  quite  confident  that  this  entire 
park  would  make  an  excellent  grazing  region  for  at  least  six  or  eight  months  of  the 
year.  The  soil  is  very  rich,  but  the  seasons  must  be  too  brief  for  the  successful  culti- 
vation of  any  crops.  Indeed,  there  is  frost  there  nearly  every  night,  and  snow  falls 
every  month  in  the  year.  On  the  north  and  east  sides  may  be  seen  the  snow-covered 
ranges  rising  far  above  all  the  rest,  their  summits  touching  the  clouds.  On  the  west 
eide  there  is  also  a  short  snowy  range.  On  the  west  side  long  ridges  come  into  tlie 
park  and  die  out  in  the  plain,  forming  a  sort  of  en  echelon  arrangement. 

The  soil  is  mixed  with  gravel  and  coarse  sand  on  the  ridges  and  upper 
levels,  but  along  the  bottoms  that  flank  the  streams  is  rich  and  dark.  . 
On  the  north  side  there  is  a.quite  sandy  area.    If  future  experiments 


220       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

should  prove  tliat  it  is  possible  to  raise  valuable  crops  here,  there  will  be 
no  difficulty  in  bringing  the  land  under  cultivation  so  far  as  the  supply 
of  water  is  concerned,  for  this  is  ami^le,  and  the  fall  sufficient  to  irrigate 
all  the  lands  which  can  be  cultivated.  It  may  be  thought  ^'isiouary  to 
speak  of  agricultm^e  in  this  elevated,  snow-bound  cove,  and  the  remarks 
quoted  imply  that  Dr.  Hayden,  with  all  his  experience  in  this  region, 
looks  upon  it  as  impossible.  But  it  is  not  best  to  conclude  too  hastily, 
for  if  a  number  of  rich  mines  should  be  discovered  here  tod  worked  for 
a  few  years,  the  demand  for  fresh  vegetables  might  bring  about,  in  prac- 
tice, that  which  is  considered  impossible  in  theory.  At  least  the  scope 
of  my  i)lan  requires  me  to  give  an  account  of  the  arable  areas,  and  the 
facts  in  regard  to  the  seasons,  so  far  as  known,  leaving  the  battle  with 
climate  to  be  determined  by  experiments. 

And  it  is  possible  that  a  record  of  the  seasons  may  show  that  it  is 
really  no  colder  here  than  in  South  Park,  which  has  a  greater  elevation 
than  this  park,  and  is  also  partially  surrounded  by  snow-covered  moun- 
tains ;  but,  as  remarked  in  the  introduction,  latitude  and  elevation  do 
not  always  determine  the  climate  in  the  Eocky  Mountain  regions.  Be 
this  as  it  may,  there  is  here  a  fine  grazing  field  for  cattle  and  sheep,  but 
these  would  require  some  feeding  and  occasional  sheltering  during  the 
winter  months.  Nature  has  provided  amply  the  means  to  meet  every 
necessity  in  this  direction ;  from  the  grassy  valleys,  at  a  nominal  cost, 
all  the  hay  necessary  could  be  cut  5  the  mountain  sides  are  bristling  with 
sturdy  pines,  and  the  rapid  streams  as  they  rush  down  from  their  foun- 
tains afford  all  the  power  necessary  to  drive  mills  to  saw  the  lumber. 
Of  coiu-se,  places  requiring  this  trouble  and  expense  will  not  be  selected 
while  others  equally  good,  which  do  not  require  it,  can  be  easily  found. 

The  jSTorth  Platte,  from  its  point  of  exit  from  the  park  to  where  it 
reaches  the  border  of  Laramie  Plains,  passes  through  a  rugged,  moun- 
tainous region.  Along  the  upper  portion  of  its  course  its  valley  is  very 
narrow,  sometimes  amounting  to  nothing  but  a  gorge.  But  as  it  de- 
scends toAvard  the  northwest  it  is  joined  by  several  small  tributaries,  and 
its  valley  widens,  affording  occasionally  bottoms  of  moderate  breadth, 
especially  near  the  entrance  of  Sage  Creek,  where  there  is  a  considera- 
ble stretch  of  fine  wooded  bottoms. 

LARAMIE  PLAINS. 

This  section  is  bounded  on  the  east  and  northeast  by  the  Black  Hills, 
on  the  west  by  the  West  Eattlesnake  Hills,  and  on  the  southwest  by 
Medicine  Bow  Mountains.  It  is  somewhat  quadrangular  in  shape,  its 
average  length  from  southeast  to  northwest  being  about  ninety  miles,  and 
average  width  from  northeast  to  southwest  about  seventy-five  miles, 
containing  (exclusive  of  the  surrounding  mountains)  a  surface  area  of 
about  six  thousand  seven  hundred  and  fifty  square  miles,  or  nearly  four 
million  five  hundred  thousand  acres.  It  is  drained  chiefly  by  the 
Medicine  Bow  and  Laramie  Eivers  and  their  tributaries,  both  affluents 
of  the  North  Platte,  which  also  traverses  the  extreme  western  border. 
The  Laramie,  rising  in  the  mountains  at  the  southwest  angle,  flows  along 
the  eastern  border  to  the  northeast  angle  of  the  section,  where  it  breaks 
through  the  Black  Hills  and  joins  the  North  Platte  in  the  plains  beyond. 
The  Medicine  Bow,  receiving  affluents  from  each  side,  but  principally 
from  the  south,  flows  through  the  western  part  of  the  section  and  joins 
the  North  Platte  on  the  western  border ;  which  latter  stream  makes  its 
exit  at  the  northwest  angle. 

The  surface  varies  considerably  in  character  and  elevation,  some  of  it 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       221 

preseiitiug  beautiful  meadowy  expanses,  while  other  portions  are  rolling 
and  hilly  and  but  sparsely  covered  with  vegetation.  The  average  eleva- 
tion, as  before  stated,  is  about  six  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea ;  but,  as  will  be  seen  below,  different  parts  vary  in  height 
as  much  as  one  thousand  seven  hundred  feet,  counting  from  the  water 
levels.  As  most  of  the  streams  iu  this  section  aiibrd  an  ample  supply  of 
water  during  the  season  when  it  is  most  needed  for  irrigation,  their  fall 
becomes  an  important  item  in  making  up  an  estimate  of  the  cultivable 
lands.  I  therefore  give  the  levels  of  the  principal  points  of  the  three 
larger.  The  Xorth  Platte  at  the  railroad  crossing  has  an  elevation  of  six 
thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy-seven  feet,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Sweetwater  nearly  six  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  showing 
a  fall  in  this  distance  of  about  four  hundred  and  eighty  feet,  or  seven 
feet  to  the  mile.  Medicine  Bow  Eiver  at  Medicine  Bow  Station  has  an 
elevation  of  six  thousand  six  hundred  and  ninety-eight  feet,  and  at  its 
junction  with  the  Platte  about  six  thousand  three  hundred  feet,  a  differ- 
ence of  nearly  four  hundred  feet,  or  about  eight  feet  to  the  mile. 
Laramie  Eiver  at  Laramie  City  is  seven  thousand  one  hundred  and 
t'wenty-three  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  at  the  point  where  it 
enters  the  Bkick  Hills  about  five  thousand  four  hundred  feet,  a  difference 
of  over  one  thousand  seven  hundred  feet,  giving  the  verj-  rapid  fall  of 
eighteen  or  twenty  feet  to  the  mile.* 

These  figures  develop  the  important  fact  that  not  only  the  bottoms, 
but  also  the  upper  levels,  except  where  they  are  very  high,  can  be  irri- 
gated. This  must  increase  our  estimate  of  the  cultivable  lauds  of  the 
section  to  an  amount  considerably  beyond  the  area  of  the  immediate 
bottoms. 

The  southeast  part,  to  which  the  name  "  Laramie  Plains  "  is  some- 
times limited,  is  decidedly  the  best  portion  of  the  section,  and  contains 
much  the  largest  proportion  of  arable  land.  Counting  from  the  head 
of  the  Laramie  Valley  to  Eock  Creek  it  is  about  seventy  miles  long,  with 
an  average  width  of  about  twenty-five  miles,  giving  an  area  of  seven- 
teen hundred  and  fifty  square  miles.  Although  the  .west  end  of  this 
area  contains  the  dividing  ridge  between  the  Medicine  Bow  and  the 
Laramie,  yet  I  think  we  may  safely  estimate  that  one-half  of  it  can  be 
irrigated  and  brought  under  cultivation.  The  greater  portion  of  this 
beautiful  valley  is  covered  with  a  rich  growth  of  grass,  and  presents  the 
appearance  of  one  broad  meadow,  over  w  hich  the  numerous  herds  ol 
cattle  which  are  being  gathered  here  to  graze  can  be  seen  roaming.  The 
western  part  of  this  sub-section  beyond  Cooper's  Lake  presents  a  bar- 
ren appearance  until  we  reach  the  vicinity  of  Eock  Creek.  The  creek, 
although  bordered  by  occasional  bluffs,  during  most  of  its  course  is  mar- 
gined by  fertile  bottoms  of  moderate  width,  and  tolerably-  well  timbered 
along  its  upper  portion.  Some  of  the  southern  tributaries  of  Medicine 
Bow  pass  through  fertile  valleys,  which  can  be  easily  irrigated  and 
brought  under  cultivation.  The  main  stream  passes  for  some  distance 
between  rocky  bluffs,  with  small  bottoms  on  the  alternate  sides,  but  is 
generally  flanked  by  a  moderately  wide  valley,  with  here  and  there 
gToves  of  Cottonwood.  I  have  not  visited  the  valley  of  this  stream  or 
that  of  the  North  Platte,  north  of  the  railroad,  but  from  the  informa- 
tion obtained  in  regard  to  them,  believe  that  by  proper  efforts  they 
would  afford  a  considerable  extent  of  tillable  land.     I  have  seen  only  a 

*  The  elevations  along  tlie  railroad  are  taken  from  the  survey  of  that  road.    The 
others  are  estimates  made  up  from  the  barometric  record  kept  by  Mr.  Beman  during 
,the  geological  survey  of  the  present  season  (1870,)  and  which  he  very  kindly  copied 
and  furnished  me  while  in  the  field. 


222       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

part  of  tlie  northern  extension  of  tlie  Laramie  Valley,  but  judging  from 
that,  aiid  its  rapid  fall  and  the  general  features  of  the  surrounding  coun- 
try, I  am  satisfied  that  not  only  the  bottoms,  but  that  a  large  amount 
on  the  lower  ridges  and  plateaus  may  be  irrigated  and  cultivated.  But 
I  am  inclined  to  think  that  along  a  part  of  its  northern  course  the  bor- 
dering regions  are  quite  broken,  and  that  the  belt  of  arable  laud  there 
is  small.  The  northwest  angle  of  the  section  is  also  probably  quite  broken 
and  uneven,  affording  very  little  arable  land. 

The  climate,  as  might  be  inferred  from  the  elevation  and  surroundings 
of  this  basin,  is  somewhat  severe,  and  the  seasons  short.  But  the  great- 
est drawback  does  not  appear  to  be  from  these  causes  taken  generally, 
but  from  the  occasional  untimely  frosts  and  gusts  of  snow  which  nip 
the  growing  crops  in  the  spring,  or  injure  them  later  in  the  season  when 
nearly  matured.  The  cold  nights,  as  is  generally  the  case  in  these  high 
regions,  retard  the  growth  especially  of  the  cereals.  Yet,  notwithstand- 
ing these  drawbacks,  the  repeated  experiments  made  during  the  past 
four  years  have  shown  conclusively  that  useful  croi)s  can  be  raised  here. 

I  visited  Laramie  City  August  3,  for  the  purpose  of  examining  tl^e 
garden  of  Dr.  Latham,  who  has  charge  of  a  military  hospital  at  this 
place,  and  who  is  experimenting  with  various  vegetables  and  cereals  in 
order  to  ascertain  what  can  be  raised  here.  I  found  this  garden  to  be 
quite  extensive  and  in  a  flourishing  condition.  Here  I  saw  a  small 
piece  of  barley,  full-headed,  well  stooled,  and  of  medium  height ;  also  a 
similar  piece  of  wheat,  which,  though  sowed  late,  presented  a  very  fine 
appearance.  The  potatoes  and  turniiDS  were  remarkably  fine.  Peas 
grow  very  large  and  thrifty,  as  I  can  testify  from  the  excellent  ones  I 
ate  at  the  doctor's  table,  and  which  I  saw  gathered  from  the  vines  in  his 
garden.  His  beets  were  making  a  vigorous  growth,  as  were  also  the  fol- 
lowing vegetables :  winter  squashes,  cabbages,  beans,  lettuce,  onions, 
carrots,  radishes,  &c.  I  pulled  some  turnips  in  another  field,  which 
were  at  least  six  inches  in  diameter,  the  seed  from  which  they  grew 
having  been  sown  the  loth  day  of  May.  The  tops  were  remarkably 
large  and  succulent.  I  did  not  have  time  to  visit  the  garden  under 
charge  of  the  officers  stationed  at  Fort  Sanders,  but  I  understood  it  was 
in  a  flourishing  condition.  These  experiments,  as  I  learn  from  a  former 
report  made  by  Dr.  Hayden,  were  commenced  about  1866  by  General 
Gibbon,  and  have,  with  commendable  zeal,  been  continued  by  the  offi- 
cers in  command  of  the  post. 

Oats  appear  to  grow  and  mature  wherever  tried  in  the  valley. 

These  experiments,  and  others  made  along  Laramie  Eiver,  Eock 
Creek,  and  at  other  points,  continued  as  they  have  been  for  several 
years,  certainly  settle  the  question  as  to  the  practicability  of  farming  in 
the  Laramie  Plains.  The  points  where  they  have  been  made  are  the 
highest  on  the  Plains,  and,  I  am  rather  inclined  to  believe,  the  coldest 
portion. 

Although  this  section  may  not  be  an  agricultural  region  in  the  broader 
sense  of  the  term,  yet  its  situation  renders  it  a  matter  of  deep  interest 
to  know  that  the  hardier  vegetables,  and  such  cereals  as  wheat,  oats,  and 
barley,  can  be  raised  here ;  for,  i)laced  in  the  center  of  the  mountains, 
on  the  great  thoroughfare  between  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  with  a 
broad  barren  plain  to  the  west,  and  a  mountain  stretch  to  the  east,  it 
is  very  desirable  to  have  here  a  halting  place. 

The  business  of  the  road  necessary  at  the  termini  of  divisions,  stock- 
raising,  temporary  grazing  of  passing  herds,  lumbering,  and  probably 
coal-mining,  will  bring  here  a  considerable  population. 

There  is  i)erhaps  no  finer  grazing  section  in  Wyoming  than  this.    The 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  223 

soutlieasteru  part  is  literally  carpeted  over  with  a  compact  growth  of 
rich  and  nutritious  grasses,  which  the  water  of  the  numerous  little 
streams  that  sweep  down  from  the  mountains  keejis  constantly  fresh. 
And  the  rain-fall,  I  judge,  is  greater  here  than  in  any  other  part  of  the 
Territory,  and  it  seems  to  be  on  the  increase,  .which  also  appears  to  be 
true  around  Cheyenne.  I  understand  that  stock  can  be  wintered  here  with- 
out shelter  and  with  very  little  feeding;  in  fact,  large  flocks  of  sheep  and 
herds  of  cattle,  as  will  hereafter  be  shown,  have  passed  the  winter  with 
no  other  feed  than  the  uncut  grass  of  the  valleys  and  plains.  Utiy  in 
abundance  can  be  obtained  along  the  creek  bottoms  at  a  nomhial  cost. 
Dr.  Latham  informed  me  that  his  hay  cost  him  this  season,  in  the  stack 
where  it  was  cut,  but  $3  per  ton. 

Timber,  such  as  pine  and  fir,  of  an  excellent  quality,  can  be  obtained 
from  the  mountains  along  the  southern  border.  A  vast  quantity  is  an- 
nually cut  and  floated  down  the  Little  Laramie  and  other  streams  for 
lumber,  railroad  ties,  &c.  Some  of  the  streams,  especially  along  tbe 
southwest  border,  are  margined  by  groves  of  cottonwood,  which  will 
furnish  fuel  and  fencing  material  for  that  locality. 

THE   SWEETWATER  REGION. 

I  cannot  define  this  section  better  than  by  saying  that  It  includes  the 
valley  and  bordering  plains  through  which  the  Sweetwater  Eiver  passes, 
from  the  vicinity  of  South  Pass  to  its  junction  with  the  North  Platte. 
This  stream  rises  a  little  northwest  of  the  pass,  and  flows  almost  directly 
east  about  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles,  connecting  with  the  North 
Platte  near  the  exit  of  the  latter  from  the  Laramie  Plains.  For  about 
twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  east  of  the  pass,  it  flows  through  a  rugged, 
mountainous  region,  falling  rapidly,  and  presenting  no  areas  of  import- 
ance that  can  be  brought  under  cultivation.  A  short  distance  west  of 
St.  Mary's  Station  it  bursts  from  its  mountain  cahons,  and  enters  upon 
a  valley  that  continues,  with  some  short  interruptions,  throughout  its 
course.  The  comparative  uniformity  of  this  valley  will  obviate  the 
necessity  of  any  lengthy  description  of  the  different  sections  of  it. 

Beginning  at  South  Pass,  (on  the  summit,)  with  an  elevation  of  seven 
thousand  four  hundred  and  ninety  feet,  when  we  reach  the  point  where 
the  river  emerges  from  the  gorge,  we  are  still  six  thousand  six  hundred 
and  fifty  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  having  descended  but  eight 
hundred  and  forty  feet.  Yet,  at  this  highest  point  of  the  section  which 
can  be  counted  as  arable,  we  are  five  hundred  and  thirteen  feet  lower 
than  Fort  Sanders,  and  four  hundred  and  seventy-three  feet  below  Lara- 
mie City.  At  the  Three  Crossings  the  height  is  only  six  thousand  one, 
hundred  and  thirty-five  feet,  showing  a  fall  between  this  point  and  the 
head  of  the  valley  of  five  hundred  and  fifteen  feet,  or  about  twelve  feet 
to  the  mile.  At  Independence  Eock  the  elevation  has  decreased  to  just 
six  thousand  feet,  giving  a  fall  between  this  and  the  last-mentioned 
point  of  scarcely  five  feet  to  the  mile.  From  here  to  the  point  where 
the  river  joins  the  Platte  the  fall  is,  probably,  some  five  or  six  feet  to  the 
mile,  as  it  grows  a  little  more  rapid  as  it  approaches  its  debouchure. 
We  may,  therefore,  estimate  the  average  elevation  of  the  valley  at  six 
thousand  three  hundred  feet  above  the  sea  level. 

For  ten  or  twelve  miles  below  the  point  where  the  stream  emerges 

from  the  mountains  there  is  a  very  pretty  fertile  valley,  averaging 

about  oue  mile  wide,  bordered  on  the  right,  and  part  of  its  length  on 

,  the  left,  with  high  bluffs.    Most  of  it  is  covered  over  with  a  luxuriant 

growth  of  grass,  from  which  a  supply  is  drawn  for  South  Pass  City, 


224  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITOEIES. 

Atlantic  City,  &c.  Near  tlie  lower  end  of  this  opening  the  left  bank  ia 
flanked  by  a  second  level  or  table,  which  might  be  reached  by  an  irri- 
gating ditch,  a  few  miles  long,  and  would  give  an  additional  amount  of 
farming  land  equal  to  tlie  entire  bottom.  Below  this  the  hills  again 
close  in  upon  the  valley  for  a  few  miles,  and  then  separate,  leaving  a 
very  pretty  triangular  area,  containing  some  forty  or  fifty  square  miles 
of  quite  level  and  fertile  land,  which  can  easily  be  irrigated.  Toward 
the  north  and  northwest  the  hills  slope  down  so  gradually  that  a  con- 
siderable area  along  their  lower  margins  could  be  reached  with  water 
if  the  river  would  supply  a  sufficient  amount  for  this  and  the  bottoms. 
The  stream  here  is  about  thirty  feet  wide  and  one  foot  deep,  and  the 
fall  some  ten  or  twelve  feet  to  the  mile.  Here,  as  also  in  the  vicinity 
of  what  is  known  as  St.  Mary's  Station,  small  colonies  would  find  very 
good  locations ;  and  by  comlDiniug  and  digging  large  primary  ditches 
the  laud  could  be  irrigated  at  a  moderate  expense.  The  only  difficulty, 
except  the  exposure  to  Indian  depredations,  would  be  the  obtaining  of 
a  su])ply  of  timber,  which  at  the  last  point  is  scarce.  JSear  St.  Mary's 
no  difficulty  in  this  respect  would  be  experienced. 

From  this  point  the  river  bends  around  to  the  northeast,  passing 
among  the  hills,  and  is  flanked  by  alternate  bottoms,  of  small  extent. 
To  the  south  of  the  river,  forming  a  chord  to  its  circular  bend,  runs  a 
singular  valley,  which  is  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  wide ;  and  although 
its  surface  looks  exactly  like  the  plateaus  of  this  section,  yet  its  general 
appearance  is  that  of  the  bed  of  a  stream  that  was  very  broad  and  shal- 
low. If  the  water  of  the  river  can  be  brought  upon  this  level,  as  much 
land  can  be  irrigated  as  the  water  of  the  river  can  supply.  But  as  I 
had  no  opportunity  of  ascertaining  the  height  of  this  plain  or  valley 
above  the  river  level,  I  cannot  say  positively  that  the  water  can  be 
brought  upon  it. 

Where  the  road  again  strikes  the  river,  going  east,  there  is  a  consid- 
erable expanse  of  arable  land ;  and,  although  there  is  very  little  imme- 
diate bottom,  the  second  level  is  quite  broad  and  of  moderate  elevation, 
which  might  be  irrigated  by  cutting  a  ditch  a  few  miles  in  length. 
Below  this,  as  we  come  near  the  ''  Three  Crossings,"  the  granite  hills 
set  in  and  continue  to  flank  the  valley  as  far  as  Indei)endence  Eock. 
Near  the  west  end  of  this  irregular  range,  for  some  seven  or  eight  miles, 
the  river  breaks  through  it,  and  is  closely  walled  in  by  lofty  bluffs,  with 
here  and  there  a  little  level  plat  containing  a  few  hundred  acres  of  fer- 
tile soil.  Around  the  south  side  of  these  bluffs  ruus  an  open  plain, 
several  miles  in  width,  which  jn^obably  might  be  reached  by  a  ditch 
some  twelve  or  fifteen  miles  in  length.  There  is  near  the  remains  of  the 
old  stage  station  (Three  Crossings*)  a  very  remarkable  evidence  of  the 
eflfect  of  the  wind :  an  immense  deposit  of  sand  in  a  bend  of  the  granite 
hill,  piled  up  against  the  bluff  like  a  huge  snow-drift. 

After  passing  through  the  gorge  here  the  river  enters  a  broad  and 
beautiful  valley,  the  upper  j)ortion  of  which  is  thickly  covered  with 
chenopodiaceous  vshrubs,  the  lower  i^art  being  covered  with  a  tall  and 
thick  growth  of  grass.  The  soil,  though  somewhat  sandy,  is  very  rich 
and  light,  and  if  irrigated  would  produce  heavy  crops  of  such  products 
as  are  adapted  to  the  climate.  The  immediate  bottoms  are  imrrow,- 
sometimes  entirely  absent,  but  the  second  level  is  not  more  than  ten  or 
fifteen  feet  above  the  water,  and  could  be  reached  by  a  ditch  four  or 
five  miles  long.    And  I  think  it  probable  an  area  of  80  to  100  square 

*  These  statious — St.  Mary's,  Three  Crossings,  and  Sweetwater — have  been  abandoned 
for  some  years,  but  I  use  them  to  give  names  to  the  localities,  as  they  are  yet  retained 
on  some  maps. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       225 

miles  could  be  brought  under  cultivation  here,  and  as  timber  could  be 
obtained  from  the  neighboring-  hills  this  would  be  a  good  point  for  a 
settlement.  The  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  is  not  more  than  sixty  miles 
distant  from  this  place. 

1  /!i*^'''  17''"l^,^  ""^  Hayden's  Peaks,*  the  granite  hills  on  one  side  and 
blulis  on  the  other  press  close  to  the  margin  of  the  river  for  a  short  dis- 
tance, then  receding  from  each  other  in  a  circular  sweep  again  come 
close  together  a  few  miles  beyond,  inclosing  a  beautiful  circular  area 
contamiiig  some  twenty  or  twenty-five  square  miles  of  fertile  bottom 
laud,  which,  as  it  is  but  slightly  elevated  above  the  water,  can  be  irri- 
gated without  difficulty. 

Passing  the  gate-like  opening  of  the  little  park  just  described,  we 
enter  upon  a  broad  valley,  which  continues  without  interruption  to  the 

Devil  s  Gate,"  about  four  miles  above  Independence  Eock.  A  good 
part  ot  this  valley  is  cqvere<l  with  "  grease-wood  "  and  sage,  but  the  soil 
is  very  lertile  and  will  produce  good  crops.  Muddy  Creek,  which  comes 
in  here  Irom  the  south,  has  a  tolerably  broad  margin  of  level  land  but 
1  doubt  about  It  affording  water  for  irrigation.  The  breadth  of  land 
here  is  probably  equal  to  the  supply  of  water.  Around  Independence 
Eock  and  for  several  miles  above  and  below  it  are  fine  bottoms  which 
can  be  irrigated.  Between  the  river  and  Horse  Creek  there  is  a  broad 
delta,  which  has  an  average  elevation  of  twenty  or  thirty  feet  above  the 
bed  ot  the  river,  but  less  than  that  above  the  level  of  the  creek  This 
plateau,  and,  in  fact,  a  considerable  area  east  of  Horse  Creek,  could  be 
reached  by  irrigating  ditches,  but  the  ditch  from  the  river  would  renuire 
two  short  aqueducts  at  the  Devil's  Gate.  The  soil  of  this  plain  is 
strong.y  impregnated  in  some  places  with  alkali,  otherwise  it  is  rich  in 
the  elements  ot  fertility.  At  present  it  is  covered  with  "  grease-wood  " 
and  sage,  except  in  the  Httle  areas  which  are  frosted  over  with  alkaline 
incrustations;  but  this  is  no  longer  a  terror  to  the  agriculturist,  who 
has  learned  liow  to  manage  it,  if  he  only  has  an  abundance  of  water  and 
sufficient  drainage  Along  the  ridge  lying  north  of  this  plain,  around 
the  head- waters  ot  Horse  Creek  and  over  the  summit  in  the  vicinity  of 
;}jJ^}™^^^  ^r  some  excellent  grazing  lands.  The  country  along 
the  1  latte,  from  the  mouth  of  Sweetwater  to  Poison  Sprino-  Cre"k  is 
broken  and  mountainous,  and  the  river  for  part  of  the  wav  runs  throu'oh 
deep  gorges  and  flills  in  this  distance  over  four  hundred  feet,  the  fall 
Irom  Independence  Eock  to  Eed  Buttes  being  about  five  hundred  and 
lorty  leet. 

The  length  of  the  Sweetwater  Valley,  from  its  commencement  above 
i^'^n  ^^^*\«^  f?  the  Platte,  is  about  ninety  miles,  and  the  average 
width  ot  the  land  which  can  be  brought  under  cultivation  may  be  safety 
estimated  at  six  miles.  This  would  give  a  cultivable  area  of  five  hun- 
dred and  forty  square  miles,  or  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  thousand 
acres  fo^r  this  section,  besides  a  few  small  areas  on  the  upper  portions- 
ot  the  toweetwater  that  may  possibly  be  brought  under  cultivation  and 
made  to  yield  some  of  the  hardier  crops. 
I  am  aware  that  the  dreary  and  desolate  appearance  of  some  parts  of 

9V  n^^'^f^  '"''■*^J  '*^'  S"'eetwater  River,  about  latitude  42°  28',  west  longitude  107° 
are  tfee?  w'  -'tf e  n,''!t  '^''"'^  toy^^^\the  west.  On  this  semicireular  po^rtion  thero 
aic  tmce  pea.vb,  the  one  to  the  ^Yest  shoots  up  in  a  sharp  point,  the  one  to  the  east  i^ 

nen  poin/  'Sd^t?'"  "'"1*^  '^'  ""-'''"f  ""  ''  ^'^"^'^  an.Fclme-iiS:  Is  th  se  pJomi! 
mme  uLm  ''Mf7T^^^^  ^^'?^T^'l  "«  names,  the  members  of  the\,arty 

p  led  1^  f SnS  wnr''^'''  r  ^r  ^""n  ""^  *^"  ^'^^^'^^^  ^^  *^«  expedition.    On  thi  map 

name, 
15  G 


"  Mairof  Ufnir'nn^^p.V  "'?"f>  -^^  f ''"1\''  ,''"'^"'  '''''^^''  o^'  General  Sherman,  entitled 


226  GEOLOGICAL    SUKVEY   OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

this  sectio-1  whicli  I  have  described  as  susceptible  of  cultivation  will 
have  a  teudeucv  to  make  some  of  the  many  who  have  traveled  oyer  this 
old  emigrant  route  mistrust  my  judgment.  I  may  be  mistaken  m  reter- 
ence  to  the  amount  of  land  which  can  be  brought  under  cultivation,  tor 
this  is  only  an  estimate  made  up  without  measurement,  (except  the 
direct  distances  as  shown  by  the  odometer,*)  from  estimates  o.  the 
various  parts,  but  if  the  supply  of  water  does  not  fall  short,  I  thmk  thib 
is  not  too  large.  And  I  have  learned  that  the  dreary  look  a  covering 
of  sage  and  grease-wood  gives  to  the  landscape  is  not  to  be  taken  as 
any  evidence  of  the  sterility  of  the  soil.  I  am  also  pretty  well  satisned 
that  the  climate  here  will  prove  more  favorable  to  agriculture  than  tnat 
of  Laramie  Plains,  and  that  the  cereals  (except  corn)  and  the  ordinary 
vegetables  can  be  raised  without  any  difficulty.  I  know  of  no  experi- 
melits  having  been  made  in  this  section  to  show  what  can  be  grown 
here,  therefore  have  to  judge  from  the  character  of  the  soil,  elevation, 
latitide,  surroundings,  and  the  temperature  so  iar  as  I  could  learn  from 
those  who  had  passed  through  it.  .    ^  „  ^^       ■ 

As  a  grazing  region  it  is  inferior  to  the  Laramie  Valley,  yet  the  river 
bottoms  and  mountain  slopes  (the  granite  hills  excepted)  afiord  very 
o-ood  grass.  Timber  is  also  scarce  from  the  vicinity  ot  bt.  Mary  s  sta- 
tion to  the  mouth.  Here  and  there  are  groves  of  willow,  and  m  the 
uiroer  valleys  a  few  cotton-wood  trees,  but  those  which  lormerly  gTCW 
along  this  route,  and  which  are  mentioned  by  Fremont,  have  nearly  all 
been  destroyed  by  the  emigrants  and  others  who  have  since  traveled 
the  road.  It  is  possible  that  when  the  stream  is  full  timber  may  be 
floated  down  from  the  mountains  near  South  Pass. 

THE  EASTERN   SECTION. 

This  section,  the  principal  part  of  which  lies  east  of  the  Black  Hills, 
constitutes  the  remaining  portion  of  the  district  under  consideration.  It 
consists  of  the  valleys  of  the  North  Platte  and  its  tributaries,  trom  the 
Eed  Buttes  to  the  mouth  of  Horse  Creek,  on  the  eastern  boundary  of 
the  Territory.  It  also  includes  the  valleys  of  Crow  Creek,  Larren's 
Fork  and  Lodge  Pole  to  the  boundary  line,  and  the  intervening  plains, 
containing  about  nine  thousand  square  miles,  of  which  I  estimate  one- 
sixth  or  nearly  one  million  acres,  can  be  irrigated  and  rendered  tillable. 
I  was  at  first  disposed  to  set  down  the  amount  of  land  m  this  section, 
susceptible  of  cultivation,  at  considerably  l<?«s  than  these  figures,  but 
when  I  examined  the  barometric  record  showing  the  tail  ot  the  Platte  i 
felt  assured  my  first  estimate  was  too  small.  The  elevation,  as  migiit 
be  inferred  from  the  situatiou,  varies  considerably  m  the  ditterent  pai^s, 
the  northwestern  and  southwestern  angles  presenting  the  highest  points, 
and  the  northeast  the  lowest.  In  order  to  give  an  idea  ot  the  topog- 
raphv  of  the  counti^v,  I  herewith  note  the  elevation  ot  the  principal 
points  bearing  upon  "its  facilities  for  irrigation  on  a  large  scale.  Begin- 
ning at  Red  Buttes  ami  following  the  Platte,  which  runs  near  the  north- 
east border  of  the  section,  the  elevation  above  the  sea  level  is  as  tollows : 
Eed  Buttes,  5,528  feet:  five  miles  below  the  Old  Bridge,  5,2a2  teet;  river 
bottom  near  Fort  Fetterman,  about  4,970  feet;t  l^^ort  Laramie,  accord- 
to  Fremont,  4,470  feet,  and  as  given  by  Stansbury,  4,ol9  teet ;  moutfiot 

*I  was  careful  to  obtain  the  distances  each  day  from  Mr.  Beaman,  that  my  compari- 

'^t^^^S^^Z^^i^  taken  on  the  La  Prele  ahout  two  ^^tfZ'J^^l' 
Fetterman,  where  the  elevation  is  just  5,012  feet ;  I  have  deducted  42  feet  as  the  prob- 
able fall  to  the  river  bottom. 


GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       227 

Horse  Creek,  4,395  feet.  From  wliicTi  it  appears  that  the  entire  fall 
from  Eed  Biittes  to  Horse  Creek  is  1,133  feet,  or  an  average  of  about 
seven  feet  to  the  mile.  The  fall  between  the  intermediate  points  are  as 
follows :  From  Eed  Battes  to  the  Bridge,  eighteen  feet  to  the  mile ; 
from  the  Bridge  to  Fort  Fetterman,  a  little  over  seven  feet  to  the  mile; 
from  there  to  Horse  Creek,  about  the  same. 

These  figures  develope  a  fact  of  the  utmost  importance  in  calculating 
the  agricultural  capacity  of  this  section.  A  fall  of  over  one  thousand 
feet  in  less  than  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  with  the  volume  of  water 
found  in  this  part  of  the  river,  will  give  the  means  of  irrigating  an 
immense  amount  of  land.  But  in  regard  to  this  I  will  speak- more  fully 
■when  I  come  to  the  more  minute  description  of  this  part  of  the  section. 

The  elevation  of  Laramie  bottom,  at  the  mouth  of  Chugwater,  is  about 
four  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.*  The  Chug- 
water Valley,  w^here  the  stage  road  to  Fort  Laramie  strikes  it,  has  an 
elevation  of  five  thousand  four  hundred  and  sixty  feet ;  Cheyenne,  six 
thousand  and  forty  feet. 

Poison  Spring  Creek  is  a  small  stream  coming  down  from  the  north- 
west, and  entering  the  North  Platte  at  Red  Buttes.  It  runs  through  a 
xerj  pretty  valley,  averaging  about  one  mile  wide,  flanked  on  the  west 
by  a  broad  plain,  which  gradually  ascends  as  it  recedes  from  the  stream. 
On  the'  east  the  hills  rise  rapidly  to  a  sharp  ridge  running  parallel  with 
the  creek.  It  has  been  stated  that  the  water  of  this  stream  is  poisonous, 
but  I  noticed  some  of  our  animals  drinking  from  it  as  we  crossed  it,  and 
I  think  one  of  the  men  also  filled  a  canteen  with  the  water  for  drinking 
on  the  road.  No  bad  eftects  followed.  Some  two  or  three  species  of 
Ijlauts  were  also  growing  luxuriantlj"  in  the  stream.  The  amount  of 
water  at  the  time  we  passed  it  (August)  w^is  small,  but  sufficient  to  irri- 
gate the  immediate  bottoms.  The  entire  valley  was  covered  with  a  rank 
growth  of  grass. 

Near  the  Eed  Buttes,  in  the  bend  of  the  North  Platte,  is  a  beautiful 
bottom  of  perhaps  one  thousand  two  hundred  or  one  thousand  five  hun- 
dred acres  of  fertile  soil.  On  one  side  of  the  river  there  is  a  thick  grove 
of  Cottonwood,  willow,  «&c.,  but  on  the  other  (north)  the  timber  has  been 
destroyed  by  emigrants  and  others  who  have  camped  at  this  point. 

Immediately  below  this  the  river  enters  a  gorge  or  caiion  some  eight 
or  ten  miles  long,  where,  as  a  matter  of  course,  no  cultivable  land  worthy 
of  note  is  to  be  found.  The  slopes  toward  the  river,  except  for  a  very 
short  distance,  are  not  so  precipitous  as  to  present  any  serious  obstacle 
to  the  cutting  of  a  canal  around  them,  if  it  should  be  found  necessary  to 
tap  the  river  this  high  up.  On  the  south  side  a  canal  could  reach  as  far 
up  as  the  mouth  of  the  caiion  above  Eed  Buttes,  but  on  the  north  side 
the  depression  at  Poison  Spring  Creek  would  i)reseut  a  serious  obstacle 
if  commenced  higher  up  than  the  upper  end  of  the  canon.  As  the  fall 
between  Eed  Buttes  and  the  Old  Bridge  is  nearly  or  quite  four  hundred 

*The  barometric  readings  taken  by  Mr.  Beaman  on  the  Laramie  bottom,  some  two 
or  three  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the  Chugwater,  give  four  thousand  five  hundred  and 
thirteen  feet  as  the  elevation  at  that  point.  Four  very  uniform  readings  were  obtained, 
the  weather  being  clear  and  cool.  The  distance  from  this  point  to  i'ort  Laramie  is 
about  twenty-one  or  twenty-two  miles.  Mr.  Frc^mont  gives  the  elevation  of  Fort  Lar- 
amie as  four  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy  feet,  while  Stansbury,  who,  it  seems, 
camped  on  the  same  ground,  or  very  near  it,  makes  it  four  thousand  five  hundred  and 
nineteen  feet.  As  we  did  not  visit  Fort  Laramie,  I  have  no  means  ot  ascertaining  where 
the  error  lies.  As  Mr.  Beamau's  instrument  did  not  admit  of  accurate  readings  nearer 
than  one  tenth,  an  error  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet  might  have  occurred  in  his  calculations. 
As  the  Laramie  rims  x>retty  rapidly,  the  fall  between  Chugwater  and  the  fort  cannot 
be  less  than  one  hundred  feet. 


228       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

feet,  it  would  be  suf^cient  to  cany  the  water  on  the  table  lands  which 
spread  out  from  here  eastward.  On  the  north  side  a  short  tunnel  might 
be  necessary,  but  below  this  point,  so  far  as  I  observed,  there  would  be 
no  other  difficulty  than  an  occasional  lengthy  flexure  round  the  head  of 
a  dry  ravine,  and  perhaps  here  and  there  a  short  aqueduct.  On  the 
south  side  I  think  there  would  be  less  difficulty.  I  make  no  pretensions 
here  to  engineering  accuracy,  as  I  only  had  time  to  take  hasty  glances 
at  the  country  as  we  passetl  along  in  our  somewhat  rapid  march.  A 
short  distance  below  the  Old  Bridge  I  made  an  approximate  estimate 
of  the  volume  of  water  in  the  river.  I  found  that  a  cross  section  at  the 
low  stage  of  water  of  that  season  (August)  was  equal  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty  by  two  feet,  or  three  hundred  and  twenty  square  feet,  running 
at  the  rate  of  three  miles  per  hour,  or  a  discharge  of  two  hundred  and 
sixty-four  cubic  feet  to  the  second,  which,  earlier  in  the  season,  when 
most  needed  for  irrigation,  must  be  much  greater.  With  this  amount 
of  water,  and  the  considerable  fall  there  is  in  this  part  of  the  river, 
making  ample  allowance  for  errors  in  the  elevation,  a  vast  body  of  land 
jcan  be  irrigated  and  brought  under  cultivation. 

It  is  true  that  all  this  land  on  the  north  side  of  the  river  lies  in  an 
Indian  reservation,  but  this  renders  a  knowledge  of  the  fact  only  the 
more  important;  for,  in  my  judgment,  if  the  Indian  problem  is  ever 
solved  without  destroying  them,  it  will  be  by  the  aid  of  agriculture. 

In  order  to  show  that  the  soil  of  this  region  is  possessed  of  the  ele- 
ments of  fertility,  I  quote  the  following  remarks  from  General  Fremont's 
report,  which  will  doubtless  be  corroborated  by  the  report  of  the  United 
Stiites  geologist  for  the  present  year : 

The  nature  of  the  soil  may  be  inferred  from  its  geological  formation.  The  limestono 
at  the  eastern  limit  of  this  section  (between  Fort  Laramie  and  RedButtes)  is  succeeded 
by  limestone  without  fossils,  a  great  variety  of  sandstone,  consisting  principally  of  red 
sandstone  and  fine  conglomerate.  The  red  sandstone  is  argillaceous,  with  compact 
gypsum  or  alabaster,  very  beautiful.  The  other  sandstones  are  gray,  yellow,  and  fer- 
ruginous, sometimes  very  coarse.  The  apparent  sterility  of  the  country  must  therefore 
be'^songht  in  other  causes  than  the  nature  of  the  soil.  The  face  of  the  country  cannot 
with  propriety  be  called  hilly.  It  is  a  succession  of  long  ridges  made  by  the  numerous 
streams  v>'hich  come  down  from  the  neighboring  mountain  range.  [By  this  he  alludes 
to  the  south  side.]  The  ridges  have  an  undulating  surface,  Avith  some  such  appear- 
ance as  the  ocean  in  an  ordinary  breeze. 

I  did  not  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  North  Platte  bottoms 
but  a  i^art  of  the  distance  between  the  ruins  of  Fort  Casper  and  the 
boundary  line.  I  will  therefore  limit  myself  to  a  description  of  these 
portions,  from  which  a  pretty  correct  idea  of  the  whole  may  be  formed, 
as  they  are  said  to  be  quite  uniform  throughout. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Casper,  on  the  south  side  of  the  river,  there  is 
a  broad  level  bottom,  some  four  or  five  miles  in  width,  mostly  covered 
with  a  rank  growth  of  grass  mixed  with  tall  weeds,  showing  the  soil  to 
be  quite  fertile  and  that  it  contains  a  moderate  proportion  of  vegetable 
mold.  Below  this  a  second  level  sets  in,  which  is  raised'but  a  few  feet 
above  the  lowest.  This  is  one  entire  sage  plain,  and  spreads  out  to  some 
eight  or  nine  miles  in  width.  Before  reaching  Muddy  Creek,  the  low, 
rounded  hills  approach  the  river  for  a  few  miles,  narrowing  the  bottom 
to  a  mere  strip.  At  Muddy  it  again  expands  to  six  or  eight  miles,  and 
is  covered  in  iiart  by  a  thick  growth  of  greasewood.  The  creek,  although 
containing  a  considerable  volume  of  water,  is  confined  to  a  very  narrow, 
ditch-like  channel,  cut  in  the  fine-grained  soil,  which  here  has  a  marly 
appearance. 

The  opposite  side  of  the  river  for  most  of  this  distance  is  bordered  by 
low  bluffs,  which  seem  to  be  the  escarpments  of  a  plateau  from  a  hun- 
dred to  a  hundred  and  M^  feet  high.    At  some  points  these  recede  from 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  229 

the  river,  leaving-  a  narrow  belt  of  bottom  land.  For  some  distance 
above  Fort  Fetterman  there  is  a  broad  valley,  partly  bottom  land  and 
partly  the  second  level,  all  of  which  could  be  easily  irrigated,  and  would 
afford  a  fine  farming  region. 

I  think  we  may  safely  estimate  the  average  width  of  the  immediate 
valley  of  the  river,  from  Fort  Casper,  or  the  Old  Bridge,  to  the  territo- 
rial line,  at  four  miles.  This  alone  would  give  a  cultivable  area  of  six 
hundred  square  miles.  Add  to  this  the  additional  amount  which  can  be 
brought  into  use  by  the  canals  heretofore  proposed,,  and  the  estimate  I 
have  given  for  this  section  will  not  appear  too  large. 

West  of  Fort  Fetterman,  Deer  and  Box  Elder  Creeks  flow  into  the 
Platte  from  the  south,  each  aflbrding  a  narrow  belt  of  irrigable  land, 
and  fields  of  excellent  i^asturage,  the  principal  supply  of  hay  for  the 
fort  being  cut  from  the  vallej^  of  Deer  Creek.  The  La  Prele,  which  con- 
nects with  the  Platte  near  the  fort,  is  bordered  chiefly  by  high  hills  and 
blufis,  its  bottoms  being  narrow  and  irregular  and  the  supply  of  water 
small. 

There  is  one  thing  which  will  probably  have  a  tendency  to  retard  the 
settlement  of  this  part  of  the  Platte  Valley;  that  is  the  wind.  Our  at- 
tention was  first  called  to  this  while  crossing  a  broad  valley  a  few  miles 
sonth  of  Fetterman,  where  a  strong  and  constant  wind  swept  down  upon 
ns  from  the  west.  While  camping  on  the  La  Prele  this  was  of  daily  oc- 
currence ;  and  from  Fetterman  to  Poison  Spring  Creek  we  felt  its  effects 
each  day,  except  when  sheltered  behind  some  bluff  or  ridge.  While 
crossing  the  river  near  old  Fort  Casper,  and  for  a  few  miles  along  the 
north  bank,  where  we  were  directly  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  gorge, 
the  wind  was  so  strong  that  we  were  compelled  to  tie  our  hats  upon  our 
heads,  yet  the  day  was  clear  and  sunny. 

Fremont  in  his  report  says  this  place  is  celebrated  for  winds,  of  which 
the  prevailing  ones  are  west ;  which  corresponds  with  our  experience, 
with  this  exception,  that  when  south  of  Fetterman  they  came  from  the 
northwest.  Stansbury,  while  in  the  vicinity  of  Box  Elder  Creek,  speaks 
of  a  "  brsk  wiud  from  the  northwest,"  adding  that  the  morning  was 
bright  and  cool.  And  he  also  states  that  after  he  had  passed  through 
the  gap  to  the  vicinity  of  Poison  Spring  Creek,  "the  wind  rose  from  the 
southwest  and  blew  almost  a  hurricane  the  whole  day,  tearing  up  the 
sand  and  gravel,  and  dashing  it  into  our  faces,  as  we  rode,  with  such 
violence  as  to  cause  sensible  pain."  And  the  cause  of  this  I  think  is 
apparent.  Here  the  mountain  range  is  completely  severed,  and  an  oi^en 
gap  exists  between  the  western  and  eastern  plains.  Through  this  the 
cooler  surface  atmosphere  of  the  higher  mountain  plains  rushes  down  to 
fill  the  space  left  by  the  warmer  ascending  air  of  the  broad  eastern 
plains.  It  is  true  this  kind  of  movement  is  going  on  along  the  entire 
mountain  range,  but  it  is  in  a  quiet  manner,  while  here  the  entire  vol- 
ume from  a  broad  expanse  is  j)ressed  through  a  narrow  channel,  and  as 
a  necessary  consequence  the  current  is  strong.  Having  passed  through 
the  gap  it  expands  upon  the  open  $pace  to  the  east,  sending  currents 
along  the  valleys  north  and  south. 

Between  Fort  Fetterman  and  Laramie  Eiver  a  number  of  streams 
rising  in  the  Black  Hills  run  east  and  empty  into  the  Platte,  the  most 
important  of  which  are  the  La  Bonte,  Elkhorn,  Horseshoe  and  Bitter 
Cottonwood.  The  La  Bont6  drains  a  very  i^retty  and  fertile  valley 
which  is  of  moderate  width,  and  is  covered  at  jioints  with  groves  of 
Cottonwood,  willow,  &c.  This  valley  is  pretty  well  shielded,  for  most  of 
its  length,  by  high  hills  which  border  it  on  each  side,  and  presents  a  good 
point  for  a  small  farming  settlement.     Horseshoe  and  Elkhorn  Creeks 


230  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITOEIES. 

are  flanked  by  narrow  bottoms,  but  as  tlie  supply  of  water  is  not  con- 
stant througliout  their  course  they  cannot  be  depended  upon  for  irri- 
gating- purposes  unless  the  water  is  brought  down  by  ditches  which  be- 
gin near  the  mountains. 

The  bottoms  of  Bitter  Cottonwood  are  only  of  moderate  width,  but 
for  most  of  its  length  these  are  bordered  by  second  levels  of  considera- 
ble width  which  are  quite  low.  The  water  of  this  creek  is  probably  suf- 
ficient, in  the  first  part  of  the  summer,  to  irrigate  the  entire  lands  in 
reach,  but  late  in  the  season  it  would  be  deficient. 

The  soil  in  this  valley  is  not  so  good  as  that  of  the  La  Bonte. 

The  valleys  of  the  Laramie  and  its  principal  tributary,  Chugwater, 
j)resent  the  most  desirable  points  for  agTicultural  purposes  in  the  sec- 
tion. In  fact  I  consider  the  short  valley  of  the  Laramie  Eiver,  from  the 
mountains  to  the  Platte,  one  of  the  choice  spots  of  the  entire  district. 
The  elevation  being  about  one  thousand  five  hundred  feet  less  than 
Cheyenne,  and  two  thousand  six  hundred  feet  lower  than  Laramie  City ; 
and  shielded  from  the  winds  by  the  mountains  on  the  west,  and  the  high 
blufl's  and  hills  on  the  north  and  south,  it  possesses  a  climate  several 
degrees  warmer  than  most  of  the  section,  and  is  not  so  liable  to  be  vis- 
ited by  those  untimely  frosts  and  snows  Avhich  often  do  so  much  injury 
to  crops  in  this  mountain  district.  The  extent  of  the  bottom  is  not  very 
great,  the  entire  area  probably  not  exceeding  seventy-five  or  eighty 
square  miles,  yet  the  fall  of  the  river  and  volume  of  water  are  sufficient 
to  irrigate  much  of  the  bordering  table  lands.  The  supply  of  timber  is 
ample,  the  mountain  heights  aftbrdiug  an  abundance  of  pine  and  fir  for 
lumber,  and  the  groves  of  the  bottoms  cottonwood  for  fuel,  &c. 

Fremont  bears  testimony  to  the  moderate  climate,  saying,  "  The  vrin- 
ter  here  is  remarkably  mild  for  the  latitude ;  but  rainy  weather  is  fre- 
quent, and  the  place  is  celebrated  for  winds,  of  which  the  prevailing  one 
is  west.  An  east  wind  in  summer,  and  a  south  wind  in  winter,  are  said 
to  be  always  accompanied  with  rain."  What  he  says  in  regard  to  the 
place  being  celebrated  for  winds  is  certainly  true,  as  a  general  rule,  and 
while  this  may  apply  directly  to  the  eastern  end  of  this  valley  and  the 
table  lands,  I  think  the  bottom  lands  are  generally  screened  by  the  hills 
and  blufls. 

Stansbury,  although  unfavorably  impressed  with  this  region  generally, 
remarks  in  regard  to  the  lower  part  of  this  valley,  "  That  he  has  no 
doubt  that,  with  the  aid  of  irrigation,  the  bottom  land  of  Laramie  Creek 
may  be  made  to  produce  abundant  crops  ;"  and  that  "hay  is  cut  about 
eight  miles  up  the  stream  in  quantity  sufficient  to  supply  the  garrison." 

The  Chugwater  runs  northeast  for  some  thirty-five  or  forty  miles 
along  the  base  of  the  Black  Hills,  watering  a  beautiful  valley,  which 
averages  about  two  miles  wide.  This  valley  is  bordered  on  each  side 
by  high  bluffs,  which  wall  it  in  for  the  greater  part  of  its  length.  The 
bottoms  are  very  fertile  and  easily  irrigated,  and  the  supply  of  water  is 
probably  safificient  for  this  purpose,  although  it  appears  to  sink  at  some 
points  and  then  rise  again,  but  if  drawn  oft'  by  irrigating  ditches  this 
would  be  prevented  and  the  su])ply  would  be  constant. 

Horse  Creek  and  its  afiiuents  fiu^nish  a  considerable  amount  of  valley 
land  and  level  bottoms,  but,  with  the  exception  of  that  found  along  the 
main  branch,  which  rises  in  the  mountains,  little  of  it  can  be  brought 
into  use  by  the  usual  system  of  irrigating,  as  the  supply  of  water  is  not 
constant.  Eeservoirs  along  the  little  affluents  would  be  the  means  of 
bringing  a  large  body  of  laud  under  culture.  The  same  remarks  wiU 
apply  to  Larren's  Fork,  which,  as  it  is  not  a  mountain  stream,  dries  up 
in  the  latter  part  of  the  season. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TEERITORIES.  231 

Lodge  role  Creek  is  an  isolated  stream  rising  near  Cheyenne  Pass 
and  flowing  witli  a  moderate  fall  eastward  tbrougli  a  narrow  valley, 
bordered  eacli  side  by  broad,  ronnded  ridges.  The  amount  of  bottom 
land  is  limited,  but  as  much,  perhaps,  as  the  water  in  the  stream  will 
supply.  It  is  probable  that  by  commencing  a  canal  near  the  mountain 
a  much  larger  and  uiore  constant  supply  could  be  obtained;  and  the 
upper  lauds  and  broad  ridges  can  easily  be  reached  if  water  can  be 
obtained. 

Crow  Creek  rises  in  the  Black  Hills  west  of  Cheyenne,  and,  running 
east  for  a  short  distance  beyond  this  city,  bends  south  and  passes  into 
Colorado.  Although  the  valley  is  narrow  and  the  stream  small,  its  sit- 
uation renders  it  important,  and  eiforts  are  now  in  progress  which  will 
probablj'  develop  the  entire  capability  of  the  stream.  If  the  supply  of 
water  was  sufficient  the  entire  plains  around  the  city  could  be  irrigated 
and  the  land  made  to  produce  useful  crops. 

I  have  been  informed  that  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  Comjiany  intend 
shortly  to  take  steps  to  irrigate  some  of  their  lands  in  the  southeast 
part  of  Wyoming  by  canals,  but  as  they  neglected  to  furnish  any  infor- 
mation on  this  point,  I  can  state  nothing  positively  in  regard  to  it. 

I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the  rain-fall  is  on  the  increase  in  the  imme- 
diate vicinity  of  this  city,  and  that  as  the  laud  is  irrigated  and  brought 
under  cultivation,  this  increase  will  become  more  rapid.  And  the  import- 
ance of  the  subject  and  locality  will  be  sufficient  excuse  for  my  giving 
m}*  reasons  for  this  opinion. 

While  remaining  in  camp  at  Port  D.  A.  Eussell  for  several  days  in 
1869,  and  also  in  1870, 1  noticed  that  the  rains  would  generally  commence 
several  miles  to  the  west,  and  mo\ing  north  for  some  distance  would 
wheel  around  eastward  and  then  bear  down  upon  us  from  the  north.  I 
think  nine  out  of  every  ten  followed  this  course  during  the  time  I  no- 
ticed them,  which  was  in  the  months  of  July  and  August.  As  Cheyenne 
Pass,  which  lies  north  of  the  fort  a  few  miles,  affords  a  depression 
through  which  the  air  from  the  west  rushes  down,  we  may  conclude  that 
a,  large  eddy  in  the  surface  currents  exists  here.  I  know  nothing  in 
regard  to  the  course  of  the  winter  rains  and  storms.  If  I  am  right, 
then  the  influx  of  population  into  the  southern  rim  of  this  eddy  will,  by 
increasing  the  evaporating  surface  of  the  water,  increase  the  amount  of 
rain  in  this  circuit.  These  remarljs,  as  a  matter  of  course,  only  ai)ply 
to  the  limited  rains  of  the  spring  and  summer. 

This  section  has  a  milder  climate  than  any  other  portion  of  the  dis- 
trict, yet  its  parts  differ  considerably  in  temperature,  corresponding- 
somewhat  to  the  elevation  and  freedom  from  prevailing  winds.  As  the 
population  is  confined  almost  exclusively  to  Cheyenne  and  vicinity,  we 
have  no  means  of  comparing  records  of  the  seasons. 

All  the  agricultural  products  which  can  be  grown  in  the  other  sections 
of  the  district  can  be  raised  here ',  and  in  addition  to  these  it  is  very 
probable  that  corn  can  be  raised  in  the  lower  valleys. 

Pine  grazing  fields  are  to  be  Ibund  throughout  the  section,  in  the  val- 
leys and  along  the  slopes  of  the  mountains,  and  even  where  there  are 
no  running  streams  wells  may  be  dug  and  water  found  at  moderate 
depths,  whicli  can  easily  be  raised  by  wind-mills  in  sufficient  quantity 
to  supply  stock  and  possibly  assist  in  irrigation. 

Timber  in  abundance  can  be  obtained  along  the  mountains  and  on 
some  of  the  streams  from  Chugwater  north.  I  believe  some  saw-mills 
have  already  been  erected  on  the  upper  portions  of  the  last-named  stream. 

The  soil  and  face  of  the  country  is  very  similar  to  the  South  PJatte 


232  GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY    OF   THE    TEREITORIES. 

district  until  we  pass  Laramie  Elver  going  north,  wlien  it  begins  to 
assume  the  wave-like  appearance  noticed  by  Fremont. 

Some  experiments  have  been  made  in  farming  and  gardening  around 
Cheyenne,  at  Fort  Fetterman  and  other  points,  which  are,  perhaps,  the 
coldest  portions  of  the  section,  yet  the  results,  so  far  as  I  can  learn, 
have  been  quite  favorable. 

THE   WIND   KIVER   DISTRICT. 

As  I  did  not  have  an  opportunity  of  visiting  this  district,  I  can  only 
give  such  information  respecting  it  as  I  derived  from  others.  The  prin- 
cipal facts  in  regard  to  its  extent  and  productions  were  obtained  from 
Major  Baldwin,"who  is  thorouglily  acquainted  with  it,  and  who  has  a 
farm  there  under  cultivation.  I  also  saw  specimens  of  its  productions 
in  quantity,  which  were  brought  to  South  Pass  City  for  sale,  which  veri- 
iied  the  statements  made  to  me  respecting  its  climate  and  fertility.  It 
is  drained  by  the  Wind  (or  Big  Horn*)  Eiver  and  its  tributaries^,  and  is 
situated  between  the  Wind  Ei^^er  Mountains  on  the  west  and  Big  Horn 
Mountains  on  the  east.  From  the  borders  of  Little  Popoagie  to  the  Big 
Horn  Canon,  its  length  is  about  one  hundred  and  seventy-five  miles,  and 
the  average  width  of  the  country  drained  being  about  one  hundred 
miles,  giving  an  area  of  seventeen  thousand  five  hundred  square  miles. 
It  is  supposed  that  one-twelfth  of  it,  or  about  one  thousand  four  hun- 
dred square  miles,  can  be  irrigated  and  cultivated,  but  as  I  was  unable 
to  obtain  any  estimate  of  its  subdivisions,  except  that  of  the  principal 
valley,  I  cannot  say  that  this  is  approximately  correct,  but  I  do  not 
think  it  exaggerated  if  the  reports  as  to  the  supply  of  water  be  true. 

Wind  Eiver  rises  in  Wind  Eiver  Mountains,  on  the  west  side  of  the 
district,  and,  flowing  a  little  south  of  east  for  some  sixty  or  seventy 
miles,  bends  abruptly  north,  which  is  its  general  course  from  this  point 
until  it  passes  out  of  the  Territory.  The  length  of  its  valley  is  estimated 
at  two  hundred  miles,  and  its  width  from  two  to  fifteen,  but  it  is  inter- 
rupted at  some  points,  especially  at  the  irregular  range  of  hills  or  moun- 
tains that  crosses  the  district  from  east  to  west  near  the  middle  of  its 
length. 

The  following  tributaries  flow  into  the  main  stream  on  the  north  and 
west  side:  The  North  Fork,  Owl  Creek,  Gray  Bull,  and  Stinking  Water 
Creeks.  On  the  south  and  west  side  are  the  following  affluents :  South 
Fork,  Buffalo  Bull  Creek,  Big  Popoagie  Eiver,  Beaver  Creek,  and  ISTo- 
Wood  Eiver.  Little  Wind  Eiver  and  Little  Popoagie  Creeks  are  tribu- 
taries of  Big  Popoagie.  All  of  these  streams  are  bordered  by  more  or 
less  arable  land,  which  is  generally  qnite  fertile  and  can  be  irrigated,  as 
the  supply  of  water  is  ample.  I  understiind  the  Indian  agency  here 
intends  cutting  a  canal  and  drawing  the  water  from  Wind  Eiver  above 
the  bend,  which,  it  is  estimated,  will  irrigate  several  thousand  acres. 
All  of  these  streams,  except  No- Wood  Eiver,  are  skirted  by  heavy 
growths  of  Cottonwood  and  willow.  Wheat,  oats,  and  barley  can  be 
raised  with  ease,  the  climate  being  sufficiently  mild  and  the  season  of 
sufficient  length  for  them  to  mature,  but  it  is  rather  severe  for  corn. 
Potatoes  and  cabbages  grow  finely  and  of  pretty  good  size,  but  the 
turnips  I  saw,  if  a  fair  sample,  did  not  indicate  a  favorable  locality  for 
their  production.  Somewhat  to  my  surprise,  the  beans  raised  here,  of 
which  I  examined  several  bushels  in  the  green  i)ods,  were  very  large, 
l)lump,  and  well  filled,  which  would  indicate  a  freedom  from  late  frosts 

*This  stream  is  called  Wiud  Eiver  until  it  passes  throufjli  the  first  range  of  monn- 
tains,  north  of  which  it  has  received  the  name  of  Big  Horn  Eiver. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       233 

I  did  uot  expect  to  find  here.  But  since  that  time  I  have  learned  some 
facts  which  go  to  shovf  tliat  there  are  some  valleys  and  localities  even 
north  of  this,  cspecialh"  on  the  west  side  of  the  range,  where  the  climate 
is  comparatively  mild,  and  where  not  only  the  hardier  cereals,  but  corn 
can  be  raised,  and  will  produce  a  moderately  good  crop. 

I  do  not  know  what  the  elevation  of  this  valley  is,  but  am  inclined  to 
believe  that  it  is  lower  than  that  of  the  Sweetwater.  Miijor  Baldwin 
thinks  that  it  will  not  average  more  than  live  thousand  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea. 

I  believe  the  greater  part  of  this  district  is  embraced  in  an  Indian 
reservation;  but,  as  I  have  heretofore  remarked,  this  only  makes  a 
knowledge  of  its  agricultural  capacity  the  more  important. 

THE     WESTERN     DIVISION. 

A  full  consideration  of  the  territory  on  the  western  slope  of  the  great 
divide,  lying  opposite  to  that  in  the  eastern  division,  would  include,  not 
only  the  Salt  Lake  basin,  but  also  the  vast  district  drained  by  the  Rio 
Colorado  of  the  West  and  its  numerous  tributaries.  But  this  I  am  una- 
ble to  do,  especially  in  regard  to  the  latter ;  for  while  my  observations 
and  information  extended  over  the  greater  part  of  the  Great  Salt  Lake 
basin,  they  were  limited,  in  the  Eio  Colorado  district,  to  a.  part  of  the 
Green  River  country,  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Virgin,  and  tlie  head-waters 
of  the  San  Juan  aud  Flax  Rivers.  The  last  two  I  have  embraced  in  my 
report  on  New  Mexico,  and  the  valley  of  the  Rio  Virgin  I  will  include 
in  a  description  of  the  Salt  Lake  district,  leaving  oulj^  the  Green  River 
section  to  be  described  separately.  This,  I  am  aware,  breaks  in  upon 
my  plan  of  making  each  separate  water  system  a  district,  but  as  1  am 
unable  to  carry  it  out  in  this  case,  I  thought  it  best  to  throw  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  Territories  together  as  much  as  possible  consistent  with 
the  general  plan. 

This  division  is  a  part  of  the  great  inter-alpine  trough  lying  between 
the  Rocky  Mountain  and  Sierra  Nevada  ranges,  which  terminates  north 
in  the  plains  of  the  Columbia,  and  is  lost  in  the  south  in  the  broad 
plateaus  of  Arizona  and  Mexico.  Its  situation,  so  far  from  the  imme- 
diate Pacific  slope  and  Mississippi  Valley,  with  immense  rugged  ranges 
of  mountains  on  each  side,  aud  yet  on  the  line  of  travel  between  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  shores,  renders  a  knowledge  of  its  agricultural 
capacity,  of  great  importance.  And  a  more  complete  investigation  on 
this  point  by  the  Government  would  not  l)e  money  spent  in  vain. 

The  lowest  level  of  the  area  under  consideration  is  reached  in  the  Salt 
Lake  Valley,  which  is  about  four  thousand  three  hundred  feet  above  the 
sea,  while  various  arable  points  in  each  district  are  found  as  high  as 
seven  thousand  feet. 

THE   GREEN  RIVER  DISTRICT. 

I  regret  my  inability  to  describe  this  district  in  full,  not  only  because 
without  it  my  work  is  incomplete,  but  more  particularly  because  I  think 
there  is  here  a  large  body  of  irrigable  laud,  which  is  unoccupied.  It  is 
probable  that  the  portion  of  the  area,  drained  by  Green  River  and  its 
tributaries,  which  lies  within  Wyoming  Territory,  amounts  to  some  fif- 
teen thousand  or  sixteen  thousand  square  miles.  The  southeastern 
X^art  consists  principally  of  broad  barren  sage  plains,  with  but  little 
water,  and  is,  as  a  ^'eneral  thing,  of  but  little  value,  unless  it  can  be  re- 
deemed by  means  of  artesian  wells.    The  southern  part  is  composed 


234       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

chiefly  of  boulder  ridges  and  plateaus,  with  \rashed  and  bluffy  escarp- 
ments, in  consequence  of  which  the  term  "  bad  lauds "  is  sometimes 
applied  to  it.  This  section  is  partially  supplied  with  streams  bordered 
with  narrow  arable  strips,  which  can  be  irrigated,  and,  notwithstanding 
:heir  barren  appearance,  are  really  quite  fertile.  The  southwest  corner 
is  broken  and  mountainous  and  contains  very  little  land  that  can  be 
cultivated,  but  includes  some  line  grazing  fields.  The  northern  triangu- 
lar section,  lying  between  the  "Wind  Eiver  and  TVahsatch  Mountains, 
contains  the  greater  part  of  the  arable  laud  in  the  district,  and  is  di- 
vided into  three  distinct  parts  or  sub-sections,  as  follows :  the  Green 
River  Valley,  the  Big  Sandy  Valley,  and  the  broad,  somewhat  elevated 
plains  lying  between  them. 

Green  Eiver,  rising  in  the  V^iud  Eiver  Mountains  near  Fremont's 
Peak,  runs  in  a  southerly  direction  for  about  one  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  to  the  ■i2d  parallel,  where  it  turns  southeast,  and  is  joined  by  Big 
Sandy,  v.here  it  crosses  the  110th  meridian.  It  continues  the  same 
course,  after  receiving  the  waters  of  the  Big  Sandy,  to  the  crossing  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Eailroad,  where  it  again  turns  south  and  passes  out  of 
the  Territory.  Between  its  source  and  the  12d  parallel  it  is  joined  by  a 
number  of  small  affluents  that  flow  down  from  the  mountains  on  the 
west,  the  more  important  of  which  are,  Lead  Horse,  Marshy,  White 
Clay,  Butternut,  Piney,  La  Barge,  Fontenelle,  and  State  Creeks. 

Although  I  have  not  had  an  opportunity  of  a  full  examination  of  this 
part  of  the  section,  yet  I  am  satisfied  there  must  be  a  large  amount  of 
arable  land  that  can  be  irrigated  by  the  waters  of  these  creeks.  And. 
this  opinion  is  strengthened  by  observing  the  volume  of  water  in  the 
river  above  its  junction  with  the  Big  Sandy,  for  where  we  crossed  it  in 
September,  (the  time  of  year  when  its  waters  are  low,)  it  was  about  one 
hundred  and  twenty  feet  wide,  with  an  average  depth  of  fifteen  inches, 
and  running  very  swiftly.  There  is  but  one  stream  of  any  importance — 
the  Xew  Fork — that  comes  in  from  the  east,  but  this  is  the  longest  trib- 
utary north  of  the  bend. 

I  do  not  know  what  the  fall  of  the  river  is,  but  it  must  be  considerable, 
as  its  current  is  rapid  and  its  bottom,  where  I  saw  it,  covered  with  clean 
round  pebbles.  I  suppose  it  cannot  l3e  less  than  eight  or  ten  feet  to  the 
mile,  which  is  suificient  to  reach  the  surface  of  the  broad  plateau  that 
spreads  out  east  of  it.  If  I  am  correct  in  my  conclusions,  it  will  be  pos- 
sible to  irrigate  a  body  of  land  equal  to  the  entire  capacity  of  the  stream, 
and  we  may  therefore  safely  estimate  the  amount  of  land  in  this  section 
which  can  can  be  brought  under  cultivation  at  eight  or  nine  hundred 
square  miles.  It  is  true  this  estimate  is  based  on  slender  data,  but  I 
think  it  cannot  be  too  large,  for  the  Green  Eiver  bottoms  alone  will 
make  one-fourth  of  this  amount,  while  the  larger  irrigable  area  is  on  the 
second  level  or  table  lands,  which  vary  from  fifteen  to  fifty  feet  in  height, 
above  the  waters  of  the  stream  aud  spread  out  to  great  width.  The 
broad  tract  that  spreads  out  between  this  river  and  Big  Sandy  is  level 
and  sandy,  i^resentiug  a  barren  and  desolate  appearance,  on  which  ac- 
count it  is  sometimes  called  "The  Colorado  Desert."  It  is  covered  with 
a  low  gTOwth  of  Artemisia,  and  a  close  examination  of  the  soil  shows  that 
it  possesses  the  elements  of  fertility,  and  only  needs  the  addition  of  water 
to  make  it  productive.  Although  the  supply  of  water  from  Green  Eiver 
is  not  sufficient  to  irrigate  all  this  extensive  tract  it  will  furnish  a  broad 
belt  of  it.  The  Big  Sandy  rises  in  the  "Wind  Eiver  range  a  few  miles  to  the 
northwest  of  South  Pass,  autl  runs  south  until  it  is  joined  by  the  Little 
Sandy — its  principal  tributary — when,  bending  southwest,  it  continues 
this  course  until  it  joins  Green  Eiver.    The  upper  portion  passes  almost 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  235 

its  entire  length  througli  a  level  sage  plain,  averaging  about  twenty-five 
or  tbirty  feet  liigber  tbau  tbe  surface  of  tbe  creek.  The  immediate  bot- 
toms are  generally  narrow,  and  often  wanting  on  one  side.  Tbe  fall 
of  tbe  creek  bere  is  sufficient  to  carry  tbe  water  on  tbe  planis,  but  tbe 
supply  is  not  suilicient  to  irrigate  a  belt  more  tban  a  mile  or  two  in 
widtb.  Tbe  country  bordering  tbe  ujiper  portion  of  Little  Sandy  is 
somewbat  broken  and  billy,  particularly  on  tbe  east  side,  but  it  enters 
tbe  i)lains  before  it  is  joined  by  Pacific  Creek,  and  is  flanked  through- 
out by  all  tbe  level  land  its  waters  can  irrigate. 

Tbe  Big  Sandy,  from  tbe  point  where  it  is  joined  by  tbe  little  Sandy 
to  its  mouth,  runs  through  a  narrow  valley,  generally  flanked  on  one 
side  by  tolerably  high  blufts,  which  are  the  margins  of  tbe  elevated 
l^lains  that  here  rise  from  seventy -five  to  one  hundred  feet  above  the 
creek.  Tbe  average  width  of  tbe  immediate  bottoms  is,  perhaps,  half  a 
mile,  but  the  upper  level  can  be  reached  with  canals  a  few  miles  long, 
and  tbe  breadth  of  cultivable  land  increased  to  the  full  extent  of  tbe 
supply  of  water.  Tbe  elevation  of  tbe  little  Sandy  bottom,  just  above 
its  junction  with  Pacific  Creek,  is  six  thousand  four  hundred  and  fifty 
feet  above  the  sea,  while  that  of  Big  Sandy  bottom  near  Big  Timbers — 
twenty-five  miles  by  the  road  from  the  former — is  five  thousand  eight 
hundred  and  eighteen  feet.  This  shows  that  between  these  points 
there  is  a  fall  of  over  twenty  feet  to  the  mile.  Ten  miles  further  down, 
where  it  empties  into  Green  lliver,  the  altitude  is  five  thousand  five 
hundred  and  six  feet  above  the  sea  level,  showing  a  fall  of  nearly  thirty 
feet  to  tbe  mile,  which  is  sufiicient  to  reach  the  highest  plateaus  which 
border  tbe  valley. 

Although  I  traveled  over  this  sub-section,  and  noted  carefully  every- 
thing observable  bearing  upon  its  agricultural  capacity,  yet  I  am  unable 
to  form  any  very  reliable  estimate  of  tbe  area  of  its  irrigable  lands.  This 
difiiculty  arises  from  a  want  of  information  concerning  the  volume  of 
water  these  streams  send  down  during  tbe  irrigating  season.  If,  as  is 
probably  the  case,  they  are  much  larger  at  that  season  tban  when  we 
crossed  them,  then  the  estimate  of  the  tillable  lands  must  be  much 
larger  tban  if  judged  by  the  water  at  the  time  of  our  Aisit.  Assuming 
tbe  larger  volume,  I  would  place  the  estimate  at  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  square  miles  in  this  sub-section. 

The  average  elevation  of  this  entire  section  is  between  five  thousand 
five  hundred  and  six  thousand  five  hundred  feet  above  the  sea  level, 
which  is  lower  than  that  of  tbe  Laramie  Plains,  but  the  climate  is  not 
so  temperate  as  that  of  the  Salt  Lake  basin.  Wheat,  oats,  barley,  and 
such  roots  and  vegetables  as  are  mentioned  as  growing  at  Laramie  City, 
can  be  raised  bere. 

The  north  part  of  the  Green  Kiver  Valley  may  have  some  good  graz- 
ing fields,  but  neither  the  lower  part  of  this  valley  nor  that  of  the 
Sandy  aiford  any  very  extensive  or  valuable  areas  suitable  for  pasturage. 

There  is  some  cottonwood  along  the  Green  Eiver  and  tbe  lower  part 
of  Big  Sandy,  but  as  a  general  thing  this  entire  region  is  destitute  of 
timber,  none  being  found  nearer  tban  the  mountains. 

Tbe  remainder  of  my  report  on  this  district  relates  only  to  such 
detached  portions  as  were  visited  by  the  expedition. 

Black's  Fork,  to  the  point  where  it  is  joined  by  Ham's  Fork,  is  bor- 
dered by  a  bottom  of  moderate  widtb,  which  will  afford  space  for  a 
number  of  farms,  and  a  grazing  area  of  considerable  extent.  At  the 
time  of  our  visit  to  this  place,  a  drove  of  one  thousand  cattle  was  rest- 
ing and  feeding  here,  preparatory  to  their  departure  west.  Tbis  stream, 
to  its  junction  with  Green  Eiver,  is  flanked  by  narrow  bottoms,  which 


236  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

are  fertile  and  well  grassed,  as  a  general  thing,  and  which  can  easily  be 
irrigated.  As  there  is  a  tolerably  good  supply  of  water  during  the  grow- 
ing season,  it  is  i>robable  a  portion  of  the  uplands,  where  level,  can  be 
irrigated,  thus  increasing  the  tillable  area.  The  higher  plateau  between 
this  stream  and  Henry's  Fork  is  beyond  the  reach  of  irrigation,  but 
between  this  and  the  streams  around  it  runs  a  lower  level,  varying  in 
breadth  from  a  few  rods  to  ten  or  twelve  miles,  and  generally  about 
fifteen  or  twenty  feet  above  the  immediate  creek  bottoms.  This  level, 
which  is  mostly  covered  with  a  thick  growth  of  artemisia,  can  be  irri- 
gated as  far  as  the  supply  of  water  will  go.  The  broad  expanse  around 
Church  Butte  can  be  reached  by  a  canal  some  eight  or  ten  miles  in 
length,  but  the  supply  of  water  in  Black's  Fork  is  hardly  sufficient 
to  justify  the  expense.  A  canal  might  probably  be  cut  from  Green 
Elver,  commencing  some  eighteen  or  twenty  miles  above  the  railroad, 
which  would  not  only  irrigate  the  broad  level  portions  of  the  plains 
lying  west  of  the  river  and  south  of  Ham's  Fork,  but  if  a  suitable  place 
for  crossing  Black's  Fork  Valley  with  an  aqueduct  can  be  found,  might 
also  supply  the  first  level  south  of  the  latter  stream. 

Around  Fort  Bridger,  on  the  head- waters  of  Black's  Fork  and  its 
tributaries,  Smith's  Fork  and  Cottonwood  Creek,  are  some  fine  farming 
lauds,  and  on  Smith's  Fork  a  number  of  farms  are  already  in  cultivation, 
I^roducing  fine  crops  of  wheat,  oats,  barley,  potatoes,  &c.  The  tillable 
area  in  this  neighborhood  amounts  to  several  thousand  acres. 

A  proposition  has  been  made  to  run  a  branch  railroad  from  some 
point  on  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  near  Carter  Station,  up  Smith's 
Fork,  to  the  Uintah  Mountains,  in  order  to  reach  the  abundant  supply 
of  pine  timber  to  be  found  there. 

The  altitude  of  Fort  Bridger  is  about  seven  thousand  feet  above  the 
sea  level. 

Concerning  the  country  east  of  Smith's  Fork  I  quote  from  the  journal 
of  Dr.  Turnbull,  as  during  the  jiassage  of  the  expedition  over  this  sec- 
tion I  was  absent  examining  the  lands  of  Utah  : 

"  From  Fort  Bridger  to  Henry's  Fork,  with  the  exception  of  the  valley 
of  Smith's  Fork,  the  country  has  a  sterile  appearance  and  is  without 
means  of  irrigation,  being  generally  covered  with  a  scattering  and 
stunted  growth  of  artemisia. 

"  Henry's  Fork  traverses  a  beautiful  valley,  something  like  thirty  miles 
long  and  from  two  to  five  miles  wide,  can  be  easily  irrigated,  and  will 
produce  heavy  crops  of  cereals  and  the  hardy  roots  and  vegetables. 
At  present  it  is  covered  with  a  luxuriant  growth  of  grass,  from  which 
not  only  a  supply  for  the  military  post  is  obtained,  but  also  for  shipment 
to  other  points.  During  the  time  of  our  passage  through  this  region, 
some  twenty-five  hundred  head  of  Texas  cattle  were  resting  and  feeding 
at  Brown's  Hole. 

"  The  valley  of  Green  Eiver,  between  Black's  Fork  and  Bear  Eiver,  is 
generally  narrow,  varying  in  width  from  a  few  rods  to  three  or  four 
miles,  but  as  we  approach  the  mouth  of  Vermillion  Creek  it  widens  out 
into  a  broad,  bay-like  valley  about  twelve  miles  long  and  seven  or  eight 
in  width,  which  is  one  broad  meadow.  On  the  east  side  of  the  river, 
between  Currant  and  Eed  Creeks,  there  is  a  broad  sage  plain  of  moder- 
ate elevation,  which  could  be  watered  from  the  river  by  means  of  canals 
a  few  miles  long,  and,  although  having  a  barren  look,  would  doubtless 
produce  good  crops. 

"  From  Bitter  Creek  east,  until  we  reach  Muddy  or  Washakie  Creek, 
a  tributary  to  Bear  Eiver,  the  country  is  desolate  and  uninviting,  and 
1/he  water  generally  bad,  being  impregnated  with  alkaline  matter.    At 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       237 

the  latter  plenty  of  good  grass  is  to  be  obtained,  but  the  irrigable  and 
tillable  area  is  limited." 

From  the  data  obtained  by  the  expedition  while  in  this  section,  I  am 
led  to  the  conclusion  that  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  northeast  part 
of  Utah  and  northwest  part  of  Colorado  would  reveal  the  fact  that 
there  is  a  large  area  of  land  there  which  can  be  cultivated,  not  in  ex- 
tensive bodies,  but  in  long  narrow  valleys  and  belts.  But  it  is  probable 
the  reports  of  others,  who  have  been  making  some  examinations  of 
this  mountainous  region,  may  supply  that  which  we  have  to  omit  for 
want  of  information. 

Timber  is  abundant  along  the  slopes  of  the  Uintah  Mountains,  and 
some  of  the  valleys  are  tolerably  well  supplied  with  Cottonwood. 

SALT  LAKE  DISTKICT. 

This  district,  which  lies  partly  in  Utah  and  partly  in  Nevada,  is  a 
vast  elliptical  basin  about  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  lengt]i  from 
north  to  south,  and  varying  from  fifty  to  three  hundred  miles  in  width, 
being  on  an  average  about  one  hundred  and  eighty  or  one  hundred  and 
ninety  miles  wide,  and  containing  an  area  of  some  sixty-five  thousand 
square  miles.  As  there  is  a  large  portion  of  this  territory  which  is  but 
little  known,  and  which  has  never  been  examined  with  a  view  of  ascer- 
taining its  agricultural  capacity,  it  is  very  difficult  to  give  even  an  ap- 
proximate estimate  of  the  cultivable  lands  within  its  bounds.  Omitting 
what  may  hereafter  be  discovered  to  be  cultivable  in  the  western  section, 
I  think  we  may  safely  place  the  estimate  at  three  thousand  square  miles, 
or  about  two  million  acres. 

An  irregular  range  of  hills  or  mountains  starting  from  the  west  side 
of  Salt  Lake  runs  south  a  little  west  of  the  113th  meridian  to  the  38th 
parallel,  when  it  bends  southeast  and  forms  an  imperfect  junction  with 
the  southern  extremity  of  the  Wahsatch  Mountains.  B}^  this  range  the 
basin  is  divided  into  two  unequal  parts,  that  on  the  east,  which  contains 
nearly  all  the  known  arable  land,  being  much  smaller  than  the  western 
section. 

This  latter  portion  consists  chiefly  of  broad,  flat,  sandy  plains,  often 
destitute  of  vegetation,  and  in  many  places  covered  with  saline  incrus- 
tations, showing  plainly  that  the  lake  formerly  extended  over  a  much 
larger  area  in  this  direction  than  at  present. 

As  this  western  section,  so  far  as  known,  contains  but  very  little 
arable  land — this  being  limited  to  the  extreme  southeast  border — and  as 
the  entire  basin  consists  of  minor  basins  with  distinct  water  systems,  I 
shall  not  attempt  to  consider  the  district  by  sections,  but  will  describe 
it  by  the  minor  basins  and  valleys,  so  far  as  I  have  visited  them  and 
obtained  reliable  information  concerning  them.  Leaving  out  of  the  list 
the  broad  northwestern  plains,  the  following  are  the  more  important 
minor  basins :  the  Salt  Lake  Basin,  Eush  Valley,  Sevier  Eiver  Basin, 
and  Beaver  Eiver  Basin. 

SALT  LAKE  BASIN. 

This  basin  embraces  the  territory  immediately  around  the  lake,  and 
that  drained  by  the  numerous  streams  that  flow  into  it,  of  which  the 
principal  ones  are  Bear,  Weber,  and  Jordan  Eivers,  the  last  mcluding 
as  its  tributaries  the  streams  that  discharge  their  waters  into  Utah 
Lake. 

This  basin  is  nearly  two  hundred  miles  in  length,  and  covers  over 


238       GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

one-fourth  of  the  entire  district;  and  within  its  bounds  are  contained 
the  choice  lands  and  chief  population  of  Utah. 

Beginning  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake,  and  moving  east  and  then. 
south,  I  will  describe  the  country,  so  far  as  my  observation  and  informa- 
tion extend,  by  valleys,  in  the  order  in  which  they  come. 

I  did  not  visit  either  Hansee  Spring  Valley  or  Blue  Spring  Valley, 
which  lie  north  of  the  promontory ;  nor  did  I  succeed  in  obtaining  any 
very  definite  information  concerning  the  agricultural  capacity  of  either; 
but  from  all  I  could  learn  I  am  satisfied  they  contain  very  little  arable 
land.  The  former  is  not  supplied  with  streams  that  will  furnish  water 
for  irrigation,  and  the  i)riucipal  stream  in  the  latter  is  very  strongly 
impregnated  v;ith  saline  matter.  The  southern  portions  of  these  valleys 
have  a  barren  appearance,  and  are  but  sparsely  covered  with  vegetation ; 
the  soil  is  also  saturated  with  salt  or  alkali.  Farther  north  there  are 
probably  some  better  portions  and  some  small  areas  susceptible  of  cul- 
tivation, and  grass  may  also  be  found  near  the  mountains. 

The  Malade  Valley,  which  extends  north  into  Idaho,  is  drained  by 
the  Malade  River,  and  is  a  very  i^retty,  fertile  section ;  and,  including 
the  shore  of  Bear  River  Bay,  is  about  forty  miles  long,  with  an  average 
width  of  five  miles.  It  contains  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  square 
miles  of  land  which  may  be  irrigated,  and  in  the  northern  part  are  some 
fine  fields  of  grass.  Although  the  Malade  River  is  narrow,  it  sends 
down  a  considerable  volume  of  water,  sufficient,  I  think,  to  irrigate  all 
the  level  land  of  the  valley  as  far  south  as  the  "  gate,"  or  caiion,  through 
which  Bear  River  emerges.  From  this  point  water  can  be  drawn  from 
the  latter  stream  to  irrigate  the  south  end  of  the  valley.  Although  a 
portion  of  the  land  near  the  bay  may  be  unfit  for  agricultural  purposes, 
yet  several  thousand  acres  can  be  brought  under  cultivation  in  the 
vicinity  of  Corinne,  where  it  would  doubtless  prove  quite  profitable. 

The  Cache  Valley,  the  next  one  to  the  east,  is  an  expansion  of  the 
otherwise  ribbon-like  valley  of  Bear  River,  and  extends  north  and  south 
from  the  divide  between  Muddy  and  Box  Elder  into  the  southern  border 
of  Idaho.  Its  length  from  Paradise  to  the  mountains  above  Franklin 
is  about  fifty  miles,  varying  in  width  from  six  to  sixteen  and  averaging 
as  much  as  twelve  miles.  About  one-half  of  its  area,  or  three  hundred 
squa^re  miles,  can  be  irrigated  and  rendered  suitable  for  cultivation. 
Not  only  can  the  bottoms  be  irrigated,  but  the  benches  and  uplands 
between  Paradise  and  Franklin  may  be  reached  by  digging  ditches  a 
few  miles  in  length ;  for,  in  addition  to  the  river,  there  are  numerous 
little  streams  running  down  into  the  valley  from  the  Wahsatch  Moun- 
tains on  the  east,  as  follows :  Muddy,  Blacksmith's  Fork,  High  Fork, 
Gros  Bois  Creek,  and  Logan's  Fork,  and  Rush  Creek  from  the  west, 
all  of  which  afford  water. 

This  is  probably  the  finest  grazing  section  in  the  entire  basin,  and  sit- 
uated as  it  is  near  the  junction  of  three  railroads,  must  become  a  favorite 
pasture  ground  for  stock-raisers  and  stock-traders.  Occasionally,  feed- 
ing may  be  required  for  a  short  time  in  the  winter,  on  account  of  the 
snow,  but  this  seldom  extends  over  three  or  four  weeks  during  the  sea- 
son. This  is  also  one  of  the  best  wheat-growing  valleys  in  the  district, 
being  second  to  none  but  the  San  Pete.  It  is  colder  t^han  the  valley  of 
the  Jordan,  as  is  also  that  of  the  Malade,  and  therefore  not  so  well 
adapted  to  fruit  or  corn  as  the  sections  farther  south,  yet  apples  and  the 
hardier  fruits  can  be  raised.  The  attractive  features  and  situation  of 
this  valley  have  drawn  a  considersble  population  here,  so  that  already 
between  thirty  and  thirty-five  thousand  acres  have  been  irrigated. 

Box  Elder,  and  the  other  little  streams  that  connect  with  it,  are  bor- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       239 

dered  by  some  excellent  lands  which  can  be  easily  irrigated.  A  settle- 
ment has  been  made  here  and  some  land  is  under  cultivation,  but  what 
amount  1  am  unable  to  say. 

Bear  Eiver  rises  in  the  Uintah  IMountains,  near  the  southwest  corner 
of  Wyoming",  and  running  north  within  Utah  Territory, 'but  very  near 
the  eastern  boundary,  passes  up  into  Idaho  for  forty  or  fifty  miles,  where, 
bending-  suddenly  soutlnvest,  it  enters  the  Cache  Valley.  Most  of  the 
distance  from  where  the  Union  Pacific  Eailroad  enters  it,  to  its  northern 
bend,  it  is  flanked  by  a  narrow  belt  of  bottom  land,  which  occasionally, 
as  in  the  vicinity  of  Medicine  Butte,  and  near  the  point  where  it  crosses 
the  boundary  line,  expands  to  four  or  live  miles  in  vridth,  but  for  the 
whole  length  the  average  width  cannot  safely  be  estimated  at  more  than 
one  mile.  Its  chief  value  will  be  as  a  grazing  region  when  the  broader 
valleys  have  been  taken  up,  its  elevation  and  mountainous  surroundings 
making  it  too  cold  for  any  but  the  hardier  cereals  and  vegetables. 

The  "average  fall  of  the  river  is  about  twelve  feet  to  the  mile,  which 
is  sufficient  to  carry  it  upon  any  table  lands  that  may  border  it  which 
are  not  more  than  one  hundred  to  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  high. 

I  am  not  sufficiently  acquainted  with  the  country  through  which  it 
runs  to  state  what  is  the  probable  amount  of  land  that  may  thus  be 
rendered  cultivable.  I  know  there  are  occasional  belts  of  the  second 
level,  but  I  think  these  are  limited.  Around  Bear  Eiver  Lalce  there  is 
a  strip  of  arable  land  and  some  grassy  meadows. 

Ogden's  Hole,  which  is  a  little  park  in  the  Wahsatch  Mountains, 
drained  by  Ogden  Creek,  is  about  fifteen  miles  long  and  seven  miles 
wide. 

This  beautiful  valley  is  hemmed  in  on  all  sides  by  high  mountains, 
from  which  flow  down  little  streams  of  crystal  water  sufficient  to  irri- 
gate nearly  the  entire  area.  The  greater  part  is  covered  over  by  a  thick 
growth  of  nutritious  grass,  and  aftbrds  an  excellent  grazing  field.  The 
remarks  made  in  regard  to  the  climate  and  products  in  Bear  Eiver  Val- 
ley will  apply  here. 

Weber  River,  along  which  the  railroad  runs  for  some  distance — from 
where  it  emerges  from  the  canon  to  where  it  enters  upon  Salt  Lake  Val- 
ley proper — passes  through  a  very  pretty,  and,  for  the  most  part,  fertile 
section,  which  is  rapidly  filling  up  with  villages  and  settlements,  and  is 
so  well  known  to  everj-  one  who  has  traveled  along  the  Union  Pacific 
Eailroad,  that  any  description  of  it  would  be  superfluous. 

The  arable  land  in  the  valley,  including  the  little  spots  on  Echo  Creek, 
may  be  estimated  at  one  hundred  square  miles,  or  sixty-four  thousand 
acres. 

I  may  add  that  the  soil  is  very  fertile,  and,  although  the  climate  is^ 
slightly  colder  than  that  of  the  Salt  Lake  Valley,  apples  and  some  other" 
fruits  can  be  raised  without  difficult^' . 

In  order  to  prevent  confusion,  I  have  limited  the  name  "  Salt  Lake 
Valley"  to  the  strip  of  level  land  lying  along  the  eastern  shore  between 
the  lake  and  the  Wahsatch  Mountains.  Its  length  from  Salt  Lake  City 
to  Willard  City,  in  a  direct  line,  is  about  fifty  miles,  varying  in  width 
from  two  to  fifteen  miles,  and  averaging  about  ten. 

Of  this  area  I  estimate  three-fifths,  or  three  hundred  square  miles,  as 
susceptible  of  cultivation.  I  am  aware  that  with  the  present  systems  of 
irrigation  it  would  be  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  obtain  sufficient 
water  to  irrigate  this  esteut,  but  by  making  reservoirs  and  bringing 
upon  it  all  the  water  that  is  within  reach  from  the  streams  north  and 
south,  my  estimate  will  not  be  too  large ;  and,  by  this  means,  part  of 


240       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

I 

the  higlier  lands  soutli  of  Weber  Eiver  may  be  rendered  fit  for  cul- 
ture. 

The  soil,  although  in  many  places  covered  with  artemisia,  and  more 
or  less  impregnated  with  saline  matter,  is  very  rich  and  productive,  as 
the  farms  already  under  cultivation  show. 

The  northern  and  southern  portions  contain  the  principal  settlements, 
as  there  the  land  is  lowest  and  inost  easily  irrigated. 

As  the  productions  of  this  and  the  remaining  portions  of  the  basin  are 
similar,  I  will  speak  of  them  after  I  have  described  the  different  sec- 
tions. 

The  valley  of  the  Jordan  extends  almost  directly  north  and  south  from 
Utah  Lake  to  Great  Salt  Lake ;  the  lofty  peaks  of  Wahsatch  range 
walling  it  in  on  the  east,  and  the  Oquirrh  Mountains  bounding  it  on  the 
west. 

From  the  lower  end  of  the  caiion  to  its  northern  extremity,  where  it 
spreads  out  and  becomes  a  i»art  of  what  I  have  included  in  the  Salt 
Lake  Valley,  is  about  twenty-six  miles,  and  its  average  width  fully 
fifteen  miles.  This  gives  nearly  four  hundred  square  miles  as  its  area, 
which  may  appear  small  to  those  who  have  read  the  glowing  descrip- 
tions of  it.  Lieutenant  Beckwith  gives  thirty  miles  as  its  length,  and 
twenty  as  its  width ;  but  he  counts  from  Utah  Lake  and  includes  the 
mountain  slopes,  while  I  confine  my  estimate  to  the  valley  plains,  four- 
fifths  of  which  can  be  irrigated ;  and  I  also  exclude  from  the  calculation 
that  part  of  the  lake  shore  bordering  the  river,  which  I  have  included 
in  the  former  section. 

The  direct  length,  by  Government  survey,  from  the  base  line  which 
runs  near  the  north  side  of  the  city  to  the  southern  line  of  Salt  Lake 
County,  which  crosses  near  the  caiion,  is  just  twenty-four  miles.*  The 
greater  part  of  this  beautiful  valley  can  be  irrigated,  and  I  estimate  its 
cultivable  area  at  four-fifths,  or  about  three  hundred  square  miles. 

Most  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Jordan  enter  it  from  the  east  side,  and 
south  of  the  creek  that  waters  the  city  the  only  ones  of  any  importance 
are  Mill,  Big  Cottonwood,  Little  Cottonwood,  and  Willow  Creeks. 
Ditches  have  recently  been  made  along  the  eastern  border  of  the  valley, 
drawing  the  water  from  Cottonwood  Creeks  near  the  mountain  and 
carrying  it  on  the  plateau  that  occupies  a  considerable  area  on  this  side 
of  the  river. 

This  eff"ort  has  clearly  demonstrated  the  possibility  and  practicability 
of  irrigating  nearly  every  acre  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  north  of 
Willow  Creek.  Although  but  little  of  this  plateau  or  higher  level  has 
been  tilled,  yet  the  primary  canals  and  a  number  of  the  smaller  ditches 
^are  already  made,  and  when  I  passed  through  the  valley  in  September 
last  were  filled  with  running  water. 

In  the  vicinity  of  Willow  Creek  there  is  a  small  area  of  slightly  rolling 
land,  which  probably  cannot  be  irrigated  from  any  of  the  streams,  not 
because  of  its  elevation,  but  because  this  creek  does  not  furnish  suf- 
ficient water.  If  it  is  possible  to  establish  reservoirs  along  the  base  of 
the  mountain  there  will  be  no  necessity  for  even  this  remaining  idle. 

An  extensive  canal  is  now  in  course  of  construction  for  the  purpose 
of  irrigating  the  great  body  of  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  river.  Start- 
ing within  the  caiion,  and  but  a  few  feet  below  the  level  of  Utah  Lake, 
^  the  intention  is  to  carry  the  water  from  the  Jordan  along  the  base  of 
the  Oquirrh  Mountains,  at  as  high  a  level  as  possible.     This  will  furnish 

*  The  table  of  distances  given  in  Stansbnry's  Report,  p.  294,  makes  the  distance  from 
the  State  House  to  the  summit  of  the  hill  at  the  caiion  twenty-five  miles,  "which  is  tho 
correct  road  measure. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       241 

water  enough  to  irrigate  the  hirger  portion  of  the  lands  on  this  side; 
but  the  fall  is  not  sufficient  to  reach  the  higher  margins  of  the  sloping 
plain. 

When  these  works  are  completed  and  the  fresh  water  from  Utah 
Lake  has  i)ermeated  the  soil  for  a  few  years,  this  valley,  seen  from  some 
neighboring  height,  will  truly  appear  as  one  vast  garden. 

The  soil  of  the  flat  lands  around  thfe  city,  when  the  Mormons  first 
settled  it,  was  so  thoroughly  saturated  with  saline  matter  that  for 
several  years  there  were  considerable  areas  upon  which  they  could  get 
no  crops  to  grow.  But  at  length  by  experience  they  learned  that  by 
sowing  it  in  herd-grass  and  irrigating  it  freely  it  could  be  rendered 
suitable  for  the  culture  of  other  crops.  And  Mr.  R.  L.  Campbell,  who 
was  for  some  years  secretary,  and  is  now,  I  believe,  president  of  the 
Agricultural  and  ]\Ianufacturing  Society,  informs  me  that  lands  which 
were  heretofore  rejected  on  this  account  are  now  being  rapidly  occupied 
for  farms. 

It  is  impossible  to  give  the  exact  number  of  acres  that  have  been  irri- 
gated in  this  valley,  as  no  returns,  so  far  as  I  could  ascertain,  have  been 
made  since  18G7.  Omitting  from  the  estimate  the  lands  that  may  be 
reached  by  the  Jordan  Canal,  which  is  not  completed,  I  suppose  the 
number  at  present  amounts  at  least  to  twenty  thousand  or  twenty-five 
thousand  acres. 

Perhaps,  before  passing  to  the  Utah  basin,  it  would  be  best  to  include 
the  Tooele  and  Lone  Eock  Valleys,  as  they  properly  belong  to  this  group 
of  arable  tracts. 

The  Tooele  Valley  is  about  sixteen  miles  long  and  ten  miles  wide,  and 
is  probably  the  most  fertile  spot  in  the  Territory.  The  small  streams 
that  run  through  it  afford  sufficient  water  to  irrigate  the  greater  part  of 
its  area,  and  therefore  I  estimate  its  agricultural  lands  at  one  huudred 
and  sixty  square  miles,  or  the  full  extent  of  the  valley  surface.  The 
soil  appears  to  be  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  growth  of  the  cereals,  it 
being  no  uncommon  thing  to  cut  from  sixty  to  seventy  bushels  of  oats 
from  an  acre,  and  last  year  one  field  of  ninety  acres  averaged  sixty 
bushels  to  the  acre.  It  is  already  j^retty  well  settled  up,  having  one 
woolen  manufactory  and  fi^e  grist-mills,  and  some  fourteen  or  fifteen 
thousand  acres  irrigated. 

Lone  Eock  or  Spring  Valley,  which  lies  at  the  southwest  corner  of 
Salt  Lake,  does  not  appear  to  have  attracted  much  attention,  and  is  not 
so  well  known  as  the  others  in  this  region,  i^robably,  on  account  of  its 
locality.  It  is  about  twenty  miles  long  and  from  eight  to  ten  miles  wide, 
and,  with  the  exception  of  its  northern  end,  is  well  grassed  over  and 
aftords  excellent  grazing  fields.  A  small  area  can  be  irrigated  and 
brought  under  cultivation  around  the  southwest  margin,  but  the  central 
portion  is  watered  principally  by  springs,  which  render  the  surface 
marshy  in  places.  Ditching  through  the  marshy  i)arts  would  probably 
draw  off  sufficient  water  to  leave  the  ground  firm  and  suitable  for  graz- 
ing and,  perhai)S,  for  culture.  The  northern  portion,  as  it  approaches  the 
lake,  assumes  a  more  barren  appearance,  and  in  some  places  is  frosted 
over  with  saline  incrustations,  while  the  southern  end  is  much  like  Tintic 
Valley. 

UTAH  LAKE  VALLEY. 

Passing  southward  over  the  ridge  at  the  upper  end  of  the  Jordan 

Valley,  we  enter  the  Utah  Lake  Basin.     The  principal  portion  of  the 

arable  lands  of  this  basin  or  valley  stretch  along  the  eastern  shore  of 

the  lake,  extending  back  from  its  margin  to  the  foot  of  the  mountains, 

16  G 


242       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

•whicli  here  descend  abruptly  to  the  plains.  The  length  of  this  semicir- 
cular belt,  from  the  exit  of  the  Jordan  to  Santaguin,  is  about  fifty  miles, 
with  an  average  width  of  six.  This  entire  area  of  three  hundred  square 
miles  can  be  irrigated,  the  numerous  streams  that  rush  down  from  the 
mountain  canons  affording  sufficient  water  to  irrigate  not  only  the  lower 
bottoms,  but  also  the  broad  elevated  plateau  that  extends  from  Battle 
Creek  to  Provo  Kiver,*  For  a  long  time  this  plateau  was  supposed  to 
be  beyond  the  reach  of  any  of  the  streams  in  the  viciuity,  and  was  con- 
signed to  inutility,  but  a  little  energy  has  recently  shown  that  this  was 
a  mistake.  A  canal,  commencing  some  distance  up  Provo  Canon,  has 
been  constructed  along  the  steep  mountain  slopes,  and  now  brings  the 
water  from  Provo  Eiver  to  the  highest  point  of  this  elevated  i)laiu,  and 
when  I  passed  through  here  the  secondary  ditches  were  filled  with  water, 
spreading  here  and  there  large  pools  over  the  dry  plains.  Although  I 
saw  but  one  field  in  cultivation,  farms  were  being  marked  off  and  prep- 
arations made  for  cultivating  the  soil.  And  I  believe  that  this  once 
rejected  plat  will  prove  the  best  wheat-gTowing  tract  hi  the  valley  of 
Utah  Lake,  and  that  ere  long  it  will  be  dotted  over  with  farm-houses 
and  fields  of  golden  grain. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  the  streams  that  run  down  from  the  moun- 
tain and  cross  this  shore-strip,  given  in  the  order  in  which  they  come, 
beginning  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake.  Dry  Creek,  American  Fork, 
Battle  Creek,  Provo  River,  Spring  Creek,  Hobble  Creek,  Spanish  Fork, 
and  Petenete  Creek;  Summit  Creek,  which  crosses  the  road  south  of  the 
lake,  is  a  tributary  of  the  Petenete.  These  streams  are  bordered  by  no 
valleys  or  bottoms  within  the  mountains,  for,  with  the  exception  of 
Provo  Eiver,  they  do  not  reach  beyond  the  first  range,  but  rushing  down 
its  slope  enter  suddenly  upon  the  plain  and  sweep  across  it  to  the  lake. 

The  soil  is  generally  very  fertile,  that  along  the  margin  of  the  lake 
having  a  large  iiroportion  of  vegetable  mold  mixed  with  it ;  that  near 
the  mountain  and  on  the  plateau  is  intermingled  with  small  boulders, 
but  not  to  such  a  degree  as  to  injure  it.  From  Battle  Creek  north,  and 
from  Provo  River  south,  it  is  pretty  well  settled  and  most  of  the  choice 
bottom  lauds  occupied,  but  there  is  a  broad  strip  along  the  lake  margin 
not  cultivated  but  used  as  meadow  land  to  graze  the  cattle  belonging 
to  the  citizens  of  the  little  villages  located  on  the  creeks.  Including 
Tintic  and  Cedar  Valleys  there  are  at  least  twenty-five  thousand  acres 
of  irrigated  land  in  Utah  County,  and  even  this  estimate  may  fall  con- 
siderably below  the  true  figures,  for  if  the  canal  cut  from  the  Provo  is 
of  sufficient  capacity  to  water  the  whole  surface  of  the  plateau,  this 
alone  would  amount  to  over  twenty  thousand  acres,  and  would  increase 
my  estimate  to  thirty-five  thousand,  as  I  include  but  ten  thousand  in  the 
first  figures. 

Tintic  Valley,  which  lies  southwest  of  Utah  Lake,  is  a  narrow,  bay- 
like indentation  in  the  range  of  hills  or  low  mountains  that  sweeps 
around  the  west  side  of  the  basin.  It  is  about  twenty-five  miles  long 
north  and  south,  and  four  or  five  miles  wide,  and  is  Avatered  principally 
by  springs.  As  there  are  very  few  streams  from  which  water  can  be 
'drawn  to  irrigate  the  soil,  a  small  portion  only  of  the  land  can  be  brought 
under  culture,  but  as  a  grazing  section  it  probably  stands  next  to  the 
Cache  Valley.  The  grass  grows  luxuriantly  and  is  kept  fresh  and  nu- 
tritious by  the  water  from  the  numerous  springs,  and  the  comparatively 
mild  climate  prevents  the  necessity  of  winter  feeding  or  shelter,  as  some- 
times required  in  the  north  part  of  the  Territory. 

*  This  stream  was  formerly  called  the  TimpanogaSj  and  this  is  the  name  generally 
tfound  on  the  maps  and  in  public  documents. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  243 

Cedar  Valley  lies  west  of  tbe  lake,  behind  the  range  of  hills  that  here 
rises  up  near  the  shore,  and  is  about  thirty  miles  long  from  north  to 
south,  and  averages  ten  miles  in  width,  and  contains  perhaps  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  square  miles  of  land  that  can  be  cultivated.  It  is  watered 
by  two  small  streams  that  run  in  from  the  west  and  northwest,  and 
which  aftbrd  sufficient  wnter  to  irrigate  the  northern  and  western  por- 
tions, especially  around  Crittenden  and  Cedar  City.  The  laud  is  good 
and  productive.  The  valley  is  partially  settled,  and  there  are  already 
two  saw-mills  and  one  Houring-mill  in  operation  here.  1  did  not  have 
an  opportunity  of  visiting  this  locality,  but  obtained  my  information 
from  citizens  of  Provo,  who  are  well  acquainted  with  it.  I  neglected  to 
inquire  about  its  water  drainage,  and  am  somewhat  in  doubt  respecting 
it.  If  there  is  any  outlet  for  it  to  the  lake,  I  failed  to  see  it,  and  I  am 
satisfied  there  is  none  to  the  Jordan,  therefore  I  presume  it  is  a  separate 
basin,  but  as  it  may  belong  to  the  Utah  basin,  I  have  considered  it  in 
connection  with  that  system.  It  has  a  greater  elevation  than  the  Utah 
Valley,  but  how  much  I  do  not  know. 

Moving  southward  from  Santaguin,  we  enter  the  Juab  Valley,  which 
extends  from  this  point  to  the  divide  between  Utah  and  Sevier  basins, 
a  short  distance  below  Nephi.  It  is  about  fifty  miles  long  and  six 
miles  wide,  and  contains  one  hundred  square  miles  of  land  that  can  be 
irrigated,  principally  along  Salt  and  Clover  Creeks.  The  most  of  the 
remainder  is  well  grassed  over,  and  affords  good  pasture  lands  for  sheep 
and  cattle. 

Eeserviug  a  fuller  account  of  the  x)roductions  of  the  Salt  Lake,  Jordan, 
and  Utah  Valleys,  until  I  have  completed  the  description  of  the  district, 
I  will  only  remark  that  everything  that  can  be  raised  in  the  Middle 
States  can  be  raised  here,  and  that  these  sections  bear  about  the  same 
relations  to  the  colder  regions  of  the  elevated  moiuitain  districts  and 
southern  borders  of  our  Territory  that  the  Middle  States  do  to  New 
England  and  Georgia. 

Without  detracting  anything  from  the  importance  of  the  arable  tracts 
and  grazing  fields  along  the  railroad  line  east  of  this  in  Wyoming,  1 
may  truly  call  this  basin,  with  all  its  drawbacks,  (for  it  has  some,)  an 
oasis  on  the  great  continental  highway  of  trade  and  travel.  Possessing 
this  advantage  of  situation,  surrounded  by  mountains  rich  in  the  pre- 
cious metals,  and  having  a  healthy  climate,  it  must,  in  the  course  of  a 
few  years,  become  densely  populated.  It  is  important,  therefore,  that 
the  Government  should  give  all  proper  encouragement  to  its  develop- 
ment. I  make  these  remarks  here,  because  they  are  more  particularly 
applicable  to  the  immediate  basin  of  Salt  Lake  than  to  the  rest  of  the 
Territory,  being  the  portion  through  which  the  railroad  passes. 

The  general  level  of  the  Salt  Lake  VaUey  is  about  four  thousand  three 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea  level,  and  that  of  Utah  Lake  Valley  between 
four  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty  and  four  thousand  six  hundred 
feet.* 

In  the  mountains  east  of  the  Jordan  are  three  little  parks  or  elevated 
valleys.  Parley's  Park,  Kamas  Valley,  and  Eound  Prairie,  which  be- 
long to  the  basin  under  consideration.  Parley's  Park  is  elevated  about 
two  thousand  feet  above  Salt  Lake,  and  is  some  five  or  six  miles  long 
and  from  two  to  three  miles  wide.  It  is  watered  by  Caiion  Creek,  and 
could  be  easily  irrigated,  but  on  account  of  its  elevation  and  mountain- 

*  In  the  barometric  table  accompanying  Lieutenant  Beckwith's  Report  of  Pacific  Rail- 
road Survey,  toI.  ii,  part  1,  p.  107,  there  are  some  errors,  probably  typographical. 
For  instance,  the  elevation  at  Provo  is  given  as  4,362.6,  when  it  certainly  is  at  least 
two  hundred  feet  more. 


244       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

ous  surroundings,  it  is  too  cold  for  any  except  the  hardier  ji reductions. 
The  recent  discovery  of  some  mines  in  the  mountains  around  it,  how- 
ever, may  bring  it  into  notice. 

Kamas  Valley,  which  is  similar  to  Parley's  Park,  is  about  ten  miles 
long  and  from  two  to  four  miles  wide,  and  can  also  be  irrigated.  Both 
are  well  grassed  and  afford  good  grazing  fields,  but,  on  account  of  the 
difficulty  in  reaching  them,  and  their  small  size,  will  not  be  of  much 
value  in  an  agi^icultural  point  of  view. 

I  know  nothing  in  regard  to  Eonnd  Prairie. 

RUSH    VALLEY. 

This  -valley  appears  to  be  a  small  isolated  basin,  having  a  distinct 
water  system  of  its  own;  Eush  Lake,  which  lies  in  the  north  part,  being 
the  reservoir.  It  is  about  forty  or  fifty  miles  in  length  from  north  to 
south,  and  averages  fifteen  miles  in  width,  a  large  portion  of  which  can 
be  irrigated,  and  which  I  have  estimated  at  three  hundred  square  miles. 
Clover  Creek,  which  flows  into  Eush  Lake,  is  a  stream  of  considerable 
size,  and  affords  sufficient  water,  not  only  to  irrigate  a  large  extent  of 
land,  but  also  power  to  drive  machinery.  The  lake  is  about  eight  miles 
long  and  some  three  or  four  miles  wide.  Some  mines  recently  discov- 
ered at  the  north  end  of  this  valley  will,  if  they  prove  productive,  fur- 
nish a  market  for  the  farm  products. 

Stockton,  at  the  north  end  of  the  lake,  is  a  village  of  considerable 
size.  The  farms  in  this  locality  are  irrigated  from  a  stream  that  ,runs 
from  the  mountains  near  by  and  empties  into  the  lake. 

SEVIER  RIVER  BASIN. 

This  comprises  the  country  drained  by  the  Sexier  Eiver  and  its  trib- 
utaries. This  river,  rising  in  the  southwest  corner  of  the  Territory,  runs  a 
little  east  of  north  between  two  ranges  of  the  Wahsatch  Mountains  for 
one  Iwindred  and  fifty  or  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  where  it  breaks 
through  the  western  ridge  and  runs  southwest  for  forty  or  fifty  miles 
more,  and  empties  into  Sevier  Lake.  Its  principal  tributaries  are  the 
San  Pete  Eiver  and  Meadow  Creek.  The  former,  rising  a  little  south  of 
Mount  ]S"ebo,  runs  southwest  through  the  San  Pete  Yalley  and  joins  the 
Sevier  Eiver  near  the  crossing  of  the  112th  meridian  and  39th  parallel. 
The  latter  commences  in  the  divide  south  of  Eush  Yalley,  and  traverses 
the  ijlains  west  of  the  mountains,  uniting  at  the  bend.  Very  little  ap- 
pears to  be  known  in  regard  to  Sevier  Lake,  at  least  I  have  been  unable 
to  ascertain  anything  of  imj)ortance  respecting  it  or  the  lower  portion  of 
the  river.  The  very  irregular  form  of  this  basin  and  uncertainty  in 
regard  to  its  western  rim  make  it  impossible  for  me  to  give  an  esti- 
mate of  its  area  that  will  amount  to  anything  more  than  a  mere  guess. 

The  San  Pete  Valley,  which  is  watered  by  the  San  Pete  Eiver  and 
numerous  small  tributaries,  counting  from  Fountain  Green  to  Guunisou, 
is  fort^^-four  miles  long  and  averages  fully  five  miles  in  width.  At  least 
two  hundred  square  miles,  or  nearly  the  entire  surface  area  of  this  beauti- 
ful and  fertile  valley,  can  be  irrigated.  The  returns  of  the  Agricultural 
and  Manufacturing  Society  for  18G6-'67  give  nearly  twenty  thousand 
acres  as  the  number  then  under  irrigation  ;  the  past  three  years  have 
increased  this  fully  twenty-five  per  cent.,  so  that  we  may  safely  estimate 
the  number  now  irrigated  at  tweuty-five  thousand. 

This  valley,  as  a  wheat-growing  section,  stands  next  to  Cache,  its  soil 
being  peculiarly  adapted  to  the  production  of  this  cereal.  It  is  also  one 
of  the  best  potato  regions  in  the  Territory. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       245 

Its  altitude  averages  about  five  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  the  elevation  at  the  mouth  of  San  Pete  River  being  four  thousand 
nine  hundred  and  sixty  feet. 

The  Sevier  Eiver  Valley  is  a  long  narrow  belt  lying  bet^yeen  two 
wings  of  the  Wahsatch  range,  and  extending  northwest  and  northeast 
one  hundred  and  ten  or  one  hundred  and  fifteen  miles.  I  kuow  but 
little  respecting  the  agricultural  features  of  the  upper  portion  of  this 
valley,  but  presume,  judging  from  what  I  know  of  the  surrounding 
regions,  that  it  is  well  gi-assed  and  wtII  watered,  so  that  all  spots  of 
arable  land  to  be  found  there  can  be  irrigated.  I  think  it  probable  that 
some  timber  can  be  found  in  this  part  of  the  valle}',  although  the  lower 
portions  are  very  naked. 

For  about  fifty  or  sixty  miles  above  Gunnison  it  averages  some  six  or 
seven  miles  wide,  but  is  wholly  without  timber,  and  has  a  very  barren 
appearance ;  even  the  artemisia  being  scattered  and  stunted.  The  river 
channel  is  generally  a  deep,  ditch-like  cleft  in  the  soil,  some  six  or  eight 
feet  below  the  surface  of  the  i)lain,  its  immediate  bottoms  being  very 
narrow.  With  the  considerable  fall  in  the  stream  a  great  portion  of  the 
valley  can  be  irrigated,  and,  notwithstanding  the  present  barren  appear- 
ance, after  a  few  years'  irrigation,  will  become  quite  "fertile,  and  produce 
good  crops  of  wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  &c.  There  are  some  settlements  in 
the  north  part  of  the  valley,  and  a  few  thousand  acres  under  cultivation 
in  Sevier  and  Piute  Counties,  which  embrace  this  valley.  What  the 
number  of  acres  irrigated  is  I  cannot  say. 

The  elevation  ranges  from  five  thousand  five  hundred  to  four  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  the  volume 
of  water  in  the  river  is  ample  for  all  purposes.  From  Gunnison  to 
Chicken  Creek,  a  distance  of  forty  miles,  the  valley  of  this  Eiver  aver- 
ages some  three  or  four  miles  wide,  and  is  similar  in  character  to  that 
farther  south. 

Leaving  the  Sevier,  and  following  the  road  over  the  ridge  to  the 
southwest,  Ave  enter  an  isolated  basin  called  Round  or  Lake  Valley, 
which  appears  to  have  little  or  no  connection  with  the  water  systems 
of  the  Sevier  basin.  This  is  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  long  and  six  or 
seven  wide,  but  for  want  of  water  only  a  limited  portion  of  it  can  be 
irrigated  and  brought  under  culture.  There  is  probably  sufficient  to 
supply  a  strip  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  width.  And  there  are 
some  small  grazing  fields  here.  Passing  westward  out  of  this  valley 
we  enter  upon  the  margin  of  the  plains,  which  spread  out  with  a  gentle 
slope  to  the  northwest.  The  little  streams  that  run  down  from  the 
mountains  and  pass  oif  into  the  plains  aftbrd  a  belt  of  arable  spots 
along  the  foot  of  the  range,  concerning  which  I  obtained  the  following 
particulars  from  Bishop  Miller,  of  Provo : 

Going  south  from  the  latter  point,  after  passing  for  some  ten  miles 
over  the  divjide,  we  reach  a  little  stream  where  there  is  a  small  settle- 
ment and  a  small  extent  of  arable  land  that  can  be  irrigated,  and  an 
area  ten  or  twelve  miles  long  and  four  or  five  wide,  suitable  for  grazing 
sheep  or  cattle.  Passing  over  a  dry  level  plain  for  about  eight  miles 
farther,  we  reach  Chalk  Creek,  which  afibrds  a  valley  eight  or  ten  miles 
long  and  about  two  miles  wide,  the  greater  part  of  which  can  be  irri- 
gated. Crossing  another  dry  level  of  about  four  miles  we  reach  Meadow 
Creek,*  which  has  but  little  bottom  laud  adapted  to  agriculture,  and 
not  sufficient  water  to  irrigate  more  than  a  few  hundred  acres.     But  it 

*  This  is  a  different  stream  from  the  Meadow  Creek  heretofore  mentioned  as  coming 
down  from  near  Rush  Valley. 


246       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

is  probable  that  a  ditcli  could  be  bronglit  round  from  Chalk  Creek,  by 
which  a  considerable  area  of  the  upper  level  might  be  rendered  tillable.* 

Corn  Creek,  which  is  about  five  miles  farther  south,  is  flanked  by  a 
moderately  broad  area  of  flat  land,  which  can  be  irrigated  to  the  full 
extent  of  the  supply  of  water.  Cove  Creek  Valley,  ten  or  twelve  miles 
farther  on,  furnishes  but  little  farming  land,  but  contains  some  good 
grazing  fields,  and  is  already  occupied,  to  a  considerable  extent,  for 
this  purpose.  Five  or  six  miles  south  of  this  is  another  small  stream 
(probably  Pine  Creek,)  where  sufficient  land  for  a  few  farms  might  be 
irrigated. 

Passing  over  a  divide  of  some  nine  or  ten  miles  we  reach  Indian 
Creek,  a  tributary  of  Beaver  Eiver,  which  brings  us  into  another  basin. 
Although  there  are  two  stage  routes  through  this  section,  there  seems 
to  be  but  little  known  respecting  its  water  system ;  in  fact,  the  very 
existence  of  Preuss  Lake  appears  to  be  a  matter  of  doubt,  and  future 
investigation  may  show  that  this  is  but  a  part  of  Sevier  Eiver  Basin. 
Considering  it  as  a  separate  system,  it  consists  of  Bear  River  and  its 
tributaries,  which  rise  in  the  western  slope  of  the  range  of  mountains 
before  mentioned. 

There  is  a  considerable  area  of  land  on  Beaver  Eiver  that  can  be  irri- 
gated and  cultivated,  and  the  probability  is  that  its  breadth  might  be 
increased  by  extending  canals  on  the  ui)j)er  levels  below  the  mountain 
or  ridge  that  crosses  here.  Passing  over  Beaver  Mountain  we  reach 
Yellow  Creek,  where  there  is  a  fertile  belt  about  ten  miles  long  and  six 
or  seven  miles  wide,  reaching  from  the  Creek  about  two  miles  south 
of  Parawan.  Here,  and  at  Beaver  Eiver,  are  some  settlements  and 
some  laud  already  under  cultivation.  Between  Parawan  and  Cedar 
City  there  are  a  few  arable  spots  of  small  extent,  which  are  already 
partly  occupied.  Cedar  City  is  situated  on  Cole  Creek,  a  stream  about 
the  size  of  the  Americau  Fork,  which  will  irrigate  some  four  or  five 
thousand  acres.  Shirt's  Creek,  which  runs  by  Kanara,  is  flanked  by  a 
considerable  bottom,  but  the  stream  does  not  aftbrd  water  sufficient  to 
irrigate  'but  a  part  of  it.  West  of  this  some  twenty  or  twenty-five 
miles,  on  another  branch  of  Beaver  Eiv(3r,  are  the  celebrated  Yegas  de 
Santa  Clara,  noted  as  a  resting  place  after  the  fatigues  of  the  desert 
march  from  the  West.  By  following  these  various  streams,  as  they 
move  northwest  toward  some  common  reservoir,  it  is  probable  a  num- 
ber of  irrigable  spots  may  be  found. 

Crossing  over  the  divide,  which  here  sweeps  round  in  a  semicircular 
form  from  a  southwest  to  a  northwest  direction,  we  enter  the  valley 
of  the  Eio  Yirgin,  a  ])art  of  the  vast  territory  drained  by  the  Eio  Colo- 
rado of  the  West.  This  stream,  although  sending  down  a  considerable 
volume  of  water,  is  wide  and  rapid  and  consequently  shallow.  It  runs 
through  a  country  having  a  very  barren  appearance,  here  and  there 
cutting  through  rocky  clifl's  and  lava  ridges,  with  occasional  broad 
stretches  of  sandy  land  covered  with  a  very  scanty  growfli  of  vegeta- 
tion. But,  notwithstanding  the  unpromising  appearand^  of  this  sec- 
tion, there  are  several  settlements  here,  some  of  which  (as  Washington 
and  St.  George)  number  several  thousand  souls. 
There  are  some  arable  spots  Avhich  are  very  productive,  and  in  fact 

*A11  the  maps  I  have  seen,  including  even  the  very  accui'ato  map  of  Colorado  and 
Utah,  pvejjared  by  order  of  General  Sherman,  have  an  error  in  this  section.  They 
have  a  number  of  small  streams  represented  as  rising  in  the  plains  west  of  the  moun- 
tains opposite  Sevier  Eiver  and  running  through  the  range  to  the  River,  to  do  which 
it  would  be  necessary  for  the  water  to  run  up  hill.  They  rise  in  the  range,  and,  run- 
ning noi'thwest  into  the  plain,  are  lost  in  the  sands,  as  all  who  have  traveled  along  the 
stage  route  here  know,  and  as  Fremont  shows  in  his  report. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       247 

wherever  water  can  be  obtained,  and  the  land  irrigated,  the  soil  becomes 
very  fertile.  The  arable  areas  around  Toqueville,  and  from  there  up 
the  river,  are  very  limited,  but  about  Washington  and  St.  George  they  are 
more  extensive,  and  the  entire  Santa  Clara  Valley,  for  fifteen  or  twenty 
miles  in  length  and  two  or  three  miles  in  width,  can  be  cultivated.  And 
one  or  two  canals  are  being  cut  along  the  Eio  Virgin  which  will  add  con- 
siderably to  the  cultivable  area.  This  section,  on  account  of  its*  semir 
tropical  climate,  is  considered  by  the  Mormons  of  great  importance,  for 
they  look  to  this  for  their  supply  of  cotton,  raisins,  oranges,  and  other 
products,  which  cannot  bo  grown  in  the  Salt  Lake  Valley. 

In  regard  to  the  vast  region  east  of  the  Wahsatch  range,  and  south 
of  the  Uintah  Mountains  belonging  to  the  Eio  Colorado  district,  I  know 
but  very  little. 

Strawberry  Creek,  a  tributary  of  Uintah  River,  runs  through  a  very 
pretty  valley  for  twenty  or  twenty-five  miles,  which  averages  seven  or 
eight  miles  in  width.  The  greater  portion  of  this  area  can  be  irrigated, 
and  would  produce  good  crops  of  such  things  as  are  adapted  to  the  climate, 
which,  on  account  of  elevation  and  the  proximity  of  mountains,  is  cold. 

The  Uintah  Valley  is  more  extensive,  and  has  in  it  some  very  good 
land,  a  large  portion  of  which  may  be  rendered  suitable  for  culture  by 
irrigation,  for  which  purj)ose  the  supply  of  water  is  ample. 

CLIMATE  AJNTD  PRODUCTIONS, 

Within  the  Territory  of  Utah  every  grade  of  climate,  from  the  cold 
regions  of  the  snowy  Sierras  to  the  semi-tropical  region  of  the  south- 
ern plains,  is  to  be  found,  but  the  central  portion,  where  the  greater  part 
of  the  cultivable  land  is  situated,  has  a  mild  climate,  which,  as  before 
remarked,  corresponds  very  nearly  with  that  of  the  Middle  States.  As 
we  go  north  and  northeast,  ascending  the  mountain  valleys,  the  climate 
increases  rapidly  in  severity,  and  the  growing  seasons  become  shorter. 
As  a  general  thing  the  annual  fall  of  snow  in  the  valleys  is  small,  seldom 
more  than  a  few  inches  in  depth,  and  it  remains  on  the  ground  but  few 
hours,  or  days  at  farthest.  In  the  vicinity  of  the  higher  mountains 
there  are  occasional  frosts  that  injure  the  crops. 

Wheat,  oats,  potatoes,  and  fruit  are  the  principal  productions,  which 
not  only  grow  readily  and  yield  abundant  crops,  but  of  the  very  best 
quality,  the  soil  being  naturally  adapted  to  their  culture.  Something 
over  one  million  bushels  of  wheat  was  raised  in  the  Territory  in  1866, 
but  what  the  ratio  of  increase  has  been  since  that  time  I  am  unable  to 
say,  but  it  has  not  been  in  proportion  to  the  breadth  of  laud  sown,  as 
the  grasshoppers  have  been  very  destructive  for  the  past  three  years. 
Kot  only  have  they  injured  the  growing  wheat,  oats,  &c.,  but,  where  the 
ground  has  been  replanted  in  something  else,  they  have,  in  some  in- 
stances, cut  it  down  for  the  sixth  time  in  one  season.  The  average 
yield  per  acre,  of  favorable  seasons,  is  from  twenty-two  to  twenty-six 
bushels,  but  in  certain  localities  it  will  reach  much  higher  figures. 

Cache,  San  Pete,  and  Utah  Counties  are  the  principal  wheat-growing 
sections,  not  because  they  produce  more'  to  the  acre,  but  because  more 
acres  have  been  cultivated  in  this  cereal  in  these  counties  than  any  , 
others.  I  did  not  have  an  opportunity  of  examining  carefully  the  diifer- 
ent  specimens  of  wheat  grown  in  the  Territory,  but,  judging  bj'  the 
bread  made  from  it,  I  presume  it  to  be  superior  in  some  respects.  It  is 
probable  that  the  flavor  and  lightness  of  the  bread  are  partly  due  to  the 
alkali  with  which  the  soil  of  the  valleys  is  more  or  less  impregnated. 

As  is  generally  the  case  throughout  the  Eocky  Mountain  regions,  oats 


248  GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY   OP   THE    TERRITORIES. 

grow  luxuriantly,  the  average  yield,  per  acre  in  the  Territory  being  from 
thirty  to  forty  bushels.  It  is  no  uncommon  occurrence  for  the  farmer 
here  to  cut  an  average  crop  of  sixty  bushels  to  the  acre.  Although  a 
large  amount  of  corn  is  raised,  and  crops  of  forty  and  fifty  bushels  to 
the  acre  produced,  yet  this  cannot  be  considered  a  good  corn-growing 
country.  And  I  may  add  that,  so  far  as  my  observations  have  extended, 
I  have  seen  no  really  good  corn  section  west  of  the  rain-moistened  por- 
tion of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  That  there  are  many  places  where  toler- 
ably good  crops  can  be  raised,  and  sufficient  to  supply  local  demands,  is 
true,  but  what  I  mean  is  that  the  corn  of  these  Territories  bears  no  such 
comparison  with  the  corn  of  the  Mississippi  Vallej^  as  the  wheat  does. 

Sorghum  appears  to  grow  finely,  and,  as  I  have  heretofore  stated  in 
regartl  to  beets,  I  am  inclined  to  the  belief  that  in  this  dry  soil,  consist- 
ing principally  of  silicates,  and  containing  alkali,  the  production  of 
saccharine  matter  will  be  greater  than  in  soil  haviug  a  large  proportion 
of  A'egetable  mold.  And  in  this  connection  I  may  remark  that  the 
plums  grown  here  are  the  sweetest  I  ever  tasted.  The  same  variety 
raised  in  California,  although  sweeter  than  those  raised  in  the  States 
east,  are  inferior  in  this  respect  to  those  raised  at  Salt  Lake  City.  But 
in  regard  to  pears  the  case  is  somewhat  reversed  as  compared  with  Cali- 
fornia, but  not  as  compared  with  those  of  the  States  east  of  the  mountains. 
The  same  thing  is  traceable  in  apples  but  not  in  peaches. 

Such  fruits  as  apples,  peaches,  ])lums,  pears,  currants,  gooseberries, 
grapes,  &c.,  can  be  raised  in  Salt  Lake  basin  and  south  with  ease,  bnt 
apples  and  peaches,  especially  the  latter,  will  be  the  chief  horticultural 
product.  The  average  yield  of  peaches  to  the  acre,  as  shown  by  the  re- 
turns, is  over  three  hundred  bushels.  Last  year  a  gentleman  in  Provo 
City  gathered  three  hundred  bushels  from  the  trees  on  a  lot  twelve  rods 
long  by  six  rods  wide.  For  the  past  three  years  the  fruit  has  been  se- 
riously injured  by  the  grasshoppers  eating  off  the  leaves  of  the  trees, 
but  the  injury  was  probably  less  than  it  would  have  been  in  a  section 
depending  on  rain  to  supply  the  requisite  moisture. 

As  a  grape-growing  region  this  Territory  cannot  compete  with  Cali- 
fornia or  even  with  Southern  New  Mexico,  yet  very  fine  grapes  can  be 
raised,  and  the  Eio  Virgin  section  can  produce  a  quality  equal  to  any 
part  of  the  latter,  bnt  the  area  is  limited. 

The  potatoes  are  as  fine  in  quality  as  any  I  have  ever  mefVith ;  they 
also  grow  large,  and  yield  heavy  crops. 

I  noticed  a  number  of  fields  of  lucerne,  which  is  used  to  feed  the  cat- 
tle of  the  villages  when  the  ijasturage  in  the  vicinity  proves  insuilicient. 

Very  few  of  the  valleys,  except  those  in  the  mountains,  furnish  any 
timber  of  importance,  but,  as  a  general  thing,  a  supply  can  be  obtained 
from  the  neighboring  ranges,  chiefly  \)me  and  fir. 

PASTORAL  LANDS  AND  STOCK-RAISING. 

It  is  apparent  to  every  one  who  has  paid  any  attention  to  the  supply 
of  beef-cattle  for  the  principal  markets  of  our  country,  that  this  must 
come  from  the  grazing  fields '  of  the  West.  Having  recently  traveled 
,  by  different  routes  over  the  States  between  the  Atlantic  shore  and  Mis- 
souri Eiver,  I  have  been  astonished  to  find  so  few  beef-cattle  upon  the 
meadows.  No  doubt  the  census  returns  will  show  heavy  figures,  yet 
these  are  not  made  np  from  herds  fed  for  beef,  but  mostl}''  from  the  cat- 
tle and  oxen  in  use  upon  the  farms.  The  lands  of  the  States  are  becom- 
ing too  valuable  to  afford  the  room  required  for  grazing  cattle  at  a  price 
that  will  compete  with  the  plains  of  the  West  and  Southwest. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       249 

It  is  therefore  a,  fact  conceded  that  the  great  bulk  of  our  beef  cattle 
must  be  raised  upon  the  grazing  fields  of  the  States  and  Territories  west 
of  the  Mis'sissii)pi. 

As  this  report  would  be  incomi^lete  without  some  remarks  upon  this 
subject,  aud  as  experience  in  the  Territories  is  requisite  to  an  accurate 
kiiowledjie  of  it,  I  give  the  followiug  remarks  taken  principally  from  the 
article  of  Dr.  Latham  of  Laramie,  aud  published  in  the  Omaha  Herald, 
prefacing  lIiciu  with  some  judicious  renuirks  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Byers 
in  the  l^ocky  Mountain  News : 

After  the  miuiiig  interest,  wliicb  innst  always  take  rank  as  the  first  productive 
iudiistry  in  the  nioiintain  territories  of  the  West,  stock-raisiiij;'  will  dmil>tk^ss  con- 
tiuiie  next  in  importance.  The  peculiarities  of  climate  and  soil  a<lapt  the  grass-covered 
country  west  of  the  ninety-eighth  degree  of  longitude  especially  to  the  growth  and 
highest  perfection  of  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep.  The  earliest  civilized  expl<n'ers  found 
the  plains  densely  populated  with  buffalo,  elk,  deer,  and  antelope,  their  numbers 
exceeding  computation.  Great  nations  of  Indians  subsisted  almost  entirely  by  the 
fruits  of  the  chase,  but  with  the  rude  weapons  used  were  incapable  of  diminishing 
their  numbers.  With  the  advent  of  the  white  man  and  the  introduction  of  lire-arms, 
and  to  supply  the  demands  of  commerce,  these  wild  cattle  have  Iteen  slaughtered  by 
the  million,  until  their  range,  once  six  hundred  miles  wide  from  east  to  west,  and 
extending  more  tban  two  thousand  miles  north  and  south,  over  which  they  moved  in 
solid  colnnnis,  darkening  the  plains,  has  been  dinunished  to  an  irregular  l)elt,  a  hun- 
dred and  fifty  miles  wide,  in  which  only  scattering  herds  can  be  found,  and  they  seldom 
numbering  ten  thousand  animals.  There  is  no  reason  why  domestic  cattle  may  not  take 
their  jdace.  The  climate,  soil,  and  vegetation,  are  as  well  adapted  to  the  tame  as  to 
the  wild.  The  latter  lived  and  thrived  the  year  round  all  the  way  up  to  latitude  fifty 
degrees  north.  Twenty  years'  experience  proves  that  the  former  do  equally  well  upon 
the  same  range,  aud  with  the  same  lack  of  care.  Time,  the  settlement  of  the  country, 
the  growing  wants  of  agriculture,  the  encroachment  of  tilled  fields,  will  gradually  nar- 
row the  range,  as  did  semi-civilization  that  of  the  buffalo;  first  from  the  INIississiiiiDi 
Valley  westward,  where  that  process  is  already  seen,  and  then  from  the  Rocky  Moun- 
tains toward  the  east ;  but  as  yet  the  range  is  practically  unlimited,  and  f(»r  many  yeara 
to  come  there  will  be  room  to  fatten  beeves  to  feed  the  world. 

This  great  pasture  laud  covers  Western  Texas,  Indian  Territory,  Kansas,  Nebraska, 
and  Dakota,  Eastern  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  Wyoming,  and  Montana,  and  extends  far 
into  British  America.  The  southerly  and  southeasterly  jiortious  produce  the  largest 
growth  of  grass,  but  it  lacks  the  nutritious  qualities  ol^  that  covering  the  higher  and 
drier  lands  farther  north  and  west.  Rank-growing  aud  bottom-land  grasses  contain 
mostly  water;  they  remain  green  until  killed  by  frost,  when  their  substance  flows  back 
to  the  root,  or  is  destroj^ed  by  the  action  of  the  elements.  The  dwarf  grass  of  the 
higher  plains  makes  but  a  small  growth,  but  makes  that  very  quickly  in  the  early 
spring,  and  then,  as  the  rains  diminish  and  the  summer  heat  increases,  it  dies  aud  cures 
into  hay  whei%  it  stands;  the  seed  even,  in  which  it  is  very  prolific,  remains  upon  the 
stalk,  and,  though  very  minute,  is  exceedingly  nutritious. 

In  so  far  as  the  relative  advantages  of  different  portions  of  this  wide  region  may  bo 
thought  by  many  to  preponderate  over  one  another,  we- do  not  appreciate  them  at  all, 
but  would  as  soon  risk  a  herd  in  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  the  Yellowstone,  or 
the  Saskatchewan,  as  along  the  Arkansas,  the  Canadian,  or  Red  River.  If  any  differ- 
ence, the  grass  is  better  north  than  south.  One  year  the  winter  may  be  more  severe 
in  the  extreme  north ;  the  next  it  may  be  equally  so  in  the  south,  and  the  third  it  may 
be  most  inclement  midway  between  the  two  extremes;  or,  what  is  more  common,  the 
severe  storms  and  heavy  snows  may  follow  irregular  streaks  across  the  country  at  vari- 
ous points.  There  are  local  causes  and  effects  to  be  considered,  such  as  pei'manently 
affect  certain  localities  favorably  or  the  contrary.  For  instance,  nearer  the  western 
border  of  the  plains  there  is  less  high  wind,  because  the  lofty  mountain  ranges  form  a 
shelter  or  wind-breaker.  Of  local  advantages,  detached  ranges  of  mountaius,  hills  or 
broken  land,  timber,  brush,  aud  deep  ravines  or  stream-bods  are  the  most  important, 
in  furnisliing  shelter,  and,  as  a  general  thing,  better  and  always  more  varied  pasture 
ground. 

There  is  never  raiu  upon  the  middle  and  northern  plains  during  the  winter  months. 
When  snow  comes  it  is  always  dry,  and  never  freezes  to  stock.  The  reverse  is  the  case 
in  the  Northern  and  Middle  States,  where  winter  storms  often  begin  with  rain,  which 
is  followed  by  snow,  and  couclude  with  piercing  wind  aud  exceeding  cold.  Stock-men 
can  readily  appreciate  the  effect  of  such  weather  upon  stock  exposed  to  its  inlluence. 
The  soil  of  the  plains  is  very  much  the  same  everywhere.  To  a  casual  observer  it 
looks  sterile  aud  uux)romisiug,  but  when  turned  by  the  plow  or  spade  is  found  very  fer- 
tile.   Near  the  mountains  it  is  filled  with  coarse  rock  particles,  aud  under  the  action  of 


250       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

the  elements  these  become  disproportionately  prominent  on  the  surface.  Receding  from 
the  mountains,  it  becomes  gradually  finer,  until  gravel  and  bits  of  broken  stone  are  no 
longer  seen.  Being  made  up  from  the  wash  and  wearing  away  of  the  mountains,  alka- 
line earths  enter  largely  into  its  composition,  supplying  inexhaustible  quantities  of 
those  properties  which  the  eastern  farmer  can  secure  only  by  the  application  of  plaster, 
lime,  and  like  manures.  These  make  the  rich,  nutritious  grasses  upon  which  cattle 
thrive  so  remarkably  and  to  the  constant  wonder  of  new-comers,  who  cannot  reconcile 
tbe  idea  of  such  comparatively  bare  and  barren-looking  plains  with  the  fat  cattle  that 
roam  over  them. 

Besides  the  plains  there  is  a  vast  extent  of  pasture  lands  in  the  mountains.  WTier- 
ever  there  is  soil  enough  to  support  vegetation  grass  is  found  in  abundance,  to  a  line 
far  above  the  limit  oi  timber  growth,  and  almost  to  the  crest  of  the  snowy  range. 
These  high  pastures,  however,  are  suitable  only  for  summer  and  autumn  range;  but  in 
portions  of  the  great  parks  and  large  valleys,  most  parts  of  which  lie  below  eight 
thousand  feet  altitude  above  the  sea,  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep  live  and  thrive  the  year 
round.  The  cost  of  raising  a  steer  to  the  age  of  five  years,  when  he  is  at  a  prime  age 
for  market,  is  believed  to  be  about  seven  dollars  and  a  half,  or  one  dollar  and  a  half 
per  year.  A  number  of  estimates  given  us  by  stock-men,  running  through  several  years, 
place  the  average  at  about  that  figure.  That  contemplates  a  herd  of  four  hundred  or 
more.  Smaller  lots  of  cattle  will  generally  cost  relatively  mgre.  The  items  of  expense 
are  herding,  branding,  and  salt — nothing  for  feed. 

The  following  extracts  from  an  article  by  Dr. H.Latham,  in  the  Omaha 
Daily  Herald  of  June  5,  1870,  give  a  description  of  the  grazing  lands  in 
the  North  Platte  district : 

The  distance  from  the  mouth  of  the  North  Platte,  where  it  joins  the  South  Platte  on 
the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  to  its  sources  in  the  gi"eat  Sierra  Madre,  whose  lofty  sides 
form  the  North  Park,  in  which  this  stream  takes  its  rise,  is  moie  than  eight  hundred 
milcNS.  Its  extreme  southern  tributaries  head  in  the  gorges  of  the  mountains  one 
hundred  miles  south  of  the  railroad,  and  receive  their  water  from  the  melting  snows 
of  these  snow-capped  ranges.  Its  extreme  western  tributaties  rise  in  the  Wahsatch 
and  Wind  River  ranges,  sharing  the  honor  of  conveying  the  crystal  snow-waters  from 
the  continental  divide  with  the  Columbia  and  Colorado  of  the  Pacific.  Its  northei-n 
tributaries  start  oceanward  from  the  Big  Horn  Mountains,  three  hundred  miles  north 
of  the  starting  point  of  its  southern  sources. 

It  drains  a  country  larger  than  all  New  England  and  New  York  together.  East  of 
the  Alleghany  ]Mountains  there  is  no  river  comparable  to  this  clear,  swift  mountain 
stream  in  its  length  or  in  the  extent  of  country  it  drains. 

The  valleys  of  the  Korth  Platte. — The  main  valley  of  the  North  Platte,  two  Imndred 
miles  from  its  mouth  to  where  it  debouches  through  the  Black  Hills  out  on  to  the 
great  plains,  is  an  average  of  ten  miles  wide.  Nearly  all  this  area,  two  thousand 
square  miles,  is  covered  with  a  dense  growth  of  grass,  yielding  thousands  of  tons  of 
hay.  The  bluff's  bordering  these  intervals  are  rounded  and  grass-grown,  gradually 
smoothing  out  into  great  grassy  plains  extending  north  and  south  as  far  as  the  eye 
can  see.  • 

Its  tributaries. — The  tributaries  on  the  north  side  of  the  Platte  are  Blue  Water,  Cold- 
water,  Hill  Creek,  Raw  Hide,  Muddy  Willow,  Shawnee,  Slate,  and  Sweetwater.  On 
the  south  they  are  Ash,  Pumpkin,  Larrons,  Dry  Horse,  Cherry,  Chugwater,  Sybellie, 
Big  Laramie,  Little  Laramie,  Carter,  Cottonwood,  Horse  Shoe,  Elk  Horn,  Rio  a  la  Prelo, 
Boisiee,  Deer  Creek,  Medicine  Bow,  Rock  Creek,  Douglass,  and  North,  South,  and  Mid- 
dle Forks  of  the  main  Platte. 

These  streams,  with' their  smaller  feeders,  intersect  in  all  directions  a  great  pastural 
land,  interspersing  it  with  rich,  fertile  valleys,  and  draining  at  least  forty  million  acres, 
aftbrding  water  for  countless  herds.  Most  of  the  banks  of  these  streams  are  bordered 
with  timber.  Cattle  have  been  wintered  on  these. streams  north  of  Cheyenne,  along 
the  base  of  the  Black  Hills,  around  Fort  Laramie,  for  twenty-five  years. 

Capacity  for  sfocTc-raisinf/. — Of  this  country  Alexander  Majors  says,  in  a  letter  to  the 
writer  of  this  article :  "  The  favorite  wintering  grounds  of  my  herders  for  the  past 
twenty  years  has  been  from  the  Cachd  a  la  Poudre  on  the  south  to  Fort  Fetterman  on 
the  north,  embracing  all  the  country  along  the  eastern  base  of  the  Black  Hills."  It 
was  of  this  country  that  Mr.  Seth  E.  Ward  spoke  when  ho  says :  "  I  am  satisfied  that 
no  country  in  the  same  latitude,  or  even  far  south  of  it,  is  comparable  to  it  as  a  graz- 
ing and  stock-raising  country.  Cattle  and  stock  generally  are  healthy,  and  require  no 
fee^ling  the  year  round,  the  rich  'bunch'  and  'gramma'  grasses  of  the  plains  and 
mountains  keeping  them  ordinarily  fat  enough  for  beef  during  the  entire  winter." 

All  this  region  east  of  the  Black  Hills  is  at  an  elevation  less  than  five  thousand  feet. 

The  climate. — The  climate,  as  reported  from  Fort  Laramie  for  a  period  of  twenty 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       251 

years,  is  50°  Fahrenheit.  The  mean  temperature  for  the  spring  months  is  47°,  for  the 
summer  months  72°,  for  autumn  0°,  for  winter  31°. 

The  annual  rain-fall  is  about  eighteen  inches,  distributed  as  follows:  Spring,  8.69 
inches;  summer,  5.70  inches;  autumn,  3.69  inches.  The  snow-fall  is  eighteeu  inches. 
It  is  of  this  region  that  Colonel  C.  H.  Alden,  post  surgeon  Fort  D.  A.  Russell,  speaks, 
when  he  says:  "The  largest  snow-fall  so  far,  in  one  mouth,  has  been  3  97-1000  inches. 
The  snow  in  this  vicinity  rapidly  disappears  after  falling,  and  it  is  very  rare  that  there 
is  a  sufficient  quantity  so  that  it  remains  long  enough  to  give  sleighing." 

All  this  country  of  the  North  Platto,  east  of  the  Black  Hills,  is  within  easy  distance 
of  the  railroad  at  Cheyenne,  Pine  Bluffs,  Sidney,  and  Julesburg.  An  abundance  of 
timber  can  be  had  in  the  Black  Hills  for  fencing  and  building  purposes  for  all  ranch 
.and  stock  men  in  any  of  these  valleys. 

Extent  and  resources  of  the  JS^orth  Platte  Basin.— Thavo  is  in  this  North  Platte  Basin, 
east  of  the  Black  Hills  divide,  at  least  eight  million  acres  of  pasturage,  with  the  finest 
and  most  lasting  streams,  and  good  shelter  in  the  bluffs  aud  canons.  As  I  have  said 
before,  we  can  only  judge  of  the  extent  and  resources  of  such  a  single  region  by  com- 
parison. Ohio  has  six  million  sheep,  yielding  eighteeu  million  iiouuds  of  wool,  bring- 
ing her  farmers  an  aggregate  of  four  and  one-half  million  dollars.  This  eight  million 
acves  of  pasture  would  at  least  feed  eight  million  sheej>,  yielding  twentj--four  million 
pounds  of  wool,  and  at  the  same  price  as  Ohio  wool,  six  million  dollars.  Now,  that 
money,  instead  of  going  to  build  up  ranches,  stock  farms,  storehouses,  wooden  mills, 
and  all  the  components  of  a  great  and  thrifty  settlement,  is  sent  by  our  wool-growers 
and  woollen  manufacturers  to  Buenos  Ayres,  to  Africa  aud  Australia,  to  enrich  other 
people  and  other  lands,  while  our  wool-growing  resources  remain  undeveloped. 

The  great  Laramie  Plains. — As  you  follow  the  North  Platte  up  through  the  Black 
Hill  Canon  you  come  out  on  to  the  great  Laramie  Plains,  which  lie  between  the  Black 
HiUs  on  the  east  and  the  Snowy  Range  on  the  west.  These  plains  are  ninety  miles 
north  and  south  and  sixty  miles  east  aud  west.  They  are  watered  by  the  ]3ig  and 
Little  Laramie  Rivers,  Deer  Creek,  Rock  Creek,  Medicine  Bow  River,  Cooper  Creek, 
and  other  tributuries  of  the  North  Platte.  It  is  on  the  extreme  northern  portion  of 
these  plains,  in  the  valley  of  Deer  Creek,  that  General  Reynolds  wintered  during  the 
winter  of  1860,  and  of  which  he  remarks,  on  i)ages  seventy -four  and  seventy-tive  of  his 
"  Explorations  of  the  Yellowstone,"  as  follows : 

General  Eeynolds^s  Eeport. — Throughout  the  whole  season's  march  the  subsistence  of 
our  animals  had  been  obtained  by  grazing  after  we  had  reached  our  camp  in  the  after- 
noon, and  for  an  hour  or  two  between  the  dawn  of  day  aud  our  time  of  starting.  The 
consequence  was,  that  when  we  reached  our  winter  quarters  there  were  but  few 
animals  in  the  train  that  were  in  a  condition  to  have  continued  the  march  without  a 
generous  grain  diet.  Poorer  and  more  broken-down  creatures  it  would  be  difficult  to 
lind.  In  the  spring  they  were  in  as  fine  condition  for  commencing  another  season's 
work  as  could  be  desired.  A  greater  change  in  their  appearance  could  not  have  been 
produced,  even  if  they  had  been  grain-fed  aud  stable-housed  all  winter.  Only  one  was 
.lost,  the  furious  storm  of  December  coming  on  before  it  had  gained  sufficient  strength 
to  endure  it.  The  fact  that  seventy  exhausted  animals,  turned  out  to  winter  on  the 
plains  the  first  of  November,  came  out  in  the  spring  in  the  best  condition  aud  with  the 
loss  of  but  one  of  their  number,  is  the  most  forcible  commentary  I  can  make  on  the 
quality  of  the  grass  aud  the  character  of  the  winter. 

These  plains  have  been  favorite  herding  grounds  of  the  buffalo  away  back  in  the  pre- 
historic age  of  this  country.  Their  bones  lie  bleaching  in  all  directions,  and  their 
paths,  deeply  worn,  cover  the  whole  j)lain  like  a  net-work.  Their  "wallows,"  where 
these  shaggy  lords  of  animal*  creation  tore  deep  pits  into  the  surface  of  the  ground,  are 
still  to  be  seen.  Elk,  antelope,  and  deer  still  feed  here,  and  the  mountain  sheep  are 
found  on  the  mountain  sides  and  in  the  more  secluded  valleys  of  the  Sierra  Madre 
range,  all  iiroving  conclusively  that  this  has  aiforded  winter  j)asturage  from  time  im- 
memorial. Since  1849  many  herds  of  work  oxen,  belonging  to  emigrants,  freighters, 
aud  ranchmen,  have  grazed  here  each  winter.  It  is  on  these  plains,  in  the  Laramie 
Valley,  that  Messrs.  Creighton  and  Hutton  have  their  sheep,  horses,  and  cattle,  and  of 
which  I^Ir.  Edwai'd  Creighton,  president  of  the  First  National  Bank  of  Omaha,  says : 

I  Extract  from  Edward  Creighton's  letter.] 

"The  last  four  winters  I  have  been  raising  stock,  and  have  had  large  herds  of  cows 
and  calves  in  the  valley  of  the  Laramie.  The  present  winter  I  have  wintered  about 
eight  thousand  head.  They  have  done  exceedingly  well.  We  have  lost  very  few 
through  the  whole  winter,  and  those  lost  were  very  thin  when  winter  commenced.  We 
had  no  shelter  but  the  hlaSa  and  hills,  and  no  feed  but  the  wild  uncut  grass  of  the 
country. 

"  We  have  had  3,000  sheep  the  past  winter,  and  they  are  in  the  best  of  order ;  many 
are  being  sold  daily  for  mutton.    Like  the  cattle,  they  require  no  food  or  shelter. 


252 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY   OF   THE    TEREITORIES. 


"  The  higli,  rolling  character  of  the  country,  and  the  dry  climate,  and  short,  sweet 
grass  of  the  numerous  hillsides,  are  extremely  favorable  to  sheep-raising  and  wool- 
growiug." 

There  are  many  other  stock-raisers  on  the  plains  besides  Creighton  and  Hutton, 
and  there  is  room  for  hundreds  more.  On  this  plain  the  settler  is  near  the  great  forests 
of  pine  in  the  mountains,  and  in  the  coal  fields  of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  with  several 
kinds  of  irou  ore,  building  stone,  limestone,  and  fire-clay.  The  valleys  of  Rock  Creek, 
Medicine  Bow,  and  the  two  Laramies  afi'ord  large  quantities  of  hay.  On  these  plains 
alone  there  is,  apparently,  no  limit  to  the  grazing.  The  railroad  bisects  these  pasture 
lauds  about  evenly  east  and  west,  giving  good  facilities  for  transportation. 

North  Fark. — South  of  the  Laramie  Plains  is  the  North  Park,  one  of  three  great  parks 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  so  fully  described  by  Richardson,  Bross,  and  Bowles.  This 
North  Park  is  formed  by  the  great  Snowy  Range.  It  is  a  valley  from  six  to  eight  thou- 
sand feet  high,  ninety  miles  long,  and  forty  miles  wide,  surrounded  by  snowy  mount- 
ains from  thuieen  to  fifteen  thousand  feet  high.  These  mountain  tops  and  sides  are 
completely  covered  with  dense  growths  of  forests ;  the  lower  hillsides  and  this  great 
valley  are  covered  with  grasses.  The  forests  and  mountains  afford  ample  shelter  from 
sweeping  winds.  Here  as  well  as  on  the  Laramie  Plains  the  buffalo  grazed  in  great 
herds,  aiid  here  the  Ute  hunters,  from  some  hiding  canon,  dashed  down  among  them 
on  their  trained  and  fleet  jtonies,  shooting  their  arrows  with  unerring  aim  on  all  sides, 
and  having  such  glorious  sport  as  kings  might  court  and  envy.  The  Indians  are  now 
goue  from  this  valley,  and  the  buftalo  nearly  so.  On  the  two  million  acres  in  this  val- 
ley not  twenty  head  of  cattle  graze. 

This  great  park,  splendidly  watered  by  the  three  forks  of  the  Platte,  and  by  a  hun- 
dred small  streams  that  drain  these  lofty  mountains  of  their  snows  and  rains — rich  in 
all  kinds  of  nutritious  grasses;  plentifully  sujiplied  with  timber  ;  on  the  tertiary  coal 
fields,  with  iron,  copper,  lead,  and  gold — has  not  one  real  settler.  There  are  a  few 
miners,  but  where  there  should  be  flocks  and  herds  of  sheep  and  cattle  without  num- 
ber, there  is  only  the  wild  game — the  elk,  antelope,  and  deer. 

Demonstrated  facts. — The  season  of  1870  has  been  a  memorable  one  in  the  stock  busi- 
ness on  the  Plains.  It  commenced  in  doubt,  but  closes  with  unlimited  confidence  in 
the  complete  practicability  and  profits  of  stock-growing  and  winter  grazing. 

Increase  of  cattle  in  the  West. — The  number  of  cattle  in  the  country  west  of  the  Missouri 
River  and  cast  of  the  Snowy  Range  is  now  double,  if  not  four  times  larger  than  in  1869. 
Its  j)resont  magnitude  and  future  prospects  entitle  it  to  a  full  share  of  public  attention. 

SMpments  of  hcef  to  casto'n  marlcets. — Two  years  ago  our  beef  and  cattle  were  brought 
from  the  East.  To-day,  cattle  buyers  from  Chicago  and  New  York  are  stopping  at 
every  station  on  our  railroads,  and  buying  cattle  in  all  our  valleys  for  eastern  con- 
sumption. It  is  safe  to  predict  that  15,0(J0  head  of  beeves  will  bo  shipped  from  our 
valleys  east  Ihe  present  season.  During  the  past  week  I  have  visited  some  of  the  great 
herds  on  the  Plains,  and  Avill  give  your  readers  an  account  of  them. 

Tlie  great  herds. — The  herds  of  Edward  Creighton,  Charles  Hutton,  and  Thomas  Alsop^ 
are  grazed  on  the  Big  Laramie,  which  is  a  tributary  of  the  North  Platte.  The  Laramie 
Valley  is  between  the  Black  Hills  and  the  Medicine  Bow  Range.  It  is  about  one  hun- 
dred miles  long  and  thirty  miles  wide.  It  is  about  midway  in  this  valley,  and  six  miles 
from  the  railroad  station  at  Laramie,  that  these  gentlemen  have  located  their  stock 
ranches.  They  have  extensive  houses,  stables,  and  corrals.  As  we  leave  the  station 
on  a  beautiful  August  morning,  (which  is  characterized  by  the  clearest  of  blue  skies 
and  golden  sunlight,)  you  see  Mount  Agassiz  directly  in  ftout  of  you,  while  Mount  Dix 
and  Mount  Dodge,  with  snow-covered  tops,  are  respectively  on  the  right  and  left. 

We  follow  up  the  Laramie  on  a  smooth  road,  which  is  like  rolling  the  wheels  over  a 
floor.  We  follow  the  windings  of  the  stream,  which  is  clear  as  crystal,  and  pure  as  the 
snow  from  which  its  waters  have  just  come.  We  first  come  to  a  heard  of  4,000  half  and 
three-quarter-breed  cows;  that  is,  there  are  none  more  than  one-half  Texan,  and  many 
only  one-fourth.  They  are  known  among  cattle  dealers  as  short-horned  Texas  cattle. 
There  are  3,600  calves  in  this  herd  that  are  from  three-eighths  to  one-half  Durham. 
These  cows  have  been  here  on  the  Plains  one  winter  and  two  summers.  All  the  dry 
cows  are  exceedingly  fat,  and  many  of  the  cows,  with  calves  by  their  sides,  are  good 
beef.  In  this  herd  are  many  two-year-olds  and  yearlings,  all  fat  for  the  butcher,  so  far 
as  their  condition  is  concerned.  In  all  this  herd  there  are  as  many  as  9,000  head  of 
cattle — 4,000  cows,  3,600  calves,  1,000  two-year-olds,  and  500  yearlings. 

Tlielr  hahits. — They  range  over  a  country  fifteen  by  twenty  miles.  The  cows  and 
calves  run  together  the  year  around,  and  in  fact  are  never  separated,  but  run  in  families 
of  four,  generally,  cow,  calf,  yearling,  and  two-year-old.  They  are  to  be  found  on  the 
river  bottoms  in  the  middle  of  the  day,  where  they  had  come  about  11  o'clock  for  water. 
They  return  about  4  o'clock  in  the  afternoon  to  the  high  grounds,  where  the  rich  bunch 
and  nutritious  gramma  grasses  are  abundant,  and  feed  till  night  and  lie  down  on  the 


GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TEREITOEIES.       253 

warm  sandy  soil  till  next  morning,  -when  they  feed  till  the  heat  of  the  day.  It  is  inter- 
esting to  see  the  habits  of  these  cattle  when  unrestrained  by  herders.  Tliey  travel  back 
and  forth  to  the  water  and  grazing  gronnd  in  families  and  little  herds,  in  single  file, 
like  their  predecessors  of  the  soil,  the  biilFalo,  forming  doej)  paths  or  trails  like  them. 
After  having  spent  three  or  fonr  hours  looking  at  this  herd  wc  pass  np  the  river  to  the 
beef  herd,  whicli  consists  of  3,500  fat  Texas  cattle,  in  the  very  higliest  order  at  which 
grass-fed  cattle  arrive  in  this  world.  These  cattle  have  been  hero  one  or  two  seasons, 
and  will  weigh  npon  an  average,  live  weight,  1,300  pounds.  They  could  all  be  sold 
to-day  for  eastern  markets  at  good  figures.  They  have  yet  three  months  of  good  weather 
to  fatten  this  season,  when,  with  5,000  more,  bought  by  these  enterprisiug  men  and 
on  the  way  here,  they  will  be  sold  east  or  slaughtered  and  sent  east  in  the  quarter. 

There  is,  still  higher  up  the  stream  and  nearer  the  mountains,  a  stock  herd  of  year- 
lings and  two-year-olds,  that  occupy  our  time  for  an  hour  or  two. 

Blooded  sfoclc  cattle. — Then  wo  cross  over  to  Sand  Creek,  a  small  branch  of  the  Lara- 
mie, and  see  the  herd  of  American  cattle,  which,  including  Hutton's  and  Alsop's,  num- 
bers 400,  mostly  cows.  They  are  as  fine  stock  as  can  be  found  anywhere.  Amoug  this 
herd  are  several  fine-graded  Durham  bulls  and  two  thoroughbreds  that  were  bought  iu 
Ohio  at  high  iirices.  These  parties  are  owners  of  300  blooded  bulls,  from  which  the 
finest  calves  are  being  raised  by  the  cross  between  them  and  the  graded  Texan  cow. 
It  is  interesting  for  the  stock  man  to  see  these  calves,  wl)icli  show  the  Durham  so  clearly 
in  every  instance — another  proof  of  the  general  law  that  the  stronger  and  better  blooded 
of  the  two  races  will  give  form  and  impress  to  the  progeny.  This  fact  is  remarkably 
illustrated  in  these  herds.  The  second  and  third  crosses,  leaving  no  trace  of  the  Texan 
blood. 

Here  on  this  rancli  are  300  brood  mares,  and  some  young  stock,  yearling  and  two- 
year-old  colts  which  have  been  raised  here,  and  have  never  been  fed  nor  sheltered. 
They  are  as  large  and  fine  colts  as  are  raised  anywhere.  These  brood  mares  and  colts 
are  horded,  but  never  stabled  nor  fed  winters. 

Sheep. — We  next  proceed  to  these  flocks  of  sheep,  which  in  all  number  more  than 
10,000  head,  besides  the  lambs — of  these  there  are  3,000 — making  iu  all  13,000.  Some 
of  these  are  from  New  Mexico,  but  the  great  majority  are  from  Iowa,  and  are  fine 
Merino  sheep.  They  will  average  fully  five  pounds  of  wool  per  head.  Ample  shelters 
have  been  provided  them  in  case  of  storm.  Much  the  larger  number  of  these  flocks  arc 
ewes.  The  owners  expect  to  raise  6,000  lambs,  and  to  shear  65,000  pounds  of  wool  next 
year. 

These  parties  have  about  five  miles  of  fence,  inclosing  hay  grounds,  pastures  for 
riding  stock,  and  other  purposes.  They  have,  iu  all,  more  than  $300,000  invested  here, 
which  is  a  sufficient  commentai-y  upon  their  enterprise,  foresight,  and  courage.  They 
are  the  great  stock  princes  of  the  mountains.  Of  all  living  men  they  have  done  most 
to  solve  this  question  of  winter  grazing.  « 

We  next  proceed  to  the  Little  Laramie,  where  Messrs.  Mantle  &  Bath  have  400  head 
of  American  and  half-breed  stock;  they  are  at  the  old  stage-road  crossing,  and  have 
some  fine  blooded  stock.  Above  them,  behind  Sheep  Mountain,  directly  under  the 
wbite  top  of  Mount  Dodge,  named  after  General  Dodge,  on  the  head  of  the  Little  Lara- 
mie, is  a  valley  twenty  miles  long  and  ten  miles  wide,  divided  about  equally  by  the 
north,  middle,  and  south  forks  of  that  stream.  These  are  rapid  running  streams  that 
never  freeze  iu  winter.  They  have  groves  of  timber  on  their  banks  and  bottom  lands, 
furnishing  shade  in  summer  and  shelter  in  winter.  This  valley  is  a  pocket  in  the 
mountains,  having  only  one  point  of  ingress  and  no  egress  but  by  the  same  way.  Here 
are  2,900  cattle  owned  by  Lambard  &  Gray,  of  New  York,  Captain  Coates,  of  the  Arm  j-, 
and  the  subscriber.  Three  men  are  able  to  herd  them,  from  the  nature  of  the  vallej", 
and  it  is  certainly  a  cattle  paradise.  Of  this  herd,  1,200  are  cows,  700  two-year-olds, 
300  yearlings,  and  700  calves.  This  stock  is  short-horned  Texan,  and  a  good  lot  of 
stock  cattle. 

riiff's  licrds  on  Croio  CreeTc. — After  leaving  this  herd,  we  take  a  three-hours'  run  on  the 
railroad,  which  takes  us  across  the  Black  Hills  to  Cheyenne,  which  is  the  headquarters 
of  J.  W.  Ilift".  His  cattle  range  is  down  Crow  Creek  to  the  Platte,  twenty  to  thirty 
miles.  On  this  grazing  ground  he  has  6,700  cattle,  classed  as  follows :  3,500  beeves, 
2,000  cows,  and  1,200  calves.  The  stock  cattle  are  half-breeds,  except  yearlings  and 
calves,  which  he  has  raised,  and  which  show  the  Durham  cross.  The  beeves  are 
heavy,  fat  caftle,  ranging  in  live  weight  from  1,200  to  1,400  pounds.  This  whole  range 
down  Crow  Creek,  from  Cheyenne  to  the  Platte,  affords  the  best  of  grasses,  and  the 
creek  blufts  shelter  the  stock  completely  from  storms.  Mr.  Ilifif  has  been  the  owner  of 
great  herds  of  cattle  in  the  last  twelve  years,  and  is  firm  in  the  faith  that  this  is  the 
place  to  raise  beef  for  eastern  markets.  His  cattle  have  sold  in  Chicago  market  from 
five  to  six  cents  per  pound,  live  weight,  this  season.  The  whole  3,500  head  of  beeves 
will  be  shipped  east  this  fall.  Mr.  Ilift'  is  another  of  those  wh.o  have  demonstrated  to 
.the  world  that  wo  have  winter  grazing,  and  in  so  doing  he  has  made  a  fortune.  Long 
may  such  men  live  to  enjoy  their  fortunes ! 


254  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

On  the  otlier  side  of  the  Platte,  on  ths  Bijou,  are  the  herds  of  the  Patterson  Brothers, 
Reynolds,  and  John  Hitson.  These  herds  number  8,000  head  of  cattle,  6,000  of  them 
being  beef-cattle.  The  Patterson  Brothers  are  great  cattle-raisers  and  dealers.  They 
own  ranches  on  the  Ai'kansas  River,  at  Bent's  Old  Fort,  and  on  the  Pecos  River,  below 
Fort  Sumner,  in  New  Mexico.  They  have  handled  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars' 
woi-tli  of  cattle  in  the  last  five  years. 

John  Hitson  is  another  of  the  great  cattle-raisers  and  dealers  in  New  Mexico.  His 
herds  are  numbered  by  the  thousands.  His  operations  are  transferred  to  Colorado  now, 
and  so  are  those  of  the  Patterson  Brothers.  On  Box  Elder  Creek,  which  is  a  branch  of 
the  Cach6  la  Poudre,  is  the  ranch  and  stock  range  of  Mr.  Whitcombe,  an  old  settler  of 
Colorado.  He  has  2,000  stock  cattle  and  some  fine  blooded  bulls.  This  range  and 
shelter  are  perfect. 

Reed  &  Wyatt,  on  the  Platte,  nearer  Denver,  have  1,000  head  of  stock  and  be«f 
cattle.    They  are  about  adding  largely  to  their  number. 

Farwell  Brothers,  Greeley,  have  200  head  of  fine  American  cattle. 

Baily,  on  the  south  side  of  the  Platte  from  Greeley,  has  400  head  of  Durham  and 
Devon  stock,  and  2,000  sheep. 

Geary,  on  the  Platte,  has  300  head  of  American  cattle. 

The  Lemons,  at  Greeley,  have  400  head  of  American  stock.  In  this  neighborhood 
Ashcraft  has  400  head  of  American  cattle ;  Munson  has  800  head  of  cattle  and  3,000 
sheep.     Up  the  Cach6  la  Poudre  are  twenty  large  stock-raisers. 

On  the  Big  and  Little  Thompsons  there  are  some  five  herds  of  blooded  stock. 

After  you  leave  Evans  and  go  south  toward  Denver,  the  whole  country  seems  one 
pasture  covered  with  stock.  I  traveled  over  this  same  ground  in  18G9,  and  I  am  sure 
there  are  fully  three  times  as  many  cattle  here  now  as  then.  There  are  hundreds  of 
farmers  on  the  Lone  Tree  Creek,  Cach6  la  Poudre,  Big  and  Little  Thompson's  Creeks, 
St.  Vrain's,  and  the  many  other  streams  which  flow  from  the  mountains  to  the  Platte, 
who  have  from  one  hundred  to  one  thousand  head  of  cattle,  a  description  of  whuse.herds 
and  grazing  grounds  would  take  too  much  space  in  an  article  of  this  kind. 

Shipments  of  cattle  West. — Colorado  has  sold  an  immense  number  of  cattle  this  season 
to  Montana,  Idaho,  Nevada,  and  Utah.  It  is  safe  to  say  that  Montana  Avill  receive 
twenty  thousand  head  of  cattle  during  the  season  of  1870,  four-fifths  of  which  are  from 
Colorado.  Many  have  gone  to  Utah,  Nevada,  and  Idaho  fi-om  the  same  source,  and  yet, 
ten  years  ago,  the  commercial  and  stock-growing  jjeople  of  the  East  did  not  know  that 
Colorado  contained  a  thousand  acres  of  grass  land.  To-day  they  have  no  idea  of  the 
magnitude  of  her  grazing  resources. 

Leaving  Colorado  we  find  some  herds  along  the  base  of  the  Black  Hills. 

JSforth  of  Cheyenne.— R.  KeUy,  on  the  "Chug,"  has  500  stock  cattle.  He  sold  100  head 
of  American  beeves  at  l$70  per  head. 

MesifS.  Ward  &  Bullock,  at  Fort  Laramie,  have  200  head  of  American  cattle. 

Adolph  Cuny,  so  long  a  resident  on  the  North  Platte,  has  a  herd  of  1,000  stock  cattle 
between  Forts  Laramie  and  Fetterman. 

Between  Cheyenne  and  Sidney,  on  the  line  of  the  railroad,  there  are  several  small 
herds.  At  Sidney  are  the  Moore  Brothers,  who  have  12,000  sheep  and  lambs,  and  1,400 
cattle ;  400  of  the  latter  are  American  and  very  fine.  The  sheep  sheared  an  average  of 
five  pounds  of  wool  per  head  last  spring.  They  are  graded  merinos,  and  are  in  fine 
condition.  There  is  no  disease  among  them.  The  Moore  Brothers  were  ranchmen  on 
the  South  Platte  prior  to  the  day  of  railroads,  and  are  about  returning  to  that  stream 
for  grazing.  Their  place  is  the  valley  station  of  olden  fame  on  the  stage  road.  Above 
them,  on  the  Platte,  at  the  old  "Junction,"  Mr.  Mark  Boughton  has  2,500  stock  cattle. 
He  has  as  fine  a  cattle  range  as  there  is  in  the  world,  not  excluding  the  Pampas  of 
South  America  nor  table  lands  of  Australia. 

Farther  down  the  Platte,  at  O'Fallon's  Bluffs,  on  the  north  side  of  the  South  Platte, 
Creighton  &  Parks  have  3,500  stock  cattle,  400  of  which  are  Durhams.  They  range 
twenty  miles  up  and  down  the  Platte.  Near  them,  below,  is  the  herd  of  Mr.  Keith,  of 
North  Platte  Station,  who  has  about  1,000  head. 

Mr.  M.  H.  Brown  has  500  head  of  stock  cattle  and'beeves  near  the  same  place. 

Across  the  Platte,  in  the  neighborhood  of  McPherson,  the  Bent  Brothers  have  1,000 
head  of  stock  cattle,  and  will  add  another  1,000  the  present  season. 

Messrs.  Carter  &  Coe  have  a  large  herd  near  there,  which  numbers  near  a  thousand. 

Mr.  Benjamin  Gallagher  has  1,200  head  at  the  old  Gilman  ranche,  twelve  miles  from 
McPherson. 

Progress  this  season. — Moi-e  real  progress  has  been  made  in  stock  matters  west  of  the 
Missouri  this  season  than  in  all  time  before.  We  have  not  only  added  to  the  numbers  of 
our  herds  and  flocks,  but  we  have  given  confidence  to  all  our  stock-growers  and  to 
eastern  people  in  the  permanency  and  profit  of  grazing  in  the  Trans-Missouri  country. 

We  are  now  in  easy  reach  of  eastern  markets.  The  railways  are  landing  the  heaviest 
cattle  in  Chicago  from  the  Rocky  Mountains  at  $9  and  $10  per  head ;    we  can  sell  thou- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       255 

eauds  and  tens  of  thousands  annually  to  tlio  Pacific  sloiie,  and  tliere  is  still  an  all-absorb- 
ing home  demand  to  stock  our  thousands  of  valleys. 

The  future. — As  every  couutry  in  the  "West  receives  a  new  o migrant,  and  his  plow 
turns  the  grass  under,  that  com  and  wheat  may  grow  in  its  stead,  the  range  of  tho 
stock-grower  is  that  much  contracted  and  the  area  of  grazing  lessened.  By  reason  of 
the  high  value  of  lands  for  grain-growing  purposes  the  people  of  the  country  east  of 
the  ilississippi  River  are  already  coming  to  us  for  beef  and  mutton.  Chicago  and  New 
York  people  arc  eujoying  the  juicy  steaks  from  cattle  fattened  on  our  nutritious  grasses 
that  grow  in  our  valleys  and  on  our  mountain  sides,  close  up  to  tho  perpetual  snows  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains. 

As  immigration  takes  up  moi'e  and  more  of  the  pastures  east  of  us  for  grain,  drovers 
will  be  obliged  more  aud  more  to  come  to  us  for  beef.  Texas,  the  great  hive  of  cattle, 
has  received  three  hundred  thousand  settlers  this  season.  Tho  grazing  area  of  that 
State  has  been  lessened  at  least  a  million  acres  thereby.  Everywhere  events  point  to 
this  Trans-jMissouri  country  as  the  future  dependence  of  the  east  for  wool,  beef,  mutton, 
aud  horses. 

H.  LATHAJI, 
Surgeon  Union  Pacific  Kailroad. 

TEXAS  CATTLE. 

The  following  article  from  Dr.  Latliara  ou  tlie  cattle  of  Texas  is  very 
iuterestiug,  aud  may  be  appropriately  inserted  here : 

Texas  is  truly  the  cattle  hive  of  North  America.  While  New  York,  with  her  4,000,000 
inhabitants,  aud  her  settlements  two  and  a  half  centuries  old,  has  748,000  oxen  and 
stock  cattle  ;  while  Pennsylvania,  with  more  than  3,000,000  people,  has  721,000  cattle ; 
while  Ohio,  with  3,000,000  people,  has  749,000  cattle ;  while  Illinois,  with  2,800,000 
people,  has  867,000  cattle;  and  while  Iowa,  with  1,200,000  people,  has  ()86,000  cattle, 
Texas,  and  forty  years  of  age,  and  with  her  500,000  people,  had  2,000,000  head  of  oxen 
aud  other  cattle,  exclusive  of  cows,  in  18G7,  as  showu  by  the  returns  of  the  county  as- 
sessors. In  1870,  allowing  for  the  difference  between  the  actual  number  of  cattle  owned 
and  the  number  returned  for  taxation,  there  must  be  fully  3,000,000  head  of  beeves  and 
stock  cattle.  This  is  exclusive  of  cows,  which,  at  the  same  time,  are  reported  at  600,000 
head.  In  1870,  they  must  number  800,000,  making  a  grand  total  of  3,800,000  head  of 
cattle  in  Texas.  One-fourth  of  these  are  beeves,  one-fourth  are  cows,  aud  the  other 
two-fourths  are  yearlings  aud  two-year-olds.  There  would,  therefore,  bo  950,000  beeves, 
950,000  cows,  and  1,900,000  young  cattle. 

There  are  annually  raised  and  branded  750,000  calves. 

These  cattle  are  raised  on  the  great  iilains  of  Texas,  which  contains  152,000,0D0  acres. 

Where  they  live. — In  the  vast  regions  watered  by  the  Rio  Grande,  Nueces,  Gaudalupc, 
San  Antonio,  Colorado,  Leon,  Brazos,  Trinity,  Sabine,  and  Red  Rivers,  these  millions 
of  cattle  graze  upon  almost  tropical  growths  of  vegetation.  They  are  owned  by  the 
ranchmen,  who  own  from  1,000  to  75,000  head  each. 

Great  ranches. — I  will  describe  one  or  two  of  these  great  ranches,  which  will  repre- 
sent to  your  readers  the  large  ranches  of  this  cattle  hive.  On  the  Santa  Catrutos  River 
is  the  ranch  of  Colonel  Richard  Kiug,  known  as  the  "  Santa  Catrutos  Ranch."  This 
ranch  consists  of  nineteen  Spanish  triggeus  of  laud,  or  84,132  acres.  It  is  watered 
lilentifully  by  the  Santa  Catrutos  River  and  its  tributaries.  On  this  ranch  are  the 
immense  number  of  65,000  cattle,  10,000  horses,  7,000  sheep,  aud  8,000  goats.  One 
thousand  saddle-horses  and  300  Mexicans  axe  constantly  employed  in  heiding,  gather- 
ing, and  driving  this  stock. 

Colonel  King  brands  annually  12,000  calves  ancl  sells  10,000  beef  cattle  yearly,  and 
invests  the  proceeds  in  stock  cattle,  thereby  adding  to  his  vast  herds,  in  addition  to 
their  natural  increase. 

O'Connor's  ranch,  twenty  miles  below  Goliad,  on  the  San  Antonio  River,  is  another 
princely  estate.  He  had  40,000  cattle  in  1862,  aud  branded  11,772  calves,  aud  was  sell- 
ing from  $75,000  to  $80,000  worth  of  beef-cattle  annually.  The  foundations  for  this 
wealth  were  laid  in  1852,  wheu  he  commenced  grazing  with  1,500  cattle. 

The  Robideaux  ranch,  on  the  Gulf,  between  the  mouths  of  the  Rio  Grande  and  the 
Nueces,  owned  by  Mr.  Kennedy,  contains  142,840  acres.  It  is  a  fertile  peninsula  jut- 
ting out  into  tho  Gulf,  aud  is  fenced  ou  three  sideS  by  the  waters  of  the  Gulf.  The  other 
side  is  fenced  by  thirty  miles  of  plank  fence  ;  every  three  miles  of  this  fence  has  a 
little  ranch  for  Mexican  herders.  In  this  inclosure  are  30,000  beef  cattle  aloue,  besides 
the  other  stock.  These  three  are  types  of  the  men  in  the  older  cattle-growing  region 
near  the  Gulf. 

The  frontier  counties  are  all  rich  in  stock.  Jack  Young,  Throgmorton,  Stevens,  Cal- 
lahan, Coleman,  Brown,  Torrent,  Elrath,  Comanche,  Palo  Pinto,  Hitt,  and  Johnson  are 


256       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

all  great  stock  counties.  These  counties  comprise  the  country  drained  by  the  thousands 
of  streams  that  form  the  Rio  Grande,  Nueces,  Gaudalupe,  San  Antonio,  Colorado,  Leon, 
Brazos,  Trinity,  Sabine,  and  Red  Rivers,  and  is  one  of  the  best-watered  regions  in 
America.  The  bluffs  and  table  lands  bordering  and  between  these  streams  are  covered 
with  "  bunch,"  "  buffalo,"  and  mesquit  grasses. 

The  cattle  princes  of  these  counties  are  John  Hittson,  who  has  50,000  cattle  ;  William 
Hittson,  who  has  8,000  head;  George  Beavers,  6,000;  Charles  Rivers,  10,000;  James 
Brown,  15,000;  C.  J.  Johnson,  8,000;  S.  E.  Jackson,  4,000;  Robert  Sloan,  12,000,  ^half 
Durham  stock) ;  Anderson  Brothers,  6,000 ;  Coggins  &  Parks,  20,000 ;  Samuel  Vaughn,  • 
6,000 ;  Martin  Childors,  10.000 ;  Cunningham,  8,000 ;  Mauskow,  8,000 ;  Lacy  &  Colmau, 
12,000 ;  John  Chisholm,  30,000.  ' 

Jack  HiUson.— John  Hittson's  ranch  is  in  Palo  Pinto  County,  on  the  Brazos  River, 
where  he  has  r)0,000  cattle  ;  he  has  300  saddle-horses  and  50  herders.  He  drives  about 
10,000  head  of  cattle  north  annually.  Eighteen  years  ago  he  was  working  from  day- 
light till  dark  in  Rust  County,  Tennessee,  a  timbered  section,  felling  trees,  cutting, 
rolling,  and  burning  logs,  and  clearing  the  laud  to  raise  a  little  corn  and  wheat.  From 
experience  in  the  forests  of  Tenuessee,  he  knew  that  it  would  take  the  three  score  and 
ten  years  of  a  natural  life  to  clear  away  the  trees  and  wear  out  the  stumps,  and  not 
fancying  the  doom  of  hard  labor  for  life  he  sold  his  land,  and  with  60  Texan  cows  and 
9  brood  mares  turned  his  face  toward  the  setting  sun  and  the  grass  regions  of  the 
Brazos.  Less  than  a  score  of  years  have  passed  and  he  has  50,000  head  of  cattle  and 
as  many  acres  of  land.  Hittson  is  about  forty  years  old,  six  feet  in  height,  and  broad- 
shouldered.  Has  au  honest,  sunburnt  face,  with  a  square,  firm-set  under  jaw,  which, 
as  I  looked  at  it,  I  thought  was  shut  a  little  firmer,  giving  him  a  more  determined  look 
than  it  would  otherwise,  but  for  a  dozen  or  two  encounters  with  the  fierce  and  insatia- 
ble Comanches,  who  knew  Hittson  and  his  old,  long,  muzzle-loading  rifle  well,  and  now 
know  him  with  his  "Winchester."  I  have  often  wondered  what  they  thought  when  they 
pounced  on  him  with  his  new  "  Winchester,"  and  received  ten  shots  in  a  mintite  instead 
of  one  in  five  minutes.  They  must  have  thought  the  old  rifle  bewitched.  At  any  rate, 
they  will  give  him  a  wide  berth,  unless  they  can  creep  uiion  him  as  the  hunter  does 
upon  the  buffalo  bull  he  does  not  dare  to  face.  Mr.  Hittson  is  establishing  a  ranch  on 
the  South  Platte,  near  old  Fort  Morgan,  for  use  as  his  general  northern  headquarters. 
He  will  winter  5,000  cattle  there  this  year,  and  briug  10,000  head  there  for  sale  next 
season. 

John  Chisholm,  on  the  Concho  River,  is  another  of  the  cattle-raisers  and  drivers  of 
Northwestern  Texas,  who  carries  on  the  business  on  a  princely  scale,  and  whose  experi- 
ence is  much  like  that  of  Hittson. 

Of  the  thousands  of  owners  of  the  3,800,000  head  of  cattle  in  Texas,  not  one  hundred 
commenced  with  large  means.  They  have  built  themselves  up  fi'om  small  beginnings, 
like  Hittson  and  Chisholm. 

Markets. — The  surplus  stock  is  disposed  of  by  packing,  by  shipping  by  steamer  to  the 
Gulf  States,  by  driving  duo  north  to  Abilene,  Kansas,  and  Schuyler,  Nebraska,  and  by 
the  northwestern  route  to  the  Pecos  River,  where  the  droves  divide,  some  going  to 
Arizona  and  California  by  the  southern  route,  the  greater  number,  however,  keeping  a 
northern  course  uj)  the  Pecos  River  to  the  Arkansas  River,  crossing  at  and  above  Bent's 
Old  Fort,  and  thence  along  the  eastern  base  of  the  mountains,  through  Colorado  and 
across  the  Black  Hills  to  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  and  on  to  the  great  valleys  and 
markets  of  Wyoming,  Utah,  Montana,  Idaho,  Nevada,  and  the  Pacific  States. 

Drovers  of  the  northwestern  trade. — The  parties  engaged  in  this  trade  are :  John  Hittson, 
who  has  driven  7,000  cattle  this  season ;  John  Chisholm,  6,000 ;  Frank  Turkersly,  1,500 ; 
McKidrick,  1,500;  Stephen  Jones,  2,000;  W.  A.  &  W.  P.  Black,  1,500;  James  Hart, 
1,100;  Wilson,  800;  J.  B.  Henderson,  1,600;  William  Forsythe,  1,500;  C.  C.  Campbell, 
3,000 ;  Henry  Martin,  1,000 ;  Robert  Wyte,  1,500 ;  Samuel  Goldston,  1,500 ;  John  Ander- 
son, 1,500 ;  James  Patterson,  8,000 ;.  George  F.  Reynolds,  5,500 ;  Charles  Goodnight, 
5,000,  and  Martin  Caven,  1,200.  It  is  estimated  by  Texas  diovers,  who  have  had  fine 
opportunities  to  judge,  that  100,000  cattle  have  been  driven  from  Texas  on  this  route 
during  the  season  of  1870.  Of  this  number  Montana  has  taken  30,000,  Wyoming  8,000, 
Utah  8,000,  Idaho  11,000,  Nevada  7,000,  and  California  10,000;  the  other  36,000  have 
been  sold  in  New  Mexico  and  Colorado — principally  in  Colorado. 

The  beeves  are  selected  out  before  the  herds  leave  the  Black  Hills  west.  If  f:^t,  they 
are  at  once  shipped  for  Chicago  and  New  York;  if  thin,  they  are  left  in  the  valleys  of 
Colorado,  Wyoming,  and  Nebraska  to  fatten. 

The  amount  of  money  handled  by  'bankers  along  the  base  of  the  mountains  from 
Cheyenne  to  Trinidad  is  enormous.  I  have  no  data  from  which  to  calculate  the  amount, 
but  it  cannot  be  less  than  .$1,250,000.  Every  settler  who  comes  into  any  of  these  moun- 
tain Territories,  every  mine  that  is  opened,  every  Indian  who  goes  onto  reserves  and  is 
fed,  every  soldier  who  is  brought  into  the  country,  creates  an  additional  demand  for 
stock  cattle  and  beef.  As  astounding  as  the  figures  may  seem,  the  supply  has  not  been 
nearly  adequate  to  meet  the  demand. 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF   THE    TEKRITOEIES.  257 

Great  preparations  are  being  made  in  Northwestern  Texas  to  gatlior  together  herds 
"v\hieh  iu  numbers  have  not  been  heard  of  before. 

Abilene  and  ScluajJer. — Abilene  has  been  the  great  market  this  year.  At  that  place 
the  receipts  of  cattle  have  reached  the  enormous  figures  of  200,000  head.  The  ship- 
ments for  the  month  of  September  amounted  to  60,000  head,  or  3,333  car  loads,  or  111 
car  loads  per  day,  for  the  great  corn-fields  of  Iowa,  ^Missouri,  and  Illinois.  It  is  antici- 
pated that  the  shipments  will  reach  75,000  iu  October. 

This  great  cattle  trade  at  Abilene,  which  has  assumed  such  gigantic  proportions,  was 
initiated  iu  18G7,  and  has  therefore  counted  only  four  seasons.  In  18(57,  75.000  head  of 
stock  were  received;  iu  18G8,  125,000;  in  1861),  150,000  ;  iu  1870,  '200,000.  In  1869,  ono 
bank  alone  in  Kansas  City  handled  $3,000,000  cattle  money.  The  cattle  driven  audsold 
here  aie  from  the  eastern  part  of  the  State,  from  the  Eio  Grande  to  the  Eed  Rivers. 

At  Schuyler,  this  year,  which  was  an  experiment  only,  27,000  cattle  were  sold.  The 
First  National  Bank  of  Omaha  handled  8500,000  in  consequence  of  this  cattle  business. 
I  am  informed  l)y  those  Avho  know  that  40,000  more  cattle  could  have  been  sold  if  thej' 
had  been  at  Schuyler.  Next  year  it  is  hoped  the  supply  will  reach  100,000,  as  the  de- 
maud  for  Nebraska,  Iowa,  Southwestern  Minnesota,  and  Dakota  will  certainly  require 
that  number. 

Packing  is  one  of  the  great  means  of  disposing  of  the  cattle  of  Texas.  Allen  &  Poole, 
of  Galveston,  are  packing  immeuse  numbers  of  cattle  at  Galveston,  Indianola,  aud  at 
Shreveport  and  other  places.  I  am  informed  that  they  own  more  cattle  than  any  other 
firm  iu  the  State.  This  salted  beef  finds  market  in  our  great  eastern  cities,  with  our 
navy  and  merchant  nuirine,  aud  in  every  beef-buying  market  of  Earoi)e. 

Refrigerator  cars  are  looked  forward  anxiously  to,  to  take  the  place  of  live  shipments 
as  cheaper,  healthier,  and  T\ith  no  loss  by  long  travel  without  food.  If  such  shipments 
prove  successful,  every  market  east  of  the  Missouri  River  and  west  of  the  Sierra 
Nevadas  will  receive  beef  from  Texas. 

Such  is  the  colossal  cattle-raising,  driving,  and  shipping  in  aud  from  Texas,  built  iTp 
where  there  were  no  markets  and  no  railroads  to  stinuilate  it.  What  may  we  expect 
it  to  be  now  that  there  is  a  demand  for  it  in  every  valley  and  on  every  pi'airio  west  of 
the  Alleghany  Mountains,  and  iu  every  beef-buying  market  iu  the  Atlantic  States  ? 

GENERAL    REMARKS. 
THE  PLAINS. 

At  pre.?ent  one  of  the  most  importaut  and  interesting'  of  the  many 
questions  relating  to  the  great  West  is,  How  can  the  Plains  be  made 
nsefnl  to  man  f  And  this,  so  far  as  it  relates  to  agriculture,  involves 
two  other  inquiries,  as  follows :  How  much  of  it  can  be  irrigated  to 
that  extent  required  for  the  production  of  useful  crops"?  Aud  how 
much  of  the  remainder  can  be  protitablj'  used  as  pastoral  lands?  The 
answers  to  these  questions  are  of  no  small  importance  in  the  political 
economy  of  the  nation,  but,  on  the  contrary,  deserve  and  should  receive 
the  attention  of  our  statesmen.  That  which  adds  to  the  material 
wealth  and  productive  energies  of  a  nation  is  of  far  more  importance 
than  that  which  simply  represents  value,  although  the  latter  often 
receives  more  attention  than  the  former. 

Take,  for  instance,  the  broad  belt  of  country  situated  between  the 
99th  and  ]04tli  meridians,  and  reaching  from  the  Big  Horn  3Ioantains 
on  the  north  to  the  Llano  Estacado  on  the  south,  containing  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  square  miles.  Must  tliis  vast  area  remain 
forever  unproductive  and  useless,  without  a  vigorous  eftbrt  being  made 
to  redeem  it  and  make  it  valuable  ?  If  but  one-fifth  of  it  could  be 
brought  under  culture  and  made  productive,  this  alone,  when  fully  im- 
proved, would  add  $400,000,000  to  the  aggregate  value  of  the  lands 
of  the  nation.  And  taking  the  lowest  .estimate  of  the  cash  value  of 
the  crops  of  1869  per  acre,*  it  would  give  an  addition  of  more  than 
$200,000,000  per  annum  to  the  aggregate  value  of  our  products. 

But  returning  to  the  inquiries  before  us,  I  may  state  with  all  confi- 
dence, in  answer  to  the  latter,  that  the  extent  of'^  the  pastoral  lands  is 
fully  equal  to  all  the  demands,  for  grazing  purposes,  of  the  population 

'Agricultural  Report,  1869. 
17  G 


258       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

tliat  will  ever  occupy  tliis  region.  The  lirst  inquiry  cannot  be  correctly 
ansvvcred  until  we  have  received  more  data  than  at  present  in  our  pos- 
session. Yet  the  answer  is  not  impossible,  for  it  may  be  given  with  suffi- 
cient approximation  for  practical  purposes.  Let  the  following  statistics 
be  procured,  and  then  the  solution  can  easily  be  obtained  by  simple  cal- 
culation. 

First,  the  extent  of  the  laud  sufficiently  level  for  cultivation  and  irri- 
gation upon  which  water  can  be  brought  from  the  streams  of  this  sec- 
tion ;  second,  the  rate  of  the  descent  of  these  streams  and  of  the  plains 
across  which  they  flow  ;  third,  the  amount  of  the  rain-fall  during  that 
portion  of  the  year  when  it  is  needed  to  supply  the  growing  crops  with 
moisture  ;  fourth,  the  A^olume  of  water  that  flows  down  from  the  mount- 
ains and  enters  upon  the  plains  during  the  same  season. 

Sufficient  statistics  in  the  first,  second,  and  third  classes  have  already 
been  obtained  to  indicate  the  result ;  but,  before  presenting  these  I  may 
state,  in  order  to  limit  our  investigation  as  much  as  possible,  that  we 
may  confine  them  to  that  part  of  the  Plains  lying  west  of  the  99th  me- 
ridian, as  east  of  this  the  precipitation  of  rain  is  generally  sufficient  to 
supply  the  demands  of  agriculture,  and  it  is  more  than  probable  that 
any  deficiency  that  may  exist  there  will  be  compensated  by  the  increase 
that  will  probably  occur  when  the  water  is  more  equally  distributed  over 
the  western  part  of  the  Plains. 

1.  As  to  the  extent  of  the  level  laud.  The  answer  may  be  given,  in 
general  terms,  that  this  is  equal  to  the  utmost  capacity  of  the  streams 
tbat  traverse  this  section;  nor  is  it  worth  while  to  give  particulars  to 
prove  this  assertion,  as  a  simple  glance  of  the  eye  of  the  traveler,  as  he 
passes  across  this  broad  expanse,  will  satisfy  him  of  its  truth.  One 
single  view  from  a  slightly-elevated  i)oint  often  embraces  a  territory 
equal  to  one  of  the  smaller  States,  taking  in  at  one  sweep  millions  of 
acres.  Eastern  Colorado  and  Eastern  Wyoming  each  contains  as  much 
land  sufficiently  level  for  cultivation  as  the  entire  cultivated  area  of 
Egypt. 

2.  Is  the  rate  of  descent  of  the  streams  sufficient  to  carry  the  water 
upon  these  lands '?  In  my  description  of  the  various  sections  I  have 
already  answered  this  inquiry  in  part ;  but  as  these  statements  have 
principally  applied  to  the  country  near  the  mountains,  I  will  present 
some  statistics  which  are  sufficient  to  give  a  general  answer  on  this 
point.  The  fall  of  the  Arkansas  from  Caiion  City  to  the  mouth 
of  Pawnee  Fork  ^ which  is  about  the  99th  meridian)  varies  from 
fifteen  to  eleven  feet  to  the  mile.  This  is  sufficient,  with  a  canal  one 
hundred  miles  in  length,  to  send  its  waters  over  a  plain  one  thousand 
feet  high.  The  average  fall  of  the  Canadian  is  about  the  same.  From 
Denver  Junction  to  Fort  Hays,  near  the  assumed  meridian,  the  descent 
is  nine  feet  to  the  mile  ;  sufficient,  with  a  canal  one  hundred  miles  long, 
to  pour  the  waters  of  the  South  Platte  on  a  plain  six  hundred  feet  high. 
The  fall  of  the  South  Platte  between  Denver  and  its  junction  with  the 
]^orth  Platte  is  about  ten  feet  to  the  mile,  and  that  of  the  North  Platte 
from  Fort  Fetterman  to  the  same  junction  is  a  little  over  seven  feet  to 
the  mile.  These  figures  give  a  favorable  answer  to  the  second  inquiry, 
showing  that  the  descent  of  the  streams  and  plains  is  sufficient  to  allow 
even  the  higher  table  lands  to  be  irrigated,  leaving  only  the  question  of 
a  supply  of  water.  I  have  not  brought  into  this  investigation  the  in- 
quiry in  regard  to  the  productiveness  of  the  soil,  for  I  take  it  for  granted 
that  wherever  it  can  be  irrigated  it  is  productive. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    TFIE    TERRITORIES.  2' 9 

TVarer  is  tlie  tliinc:  demaiKlotl,  tlio  only  element  needed  except,  tlie 
ai)i)lication  of  bunum  enerjjy,  to  render  this  broad  area  prodnctive; 
Jsature  lias  supplied  all  the  other  elements,  ready  for  use.  But  lio^r 
mueli  water  is  necessary  ?  From  tlie  best  records  at  hand  we  learn  that 
the  region  around  Washington  City  receives  twenty-one  inches  rain-lall 
during  the  spring  and  summer  months ;  that  arouud  I^ew  York,  23;  the 
vicinity  of  Cincinnati,  25;  Missouri,  20;  Michigan,  18;  and  the  region 
around  Leavenworth,  20.  But  George  P.  Marsh,*  following  tlie  state- 
inentof  Boussingault,  tells  us  that  seventeen  and  one-third  inches  suKice 
for  the  sandy  soil  and  dry  climate  of  Egypt,  counting  one  hundred  and 
fifty  days  as  the  length  of  the  irrigating  season.  As  there  is  no  rain 
there,  this  entire  amount  must  be  furnished  by  irrigation. 

As  showu  by  experience  in  Jumna,  in  India,  a  discharge  of  one  cubic 
foot  of  water  per  second  is  sufficient  to  irrigate  two  hundred  and  eighteen 
acres — one  hundred  and  fifty  days  here,  also,  being  assumed  as  the  irri- 
gating season.t  This  is  equivalent  to  about  sixteen  and  oue-third  inches, 
to  which  must  be  added  one-fifth,  (the  rain  supplying  one-sixth  of  the 
whole  amount,)  which  gives  a  total  of  about  nineteen  and  one-half 
inches.  This  varies  but  little  from  the  estimate  giveu  by  Marsh,  and 
falls  between  the  amounts  as  giveu  for  Michigan  and  Leavenworth. 
Assuming  the  annount  given  by  Marsh  to  be  a  sufticient  supply  for  the 
growing  season  ou  the  Plains,  we  arrive  at  the  third  inquiry. 

3.  What  portion  of  this  is  furnished  by  the  rain-tall  during  this  part 
of  the  year?  We  have  but  little  data  upon  this  point,  yet  sufficient  is 
known  to  enable  us  to  make  an  approximate  estimate.  The  meteor- 
ological records  kept  at  Fort  Laramie,  Santa  Fe,  and  Fort  Lyon  (as  giveu 
by  Blodget,  Foster,  and  Elliot)  show  the  average  rain-fall  for  the  spring 
and  summer,  taken  together,  as  follows : 

Fort  Laramie,  14.39  inches ;  Santa  Fe,  11.73 ;  Fort  Lyon,  (5.36.  An 
average  of  these  three  places  is  10.82  inches,  which,  deducted  from 
17.34,  the  amount  of  water  necessary,  leaves  6.52  inches  to  be  supplied 
by  migation.  But  I  think  this  estimate  of  the  rain-fall  on  the  Plains  is 
too  large,  and  that  a  further  examination  of  the  more  recent  observa- 
tions and  records  will  reduce  it.  I  judge  that  seven  inches,  or,  to  make 
the  remainder  a  round  number,  7.34  inches,  will  be  much  nearer  the 
correct  figure.  Nor  do  I  arbitrarily  assume  this  average,  but  from 
incomplete  data,  not  necessary  to  be  repeated  here.  If  too  small,  the 
calculations  based  upon  it  are  certainly  safe  ;  if  too  large,  the  error  will 
be  much  less  than  it  would  be  if  we  assume  the  larger  amount,  and  it 
must  be  very  near  the  lowest  possible  average,  which,  for  the  dryest 
sections,  is  seldom  placed  less  than  five  inches.  Tliis,  then,  will  leave 
10.34,  or,  in  round  numbers,  ten  inches  to  be  supplied  by  irrigation. 

4.  Now,  an  answer  to  the  fourth  question — what  is  the  volume  of 
water  brought  down  by  the  streams  during  the  spring  and  summer  ? — 
would  enable  us  to  tell  at  once  the  area  that  can  be  rendered  tillable  by 
the  aid  of  irrigation.  But,  unfortunately,  at  this  point  we  are  without 
reliable  statistics.  Few  or  no  streams  have  been  accurately  measured 
with  this  object  in  view,  and  but  few  have  even  been  roughly  estimated. 
While  in  Italy  and  India  this  has  been  a  matter  of  careful  study;  the 
necessity  for  irrigating  any  of  our  lands  having  been  -but  recently  felt, 
it  has  not  been  attended  to.  But  the  rapid  influx  of  population  into 
the  gTcat  plains  and  mountain  regions  of  the  West  is  causing  the  im- 
portance of  attention  not  only  to  this,  but  to  all  that  bears  upon  irri- 
gation, to  be  felt  more  and  more  each  year. 

*  lu  "Mail  and  Nature." 

t  Smith's  Italian  Irrigation,  vol.  I,  p.  378. 


260  GEOLOGICAL    STJEVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

The  rough  estimate  I  made  of  the  vohime  of  water  in  the  Xorth 
Platte,  near  the  Okl  Bridge,  above  Fort  Fetterman,  showed  a  discharge 
of  about  fourteen  hundred  cubic  feet  per  second.  Tlie  width  at  a  nar- 
row and  somewhat  rapid  point  was  supposed  to  be  about  one  hundred 
and. sixty  feet;  the  average  depth  two  feet;  the  rate  of  the  current 
about  three  miles  to  the  hour.  The  river  at  this  season  (August)  was 
low — at  most,  not  more  than  two-thirds  or  oue  half  its  usual  size  in  the 
spring.  Supposing  it  to  have  been  two-thirds,  this  would  give,  as  the 
average  discharge  during  the  irrigating  season,  two  thousand  one  hun- 
dred cubic  feet  per  second.  Calculating  by  the  rule  given  by  Captain 
Smith  as  applicable  to  the  dryer  sub-Himalayan  districts — that  oue 
cubic  foot  per  second  irrigates  two  hundred  and  eighteen  acres — we 
obtain  the  following  result:  As  but  ten-sixteenths  of  the  water  required 
there  is  necessary  here,  it  follows  that  one  cubic  foot  will  irrigate  348.8 
af-res,  or,  in  round  numbers,  three  hundred  and  fifty  acres.  This  gives 
the  total  amount  which  can  be  watered  during  the  season  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  days,  by  a  canal  drawing  oft'  the  water  at  this  point,  at 
SHven  hundred  and  thirty-five  thousand  acres,  or  nearly  eleven  hundred 
and  fifty  square  miles.  As  no  area,  when  most  densely  populated  and 
in  the  highest  state  of  cultivation,  will  ever  require  more  than  one-half 
of  the  land  to  be  absolutely  and  folly  watered  each  year,  we  may  esti- 
mate the  territory  that  can  be  brought  into  use  by  such  a  canal  at  one 
million  four  hundred  and  se\^nty  thousand  acres,  or  two  thousand  three 
hundred  square  miles;  which  would  add  at  least  $25,000,000  to  the 
value  of  our  real  estate,  and  fully  $10,000,000  to  the  yearly  value  of  our 
productions. 

Calculating  by  the  method  which  Marsh  has  adopted,  the  result  is 
very  nearly  the  same.  The  daily  distribution  would  be  .067  of  an  inch  ; 
at  which  rate  the  area  irrigated  would  be  eleven  hundred  and  seventy 
S(iuare  miles,  or  about  seven  hundred  and  forty-nine  thousand  acres. 
These  results  show  a  difference  of  less  than  two  per  cent.,  which  is 
somewhat  remarkable  considering  the  entirely  different  stand-j)oints 
from  which  they  start. 

It  may  be  argued  that  this  calculation  makes  no  allowance  for  the 
loss  ;  but  that  it  is  based  upon  the  assumption  that  all  the  water  is  made 
effective.  This  is  a  mistake,  for  it  is  based  u])on  actual  experiments, 
showing  the  flow  of  water  necessary  to  irrigate  a  given  area,  including 
all  loss  except  the  absorjition  by  the  bottom  and  walls  of  the  canals ; 
and  this  in  India,  even  in  the  sandy  districts,  does  not  exceed  five  per 
cent. 

This  calculation  is  certainly  a  safe  one,  as  the  rain-fall  is  reduced 
nearly  one-third  below  that  given  by  the  authorities  on  the  subject,  and 
the  lowest  figures  are  used  in  regard  to  every  other  item.  The  point  of 
the  Platte  selected  for  observation  was  favorable,  as  it  presented  about 
an  average  of  velocity.  Taking  the  average  fall  at  only  seven  feet  to 
the  mile,  if  we  follow  the  rule  given  by  Uwyer  in  his  "Treatise  on 
Hydraulic  Engineering,"  the  velocity  would  be  about  two  hundred  and 
ninety-five  feet  per  minute,  while  I  have  assumed  it  to  be  but  two  hun- 
dred and  sixty  four  feet. 

Another  point  connected  with  this  subject,  but  upon  which  I  have  no 
information,  is  certainly  worthy  of  investigation;  it  is  this:  What  will 
be  the  result  in  the  bed  of  the  stream  below  the  point  from  which  the 
water  is  drawn  ?  Will  it  contain  only  the  water  furnished  by  the  trib- 
utaries entering  into  it  below  this  point?  In  the  tract  of  country  in 
India  lying  along  the  base  of  the  Siwalic  Hills,  both  east  and  west  of  the 
Gmges,  it  has  been  noticed  that,  although  all  the  water  was  drawn 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  201 

from  the  bed  of  the  stream,  below  this  water  would  commeuce  issuing 
from  the  jiorous  soil.  So  large  is  this  supply  in  some  instances,  that 
the  amount  due  to  percolation  in  the  Jumna  is  estimated  at  one  thou- 
sand eight  hundred  and  sixty  cubic  feet  per  second,  while  the  total 
amount  at  the  canal  heads  is  placed  at  but  three  thousand  four  hundred 
and  ninety  cubic  feet ;  showing  a  restoration  by  percolation  of  over  fifty 
per  cent.  The  same  thing  has  been  observed  in  Northern  Italy.  M. 
Lombardini  states  that  the  Ticino  at  Tornavento,  the  Adda  at  Oassauo, 
and  the  Oglio  at  Torre  Pallavina,  in  times  of  great  dryness,  are  entirely 
closed  and  exhausted.  Yet,  without  the  aid  of  any  visible  afliuent 
whatever,  the  streams  soon  reappear,  formed  by  new  supplies  derived 
from  percolation  through  the  banks  and  springs  in  the  beds,  so  that 
they  early  again  become  navigable. 

While  it  is  not  probable  this  would  be  the  case  at  that  distance  out 
upon  the  Plains  where  the  streams  now  begin  to  sink,  yet  there  is  noth- 
ing to  forbid  the  presumption  that  it  would  occur  nearer  the  mountains 
and  along'  those  streams  which  have  their  sources  in  the  snow^^  ranges. 
But  it  is  necessary  to  study  carefully  all  these  points  before  the  agricul- 
tural capacity  of  the  great  West  can  be  known. 

In  my  estimates  of  the  heights  which  might  be  reached  by  irrigating 
ditches  I  have  confined  myself  to  the  rule  generally  adopted  in  the 
West,  of  giving  to  them  a  descent  of  from  three  to  five  feet  to  the  mile. 
But  the  longitudinal  slope  of  the  Ganges  Canal  varies  from  twelve  to 
fifteen  inches;  and  the  larger  canals  in  Italy  generally  have  a  descent 
of  fi'om  seventeen  to  twenty -four  inches  to  the  mile. 

LAND   GRANTS. 

It  may  not  be  improper  for  me  to  say  something  in  respect  to  the  in- 
fluence of  land  grants  upon  agriculture  in  this  part  of  the  West. 

While  1  believe  that  the  laws  granting  homesteads  to  actual  settlers 
are  wise  and  proper,  and  should  not  be  abridged,  yet  I  do  not  think 
that  a  fear  of  encroaching  upon  them  should  prevent  such  judicious 
grants  in  that  section  as  would  hiwe  a  tendency  to  develop  it.  I  am 
no  advocate  for  the  indiscriminate  granting  of  land  all  over  our  country 
wherever  asked  for.  But  where  there  is  a  section  which  cannot  be  de- 
veloped without  some  aid  of  this  kind,  then  it  is  wise  in  the  Government 
to  bring  it  into  use,  if  every  foot  of  the  soil  be  required  to  do  it.  The 
question  in  such  places  is  reduced  to  this  one  point :  Shall  the  soil  for- 
ever remain  idle  and  valueless,  or  shall  it  be  brought  into  use  by  giving 
portions  of  it  for  its  redemption. "? 

As  remarked  in  the  introduction,  there  are  facts  and  principles  -which 
hold  good  in  the  rain-moistened  sections  which  entirely  fail  in  the  West. 
In  the  former  each  quarter-section  can  be  brought  under  cultivation 
without  any  other  preparation  than  clearing  it  of  timber,  save  the 
swamps  and  rugged  mountains.  But  in  the  latter  water  must  be 
brought  to  the  lands  by  means  of  ditches  and  canals,  which,  as  iu  the 
case  of  the  higher  levels  and  broader  x>lains,  often  costs  an  outlay  of 
thousands  of  dollars.  Hence  co)nbination  or  capital  is  necessary,  in 
order  to  do  this  at  a  reasonable  cost  [)er  acre.  The  immediate  bottoms 
of  the  streams  can  and  will  be  brought  into  use  chiefly  by  individual 
efforts,  as  here  each  farm  can  have  its  own  acequia  at  a  moderate  ex- 
pense. But  these  compose  only  a  small  proi)ortion  of  the  lands  that  are 
susceptible  of  irrigation  and  culture.  The  greater  i)art  of  the  remainder 
Avill  require  ditches  or  canals  varying  from  five  to  fifty  or  inore  miles  in 
length,  yet  by  making  these  of  proper  dimensions  and  taking  iu  as  large. 


262       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 

a  scope  of  country  as  jiossible,  the  cost  per  acre  will  often  be  less  tliau 
tbat  of  the  lower  lands  where  each  farmer  digs  his  own  ditch.  Hence  it 
is  not  to  be  presumed  that  a  man  of  small  means,  who  is  seeking  a  home- 
stead under  the  law,  will  attempt  to  settle  in  a,  i:)lace  where  such  an 
outlay  as  this  is  required ;  and  jet  these  lands  when  irrigated  and  culti- 
vated*^ will  generally  prove  as  productive  as  the  bottoms  which  skirt  the 
streams.  No  more  likely  is  he  to  do  this  than  he  is  to  settle  in  a  bog  that 
m.ust  be  drained  at  a  heavy  expense  before  it  can  be  rendered  tillable. 
Therefore,  while  I  believe  it  is  proper  and  right  to  give  every  possible  in- 
ducement to  actual  settlers  of  "^mall  means,  that  they  may  have  permanent 
homes  of  their  own,  I  also  oelieve  that  the  chief  impetus  that  can  be 
given  to  bring  al)out  the  settlement  and  development  of  these  Terri- 
tories will  be  byjudicious  land  giants  to  colonies  and  railroad  companies. 
I  Icnow  there  is  a  strong  prejudice  growing  up  in  the  minds  of  a  large 
portion  of  the  people  against  such  grants,  and  probably  not  without 
reason  ;  yet,  while  striving  to  avoid  one  extreme,  an  evil  is  seldom  cured 
by  mulling  to  the  other.  And  while  I  would  advocate  limited  and  judi- 
cious grants  in  sections  where  irrigation  is  necessary,  I  do  not  include 
the  giving  of  aid  by  money  or  subsidies,  for  these  in  the  end  generally 
do  more  harm  than  good,  sometimes  absolutely  retar(|ing  that  develop- 
nient  of  the  country  which  would  be  made  through  the  eiforts  of  these 
companies  without  such  aid.  '^^ov,  as  a  general  thing,  is  it  best  to  make 
grants  to  railroad  companies  along  the  valley  of  one  large  stream  for 
any  great  distance,  if  the  price  of  the  alternate  sections  is  thereby  in- 
creased, as* this  would  abridge  the  privileges  of  settlers  and  purchasers 
of  small  means.  It  would  also  present  a  strong  temptation  to  the  com- 
pany to  purchase  the  remaining  sections  and  put  up  the  price,  and  thus 
fail  to  accomplish  the  very  object  for  which  such  grants  should  be  made. 

I  believe  the  true  policy,  so  far  as  the  country  immediately  east  of 
the  Eo(^ky  Mountains  is  concerned,  is  to  grant  inducements  to  the  con- 
struction of  roads  north  and  south,  at  such  a  distance  from  the  base  of 
these  mountains  as  to  compel  the  companies  to  cut  canals  of  considera- 
ble length  in  order  to  bring  their  lands  into  market.  For  example,  a 
very  judicious  grant  might  be  made  for  a  road  from  some  point  on  the 
Kansas  Paciftc  Eailroad  east  of  Denver,  (fifty  or  one  hundred  miles.) 
by  way  of  Cimarron  Pass  to  Albuquerque,  iu  New  ]\Iexico,  if  not  allowed 
to  run  too  close  to  the  mountains.  But  the  question  may  be  asked, 
Why  prevent  it  from  running  near  the  mountain  base?  because  here 
the  land  is  easily  irrigated,  and  will  be  settled  without  this  aid,  and, 
therefore,  not  only  is  such  a  grant  unnecessary  to  the  development  of 
this  section,  but  it  abridges  the  rights  granted  under  the  homestead 
laws.  Nor  is  it  good  policy,  on  account  of  the  importance  and  influence 
of  an  intermediate  town  or  locality,  to  bend  to  any  great  degree  to  meet 
this  demand,  for  the  importance  of  the  place  will  ultimately  give  it  a 
railroad  connection  without  Government  aid,  thus  increasing  the  rail- 
road facilities  under  the  same  grant. 

South  of  Albuquerque,  any  aid  given  shoiild  be  for  roads  running 
east  and  west,  rather  than  north  and  south,  as  here  the  general  course 
of  the  streams  is  south  instead  of  east.  It  w^ould  be  improper  for  me,  in 
this  report,  to  attempt  any  lengthy  argument  to  prove  this  position ; 
nor  is  it  ne(;essary,  for  the  careful  study  of  any  good  map  of  this  part 
of  the  West,  by  one  not  interested  iu  land  grants  or  railroads  there, 
will  convince  him  of  the  correctness  of  my  position,  if  he  takes  agricul- 
ture as  his  stand-point. 

Another  judicious  grant  might  be  made  for  a  road  running  from 
Cheyenne,  or  some  point  on  the  IJnion  Pacific  Railroad  east  of  Cheyenne, 


GEOLOGICAL    SIJEVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  263 

north  into  Montana,  following-  here  also  the  rnle  before  laid  down,  that 
is,  not  going  too  close  to  the  monntains,  and  not  allowing  it  to  coutiuue 
in  the  North  Platte  Valley  for  any  great  distance. 

Such  I  conceive  to  be  the  true  policy,  looking  at  the  matter  from  an 
agricultural  i)oint  of  view.  But  it  may  be  said  that  the  mining  interests 
demand  roails  into  the  mountains,  and  that  Crovernnient  should  foster 
this  branch  of  industry  as  well  as  any  other.  This  n)ay  be  true  in  part, 
but  I  think  the  Government  should  look  first  to  the  development  of 
that  which  has  the  most  elements  of  permanency,  and  which,  when  once 
put  in  motion,  will  continue  to  grow  and  increase  by  its  own  inherent 
vitality,  that  which  gives  homes,  happiness,  and  stability  to  its  citizens. 

And  besides  all  this,  if  the  main  trunks  are  built  along  the  ])lains 
parallel  with  the  ranges,  local  interests  will  induce  the  construction  of 
shorter  lines  into  tie'  mountains  wherever  needed.  It  is  not  worth 
while  for  me  to  elaborate 
readily  see  their  bearings. 

The  instances  given  are  only  used  as  illustrations,  as  there  are  other 
sections  where  judicious  grants  Jiiight  be  made,  and  which  would  be 
the  means  of  bringing  into  use  large  bodies  of  land  which  will  long  remain 
valueless  without  some  aid  of  this  kind.  I  mention  these  because  they 
are  within  the  bounds  of  the  territory  under  consideration  in  this  report. 
I  might  add,  also,  that  a  road  from  Salt  Lake  City  to  St.  George,  iu 
Utah,  would  greatly  assist  in  opening  up  a  very  important  section,  and 
would  form  one  link  in  the  great  line  which  will  some  day  traverse  the 
length  of  the  great  inter-alpine  trough  from  the  Dalles  to  the  mouth  of 
the  Colorado.  And  perhaps  it  might  render  valuable  assistance  in 
solving  a  troublesome  question;  and  it  is  always  better  to  cure  an  evil 
by  benefiting,  where  it  can  be  done,  than  by  harsh  nieasures,  be  they 
ever  so  just. 

These  roads,  wherever  they  pass  through  Indian  countries,  would 
not  only  greatly  lessen  the  expense  of  military  transportation,  but 
would  also  have  a  tendency  to  check  their  dei)redations.  Therefore  it 
is  not  wise  for  the  Government  so  to  bind  itself  by  treaties  that  the 
right  of  way  for  railroads  cannot  be  given  through  reservations.  In 
fact,  it  is  my  opinion  that  the  policy,  of  making  treaties  with  them,  as 
quasi-nationalities,  is  detrimental  to  the  agricultural  development  and 
best  interests  of  the  West.  Perhajis  I  ought  not  to  express  my  views 
so  strongly  on  a  collateral  topic.  But  the  Indian  question  does  have  a 
very  important  bearing  on  the  subject  of  this  report,  and  for  this  reason 
I  shall  brietly  allude  to  it  again. 

It  is  possible  that  some  general  law  might  be  passed  which  would 
induce  colonies  to  settle  isolated  sections  where  bodies  of  arable  land 
of  limited  extent  are  to  be  found.  Something  of  this  kind  is  certainly 
desirable  in  those  portions  of  these  Territories  where  there  is  no  pros- 
pect of  railroads  being  extended  to  them  for  some  time  to  come.  Assist- 
ance given  by  proper  grants  for  the  construction  of  leading  canals,  with 
reserved  rights  to  the  settlers  on  the  reserved  sections,  would  certainly 
be  a  means  of  bringing  into  market  and  into  use  large  bodies  of  laud 
which  will  otherwise  remain  for  a  long  time  idle. 

INDIANS. 

The  present  Indian  policy,  which  doubtless  looks  forward  to  the  local- 
izing and  settlement  of  these  roving  tribes,  is  intimately  connected  with 
the  agricultural  development  of  the  West.  Unless  they  are  localized 
and  made  to  enter  upon  agricultural  and  pastoral  pursuits  they  nuist 
ultimately  be  exterminated.     There  is  no  middle  ground  between  these 


264  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

extremes — one  or  the  other  must  be  the  final  result.  If  this  be  so — and 
I  think  it  will  be  conceded  by  all  who  have  given  the  subject  any  seri- 
ous refleotiou — tlien  it  is  very  important  that  the  agricultural  capacity 
of  the  Territories,  where  they  are  to  be  found,  should  be  ascertained  as 
soon  as  possible,  and  the  extent  and  locality  of  the  arable  district 
adapted  to  such  settlement  determined.  But  these  roving  sons  of  the 
Plains  know  nothing  of  agriculture,  they  know  nothing  of  the  princi- 
ples of  irrigation,  and  hence  they  must  be  taught,  and  to  do  this  the 
locality  for  each  tribe  must  be  fixed,  and  the  experiment  tried.  Some 
of  the' Indian  agents,  I  believe,  have  entered  upon  this  work,  which,  if 
properly  managed,  will  in  all  probability  result  in  more  good  than  any 
other  that  has  been  tried.  But  if  persuasion,  after  a  thorough  trial, 
fails  to  bring  a  tribe  to  terms,  then  compel  them  to  it ;  for  one  restless, 
roving  band  may  destroy  all  the  good  that  might  be  effected  with  half 
a  dozen  others.  Lend  a  helping,  fosteriug  hand  to  all  that  are  willing 
to  enter  upon  permanent  settlements,  but  make  no  treaties  and  grant  no 
annuities  to  those  that  refuse  to  come  to  these  terms.  If  extermhia- 
tion  is  the  result  of  non-compliance,  then  compulsion  is  an  act  of  mercy. 
The  how,  I  leave  to  others  to  decide.  But  looking  at  it  from  the  agri- 
cultural side  of  the  question,  I  certainly  conceive  it  to  be  a  necessity. 

ARTESIAN  WELLS. 

The  possibility  of  obtaining  water  upon  the  plains  by  means  of  arte- 
sian wells  has  engaged  the  minds  of  many  persons  for  a  number  of  years, 
but  thus  far  the  attempts  have  not  proved  successful.  The  one  made  by 
General  Pope  on  the  Llano  Estacado,  in  Xew  Mexico,  is  well  known,  but 
the  failure  in  this  case,  if  it  can  truly  be  called  a  failure,  has  not  been  sufii- 
cient  to  decide  the  question,  especially  in  regard  to  that  portion  of  the  coun- 
try lying  north  of  the  "  Staked  Plains,"  where  the  conditions  are  different. 

The  latest  attempt  of  which  I  have  any  knowledge  is  the  one  recently 
made  at  Kit  Carson,  on  the  line  of  the  Kansas  Pacific  Kailway.  The 
following  account  of  this  work  I  take  from  a  recent  communication  on 
the  subject  to  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden,  from  Mr.  R.  S.  Elliot,  industrial  agent 
of  this  railroad  company  : 

Strata  passed  through  (iucluding  the  wood  conductor  near  the  surface)  are  as  follows : 

Feet.  Feat. 


Conductor  of  wood  from  the  surface.  40 

Blue  mud 200 

Gray  slate 700 

Magnesian  limestone 70 


Gray  sand  rock 30 

Black  slate 100 

Slate  and  shale  mixed 100 

Black  slate,  (in  which  the  boring  stop- 
ped)   160 


Total  depth 1,460 


Captain  Grant,  who  has  charge  of  the  work,  states  that  at  the  depth  of  three  hundred 
feet  a  crevice  was  reached,  another  at  three  hundred  and  forty  feet,  and  auother  at  four 
hundred  feet ;  and  tliat  at  the  depth  of  four  hundred  and  iifty  feet  a  tloAv  of  salt  water 
was  obtained,  but  that  at  no  point  has  any  fresh  water  been  found.  From  the  crevices 
struck,  and  from  the  size  of  the  pieces  of  shale,  slate,  &c.,  brought  up,  he  infers  that  the 
strata  are  inclined  at  a  high  angle.  When  the  work  stopped  the  water  arose  above  the 
point  at  Avhich  it  comes  in,  but" how  near  the  surface  it  stands  has  not  been  ascertained. 
Whether  the  company  will  continue  its  operations  here,  or  not,  has  not  been  determined. 

Although  this  experiment  does  not  decide  the  question,  yet  on  the 
whole  the  result  is  unfavorable,  and  indicates,  to  say  the  least,  that  to 
obtain  flowing  fresh  water  a  great  depth  will  be  required.  I  am  there- 
fore inclined  to  think  it  is  best  not  to  count  upon  these  as  a  means  of 
increasing  the  breadth  of  tillable  land. 

I  believe  an  attempt  has  been  made  at  Lincoln,  in  Nebraska,  but  am 
not  informed  as  to  its  progress  or  probability  of  success. 


L— A  LIST  AND   DESCRIPTION  OF   NEW  SPECIES   OF    011- 

THOPTERA. 


By  Prof.  Cyrus  Thomas. 


LIST. 


GRYLLIDES. 


Stcnopelmafiis,  Santa  F<^,  New  Jloxico.     Too  mncli  mutilated  to  be  determined. 
GriiUiifi  abhnriaiiis,  Serv.     Found  throughout  eastern  Colorado. 

OiTanlhiis  nlvcus,  Harr.  Found  along  the  streams  from  Fort  Fetterman  to  Eaton 
Mountains. 

LOCUSTARI.E. 

Anahrus  Haldcmanmi,  Girard.  South  Park,  Colorado,  and  near  Laramie  Kiver  east  of  tho 
Black  Hills,  Wyoming. 

Anahrus  Sievcnsoiiii,  Thos.    Northeastern  New  Mexico. 

Anahrus  minutus,  Thos.     Nertheastorn  New  Mexico. 

Thamnoiri-on  (Anahrus)  2)ur2)urasecens,  Uhler.  South  Park,  Colorado,  and  near  Lara- 
mie River,  east  of  the  Black  Hills,  Wyoming. 

Thamnotrizon  trilineafus,  Thos.     Northeastern  New  IMexico,  and  South  Pass,  Wyoming. 

EpMppitiltlia  gracilipes,  Thos.     Southeastern  Colorado. 

OrclitJhnum  vulgare,  Harr.  Found  throughout  the  eastern  j^art  of  Colorado  and 
Wyoming. 

Xiphidium  yasciatum,  Serv.     Colorado. 

L'dvopsijUa  rohusta,  Hald.     Throughout  Colorado,  Wyoming,  and  Utah. 

Ceuthophilus  divergcns,  Scudd.  Hardscrabble  Creek,  Colorado,  and  Eed  Buttes, 
Wyoming. 

ACRIDII. 

Opnmola  nco-mexkana,  Thos.    Northern   New  Mexico,   and  along  Cottonwood  Creek, 

Wyoming. 
Acridium  flaro-fasciatum,  De  Geer.     Southeastern  Colorado. 
Caloptenus  hlvittatus,  Say.     Colorado,  Wyoming,  and  Utah. 
Calopienus  sjiretus,  Vhler.    I  have  traced  this  species  from  the  borders  of  Nevada  and 

Idaho  on  the  west,  to  Missouri  and  Iowa  on  the  east,  and  from  the  Eaton  Mouutains 

on  the  south  to  the  Big  Horn  Mountains  on  the  north,  but  have  discovered  its  limits 

oidy  toward  the  south  and  east. 
Caloptcnus  femur-ruhrum,  De  Geer.     Common  east  of  the  Eocky  Mountains. 
Fezotittix  horealis,  Scudd.     Mountains  east  of  Middle  Park. 
rccotettix  picta,  Thos.    From  Ciieyenne  south  to  the  Arkansas  Eiver. 
Brachjpeplus  magnus,  Girard.    Along  the  head-Avaters  of  the  Arkansas,  and  near  the 

Laramie  Eiver  east  of  the  Black  Hills.  * 

BoUjKdoH  mihilum,  Thos.    Near  Canon  City,  Colorado. 
Boopcdonflavo-fasciaium,  Thos.     Southeastern  Colorado. 
Ocdipoda  Carolina,  Linn.    Found  at  a  few  points  in   Colorado,  especially  south  of 

Denver. 
Ocdipoda  coraUipes,  Hald.     Colorado,  Wyoming,  and  Utah. 
Ocdipoda  aequalis,  Say.      Common  in  Colorado  and  Wyoming.     This  is  an  extremely 

variable  species. 
Ocdipoda  trifasciata,  Thos.      Common  throughout  Wyoming,  Colorado,  Northern  New 

Mexico,  and  Northern  Utah,  on  the  elevated  plateaus. 
Ocdipoda  ncjlecta,  Thos.     Eastern  Colorado   and  North  Platte  Valley,  west  of  Fort 

Fetterman.     I  have  also  collected  some  specimens  in  Southern  Illinois  which  appear 

to  be  identical  with  this  species. 
Ocdipoda  carlingiana,  Thos.     Colorado  and  Wyoming. 
Ocdipoda  cincia,  Thos.   '  Southeastern  Colorado. 
Tomonoins  Alcxicanus,  Sauss.     New  Mexico. 
Tumonotus  nietanus,  Sauss.    Southeastern  Colorado  and  Southeastern  Wyoming 


266  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

Tomonotns  lisemJo-Juctanus,  Thos.  Near  Canou  City,  Colorado,  and  near  Fort  Fetternian, 
Wyoming-. 

Stauronoliis  ElliotU,  Thos.     Colorado  and  Wyoming. 

{Grijllus)  formosiis,  Say.  Southeastern  Colorado.  A  new  genus  will  have  to  be  estab- 
lished for  the  reception  of  this  species. 

AcroloplHius  hiriijxs,  Thos.  Near  Canon  City,  Colorado,  and  at  Fort  D.  A.  Russell 
\Vyomiug. 

Stenohothrus  ohioims,  Thos.     Southern  Colorado. 

Stenohothnis  britiuwus,  Thos.     Colorado  and  Wyoming. 

Stenohothriw  quadrimaculatus,  Thos.     Colorado  and  Wyoming. 

DESCRIPTIONS. 

Altbong'li  most  of  tlie  followiDg  species  have  been  described  by  me, 
and  the  deseri])tions  publisbed  in  the  "  Proceedings  of  the  Academy  of 
Natural  Sciences,  Philadelphia,"  for  1870,  (pp.  74-84,)  yet  it  is  proper 
that  the  descriptions  shonld  be  inserted  here,  as  they  constitute  a  part 
of  the  work  of  the  expedition.  Those  only  will  be  marked  as  new  which 
are  here  described  for  the  first  time. 

I  follow  the  arrangement  adopted  by  Scudder  in  hiscatalogaie,  although 
it  is  not  altogether  the  one  I  should  prefer. 

LOCUSTARI^. 

ANABRUS,  (HALD.) 

The  characters  of  this  genus  were  not  fully  given  by  Professor  Ilal- 
deman  when  he  established  it,  and  those  subsequently  added  by  Gi- 
rard  are  scarcely  sufficient  to  distinguish  it  from  other  closely  allied 
genera.  Having  both  sexes  of  three  species,  I  give  the  following  as 
the  i)rincip?.l  characters : 

General  character :  Head  large,  smooth,  advanced  in  front  between  the 
antemne.  Pronotum  selliform,  extending  over  the  base  of  the  abdomen ; 
rounded  and  smooth ;  anterior  portion  of  the  sides  reaching  below  the 
eyes ;  posterior  margin  and  angles  round.  Presternum  bidentate ;  pos- 
terior angles  of  the  meso-sternum  elevated  and  acute.  Elytra  very  short, 
ha\'ing  the  form  of  scales  in  the  males ;  covered  by  the  i)ronotum  in  the 
females.  Antenntr.  longer  than  the  body,  sometimes  extending  beyond 
the  ovipositor.  Eyes  ovate;  labrum  round;  maxillary  palpi  twice  the 
length  of  the  labial,  the  three  outer  joints  nearly  equal,  terminal  enlarged 
at  the  tip.  Abdomen  stout,  of  moderate  length ;  the  sub-anal  i)late  of 
the  male  large,  slightly  notched  at  the  tip,  furnished  laterally  with  filiform 
appendages  which  appear  to  be  articulated  at  the  base ;  the  cerci  (or 
substituted  appendages)  sub-cylindrical,  enlarged  and  generally  bifurcate 
at  the  extremity.  Ovipositor  long,  bent  beyond  the  middle.  Cerci  in 
the  female  small  and  generally  hairy.  Legs  slender ;  posterior  pair  very 
long;  femora  enlarged  next  the  body,  but  slender  and  straight  beyond 
the  middle,  as  long  as  the  body  (omitting  the  head) ;  posterior  tibia 
long  as  the  femora,  slender ;  all  the  tibiiu  provided  with  four  rows  of 
spines,  the  anterior  rows  often  scattered  and  irregular.  A  stout  deutic- 
uloid  process  above  the  anterior  coxa.  The  tarsi  broad,  soles  concave ; 
third  articulation  cordate. 

This  genus  dift'ers  so  slightly,  in  description,  from  Thyreonotus  (Serv.,) 
that  there  is  scarcely  a  necessity  for  its  retention ;  but  an  examination 
of  the  species  is  necessary  to  decide  this  jioint.  A  imrpurascens  (Uhler) 
not  having  the  prosternum  spined,  has  been  removed  to  Thamnotrizon^ 
(Fisch.) 

A.  ^Stevensonii,  Thos.  Syn.,  A.  Stcvensonii,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat. 
Sci.,  Phila.,  1870,  p.  75.) — Female:  Purple  mottled  with  yellow;  form 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       267 

aud  coloring  somewhat  similar  to  A.  imrimrascens^  (Uhler,)  but  smaller 
and  slenderer  in  all  its  parts.  Face  wliite,  the  transverse  suture  below 
the  front  fuscus  ;  tips  of  the  mandibles  piceous ;  palpi  pale,  the  penul- 
timate joints  of  the  maxillary  palpi  striped  with  purple  above  ;  anteu- 
nie  long  and  slender,  reaching  nearly  to  the  extremity  of  the  ovipositor, 
dusky ;  cranium  cinereous,  with  the  vertex,  and  a  line  extending  back 
from  each  eye,  dull  white.  Pronotum  short,  not  carinated,  a  slight 
transverse  incision  near  the  front ;  two  oblique  dorsal  impressions,  dark 
and  very  narrow  ;  surface  smooth,  lurid  ;  a  large  black  spot  occupying 
the  central  portions  of  the  sides  behind  the  transverse  incision ;  lateral 
margins  broadly,  and  anterior  nuirgins  narrowly  bordered  with  pale 
yellow;  posterior  angles  tipped  with  piceous  black.  Elytra  hid  beneath 
the  pronotum.  Abdomen  dull  purple,  somewhat  darker  along  the  sides. 
Ovipositor  vslightly  curved  beyond  the  middle,  piceous  at  the  tip  ;  cerci 
slender,  hairy ;  beneath  dull  white.  Anterior  and  middle  legs  short ; 
femora  slender  and  straight ;  posterior  legs  very  long  and  slender ;  fe- 
mora and  tibia?,  each  the  length  of  the  body,  omitting  the  head ;  all  pale 
puri)lish-yeliow ;  femora  smooth;  tibia?  with  spines  irregularly  placed  ou 
the  angles,  also  on  the  rounded  portion,  black  at  the  tips.  The  spine 
above  the  anterior  coxa  pale,  slender,  and  bent  abruptly  downward. 

Length  1.13  inches;  pronotum  .20  inch;  posterior  femora  .93  inch; 
ovipositor  .75  inch. 

Habitat :  Southern  Colorado,  on  elevated  grassy  terraces  near  the 
mountains  and  the  parks.  Named  in  honor  of  Mr.  James  Stevenson, 
a  member  of  the  expedition,  who  has  for  a  number  of  years  accompanied 
Dr.  Ilayden  in  his  western  explorations,  and  has  been  a  diligent  collector 
of  specimens  in  all  departments  of  natural  history. 

A.  m'niutKs,T\iOii.  )^yn.,  A.  minutus,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci., 
Phila.,  1870,  p.  75.) — Male:  Similar  in  coloring  and  appearance  to  the 
A.  Steveusonii.  Face  mottled  with  purple ;  a  dark  spot  below  each  eye ; 
a  narrow  line  running  back  from  the  upper  corner  of  each  eye;  craniuui 
cinereous;  head  somewhat  covered  by  the  pronotum.  Pronotum  short, 
rounded,  smooth ;  transverse  incision  almost  obliterated  ;  oblique  dorsal 
iiui)ressions  irregular;  dorsal  portions  cinereous  ;  sides  with  a  triangular 
black  spot,  interrupted  by  light  spaces,  broadly  margined  with  dull  white: 
lateral  angles  tipped  with  piceous-black.  Elytra  short,  extending  over 
the  second  abdominal  segment;  margins  pale  yellow,  central  portions 
brown.  Abdomen  cinereous,  a  darker  line  along  the  sides;  notch  of  tlie 
sub-anal  plate  very  small ;  appendages  small,  hair^* ;  the  tip  of  the  last 
dorsal  segment  strongly  bitid,  denticulate.  The  cerci  (I  nse  this  term 
for  those  appendages  supplying  the  place  of  cerci)  slightly  bent,  bifurcate. 
Legs  same  color  as  the  abdomen  and  cranium ;  anterior  pair  quite  short ; 
the  middle  pair  a  little  longer ;  the  posterior  xevy  long,  femora  marked 
with  a  dark  line  along  the  upper  carina ;  tibine  slender,  spines  tipped  with 
brown.     Antennae  at  least  twice  as  long  as  the  body. 

Length,  .75  inch ;  posterior  femora,  .02  inch ;  elytra,  beyond  the  pro- 
notum, .1  inch. 

Female:  Similar  to  the. male  in  appearance,  coloring,  and  size.  Cerci 
small,  hairy.  Ovipositor  bent,  slightly  narrowed  in  the  middle;  brotvn 
at  the  tip.    Length  as  in  the  male ;  ovipositor,  .55  inch. 

Habitat :  Elevated  grassy  terraces  in  Southern  Colorado,  South  Park. 

Some  specimens  of  these  two  species  have,  ou  the  under  side  of  the 
posterior  femora,  about  four  or  five  abortive  spines,  especially  the  older 
or  more  mature  ones.  Sometimes  the  places  of  these  spines  are  indicated 
l)y  mere  points,  visible  only  under  a  glass.  This  fact  may  be  important 
in  fixing  the  position  of  this  geuus,  which  is  evidently  one  of  transition. 


268  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF.    THE    TERRITORIES. 

THAMjNfOTRIZON,  (FISCHER.) 

T.2)urpnrascens,  Thos.  Syn.,  Anabriis purpurascens, Uhler.  (Proc.  Acad. 
iN'at.  Sci.,  Phila.,  p.  — .) — I liave removed tliis species  from^  Ancihrus  because 
the  prosteruum  is  not  spined,  which  must  be  a  promiueut  character  of 
that  geuus  to  retain  the  other  species.  The  original  description  by  Mr. 
Uhler  is  so  full  and  clear  that  any  addition  is  wholly  unnecessary. 

Found  in  South  Park  in  considerable  numbers,  also  in  Wyoming,  east 
of  the  Black  Hills,  on  elevated  plateaus. 

T.  trilineatus,  Thos.  Syn.,  T.  triUneatus,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci., 
Phila.,  1870,  p.  70.) — Female :  Small,  somewhat  like  Anahrus  minutus, 
(Thos.,)  but  showing  some  important  variations  which  place  it  in  a  differ- 
ent genus.  Head  moderate  size,  immersed  in  the  pronotum  nearly  to 
the  eyes ;  occiput  very  short,  convex ;  vertex  rounded  between  the 
antenna?,  slightly  advanced  in  front,  this  advanced  portion  triangular 
and  deilexed ;  face  short,  broad,  smooth  and  somewhat  convex ;  labrum 
large,  round.  Palpi  rather  longer  than  usual,  slender,  cylindrical,  ter- 
minal joint  of  the  maxillary  palpi  longest.  Pronotum  small,  rounded, 
not  carinated;  advanced  in  front  over  the  back  of  the  head,  margin 
round,  or  sub-truncate;  posterior  extremity  advanced  over  the  base  of 
the  abdomen,  round  ;  sides  narrowed  below,  reaching  down  about  as  far 
as  the  lower  border  of  the  eyes ;  posterior  margin  of  the  sides  sloped  quite 
obliquely,  slightly  sinuate.  Antennne  reach  the  tip  of  the  ovipositor. 
Ovipositor  about  the  length  of  the  body,  slightly  bent ;  cerci  short,  stout, 
covered  with  minute,  d€?i)ressed  hairs;  the  plate  between  them  triangu- 
lar. Prosternum  not  spined.  Anterior  tibiie  with  two  spines  in  front; 
medial  with  two  rows  on  the  outside,  4  (counting  the  one  at  the  base) 
and  2.     Posterior  legs  wanting  in  the  only  specimen  obtained. 

Color  (siccus  :)  testaceous  green,  striped  and  varied  with  pale  yellow. 
Face  testaceous,  palest  below,  with  a  brown  spot  at  each  lower  corner. 
Three  pale,  tolerably  broad,  yellow  stripes  reach  from  the  head  to  the 
end  of  the  abdomen ;  one  along  the  middle  of  the  back,  and  one  along 
each  side.  Two  oblique  black  marks  on  the  back  of  the  pronotum  about 
the  middle  ;  lower  margins  of  the  sides  yellow ;  beneath  pale.  Ovipos- 
itor fuscus.    Antennse  dusky.     Legs  purplish  ;  tarsi  piceous. 

Dimensions:  length,  .75  inch;  to  the  end  of  the  pronotum  from  the 
vertex,  .34  inch;  ovipositor,  .73  inch. 

Habitat:  Southeast  Colorado.  Some  specimens  not  yet  examined, 
which  may  belong  to  this  species,  found  near  South  Pass. 

ErHIPPITYTHA,    (SERV.) 

This  group,  which  is  given  by  Serville  as  a  sub- geuus  of  Phaneroptera, 
is  distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the  Phaneropteres  by  characters  of  suf- 
ficient importance  to  justify  me  in  raising  it  to  a  genus.  1  have  not 
examined  a  sufficient  number  of  specimens  to  enable  me  to  write  out  the 
generic  characters  in  full,  but  will  mention  the  following: 

Pronotum  selliform,  somewhat  scooped  on  ^ the  latter  half,  which  is 
slightly  elevated,  and  rounded;  femora  more  or  less  spined;  vertex 
t'uberculate.    Elytra  and  wings  passing  the  abdomen,  latter  longest. 

E.  gracilipes,  Thos.  Syn.,  E.  gnicilipes,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci., 
Phila.,  1870,  p.  7G.) — IMale:  Small,  slender;  legs  very  long  and  debcate; 
occiput  short,  convex,  terminating  in  a  triangular  tubercle  at  the  vertex, 
not  raised  above  the  first  joint  of  the  antennse,  nor  passing  between  them ; 
face  vertical,  straight,  flat,  terminating  upward  just  above  the  ceiiti'al 
ocellus  in  a  shar^)  angle;   ocellus  situated  exactly  between  the  lower 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       269 

borders  of  the  folds  around  tlie  base  of  the  auteniuw  Pronotnm  siib- 
cvliudrical  iu  frout,  widened  and  elevated  ])osteriorly;  a  slight  trans- 
verse indenture  each  side,  a  little  behind  the  middle;  not  cariin\ted,  but 
a  medium  line  is  visible  along-  the  dorsum  ;  surface  smooth.  Elytra  rery 
narrow,  nearly  straight,  passing"  the  abdomen  one  third  their  length. 
Abdomen  sub-cylindrical;  the  sub-anal  plate  notched  and  bi-spinose ; 
cerci  stout,  hairy,  curved  and  mucronate  ;  up[)er  plate  semicircular. 
Prosternum  not  spined;  meso-  and  meta-steruum  obliquely  elevated  at 
the  i)Osterior  angles,  obtuse. 

Color  (siccus:)  pale  yellow.  A  roseate  stripe  on  the  frontal  tubercle; 
second  joint  of  tlie  antenna^  orange-yellow;  a  bright  yellow  curved  line 
runs  from  the  upper  canthus  of  each  eye  to  the  pronotum,  where  they 
meet  with  broader  lines  on  the  pronotum,  which,  converging  posteriorly, 
fade  near  the  middle  of  the  dorsum.  Anterior  portion  of  the  pronotum 
dotted  with  red.  Stridulating  organs  Aery  small,  roseate.  Elytra  and 
wings  pellucid.  Abdomen  minutely  dotted  with  reddish-brown.  Tips 
of  tlu^  cerci  black. 

Dimensions:  length,  .75  inch;  to  t'ip  of  the  wings,  1.25  inch;  Aviugs 
l^ass  the  elytra  (about)  .25  inch;  femora,  .1  inch;  tibia,  .95  inch. 

Habitat :  Southern  Colorado.     Unique  specimen. 

ORCHELIMUM,  (SERV.) 

0.  rulgare,  Harr. — The  specimens  I  have  marked  as  belonging  to  this 
species  may  prove  to  be  new,  as  they  vary  considerably  from  the  type. 

CETJTHGPHILUS,    (SCUDD.) 

C.  (lirergens,  Scudd. — My  specimens  vary  from  the  description  of  this 
species  in  having  the  hind  femora  of  the  females  spined,  the  spines  verj- 
short.  There  are  also  one  or  two  slender  spines  on  the  front  part  of  the 
anterior  tibi;e  not  mentioned  in  Mr.  Scudder's  description,  yet  I  think 
they  belong  to  this  species. 

ACRIDID^E. 

(Truxalides.) 
OPOIVIOLA,  (SERV.) 

0.  nco-mexicana,  Thos.  Syn.,  0.  neo-mexicana,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad. 
Kat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  1870,  i).  77.) — Female:  Long,  slender,  truxaloid.  Head 
conical;  occiput  convex,  ascending  to  the  somewhat  elevated  vertex; 
vertex  convex,  ascending,  sub-margined,  rotund,  rather  elongate  before 
the  eyes ;  face  very  oblique ;  frontal  ridge  distinct,  sides  parallel,  slightly 
sulcate;  lateral  carmne  distinct,  obtuse,  divergent,  reaching  the  lower 
corners  of  the  face.  Antenufe  strongly  ensiform,  triquetrous,  reaching 
to  the  tip  of  the  pronotum ;  inserted  in  deep  foveolfC  under  the  frout  of 
the  cone.  Pronotum  about  as  long  as  the  head  ;  sides  i)arallel ;  all  its 
•parts  very  regular;  tricarinate,  carinas  not  elevated  but  distinct,  all 
about  equal;  obtusely  rounded  anteriorly  and  posteriorly.  Elytra  a 
little  shorter  than  the  abdomen ;  wings  a  little  shorter  than  the  elytra. 
Posterior  femora  reach  the  extremity  of  the  abdomen;  very  slender. 
Prosternal  point  short  and  obtuse,  scarcely  more  than  a  i)ointed 
tubercle. 

Color  (immediately  after  being  taken  out  of  alcohol,  in  which  it  had 
been  immersid  for  some  months:)  Face  yellow,  dotted  with  red;  lateral 


270        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

carinfe  rosaceous;  on  the  top  of  tlie  head  a  faint  roseate  stripe  runs 
from  the  end  of  the  cone  to  the  pronotum,  bordered  on  each  side  by  a 
yellow  stripe ;  from  the  lower  part  of  each  eye  starts  a  bright-red  stripe, 
which,  running  back  across  the  head,  continues  along-  the  upper  portion 
of  the  side  of  the  pronotum  to  its  extremity  and  is  lost  on  the  elytra. 
Median  carina  of  the  pronotum  re<l,  the  dorsal  spaces  yellow ;  lower 
portion  of  the  sides  yellow.  Elytra  semi-transparent ;  base  and  strij^e 
along  the  dorsal  margin  roseate.  Wings  transparent ;  A'eins  ochreous. 
Abdomen  dull  yellow,  reddish  on  the  basal  segments.  Legs  rufous; 
posterior  femora  have  a  pale  stripe  along  the  upper  edge ;  spines  of  the 
posterior  tibia  tipped  with  black. 

Dimensions :  Length  1.(52  inch ;  to  tip  of  elytra  1.50  inch ;  to  ex- 
tremity of  the  pronotum,  .52  inch ;  femora,  .88  inch ;  tibia,  .86  inch. 

Habitat :  Kortheast  New  Mexico. 

I  have  not  seen  the  male.  This  species  comes  near  0.  mexicana^ 
(Sauss.,)  but  differs  from  it  in  the  following  respects:  The  antenuiie  are 
not  rotuudate,  but  sharply  triquetrous ;  the  pronotum  is  carinate,  al- 
though the  cariuPB  are  but  raised  lines,  yet  very  distinct ;  and  although 
the  posterior  lobe  is  minutely  punctured,  the  pronotum  cannot  be  truly 
called  "  densely  punctate."    It  approaches  closely  to  Truxalis. 

(Mucronati.) 

PEZOTETTIX,   (BURM.) 

P.  picta,  Thos.  Syn,,  P.  picta,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad.  ISTat.  Sci.,  Phila., 
1870,  1).  78.) — Medium  size,  body  elongate,  stout  sub-cylindrical,  occiput 
convex ;  vertex  deflexed,  flat  and  narrow  between  the  eyes,  suddenly 
expanding  in  front,  this  advanced  portion  transverse  and  triangular ; 
the  frontal  ridge  somewhat  convex,  with  a  very  slight  depression  at  the 
central  ocellus ;  eyes  large,  i)rominent,  oval ;  antenniTe  filiform,  nearly  as 
long  as  the  head  and  thorax.  Sides  of  the  pronotum  parallel  in  the  male, 
and  very  slightly  divergent  posteriorly  in  the  female;  carinas  obliterated 
by  the  sub-cylindrical  form ;  posterior  margins  of  the  sides  obliquely 
sloped,  but  not  sinuous ;  posterior  angle  rounded ;  a  slight  transverse 
incision  each  side  close  to  the  front  margin ;  the  three  usual  transverse 
incisions  distinct,  crossing  the  dorsum  in  the  female,  the  posterior  one  only 
crossing  in  the  male;  anterior  margin  and  posterior  lobe  densely  punc- 
tate, remainder  smoother  and  sparsely  punctate.  Elytra  very  small, 
oblong-ovate,  reaching  the  tip  of  the  second  segment;  not  meeting  on 
the  back ;  nerves  reticulate,  prominent,  wings  minute.  Posterior  fem- 
ora stout,  short,  not  reaching  the  extremity  of  the  abdomen.  Sub-anal 
plate  of  the  male  recurved  with  a  kind  of  tubercle  or  prominence  on 
the  convex  surface ;  upper  plate  falcate ;  cerci  small.  Prosternal  spine 
stout,  conical. 

Color  (siccus :)  alternating  rings  of  dark  purple  and  white.  The  dark 
stripes  are  placed  as  follows :  down  the  frontal  ridge ;  on  the  occiput ; 
down  each  cheek ;  two  interrupted  broad  stripes  running  obliquely 
upward  and  backward  from  the  anterior  margin  and  angle  of  the  prono- 
tum; four  spots  on  the  base  of  each  dorsal,  and  two  on  each  ventral 
segment  of  the  abdomen,  (sometimes  running  into  a  continuous  ring  ;) 
posterior  femora  crossed  by  three  broad  bands.  The  nerves  of  the 
elytra  white,  the  spaces  black.     Colors  of  the  male  and  female  the  same. 

Dimensions:  Female — length,  1.30  inch;  femora,  .6  inch;  pronotum, 
.28  inch.  Male — length,  .95  to  1  inch;  femora,  .5  inch;  pronotum,  .20 
inch. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       271 

Habitat :  From  Cheynne  south  to  Eaton  Mountains,  on  the  plains  and 
foothills  at  the  eastern  base  of  the  range. 

When  living  tliis  is  a  very  pretty  insect,  the  dark  stripes  being  mar- 
gined by  red,  which  fades  when  immersed  in  alcohol,  tlie  black  also  be- 
coming paler  and  assuming  a  purplish  cast.  This  may  possibly  belong 
to  Bactylotum,  Charp,  but  I  am  not  fully  acquainted  with  the  characters 
of  tbat  genus. 

{Mi(ticL) 

BEACHYPEPLUS,   (CHARP.) 

As  Charpentier,  at  the  time  he  established  this  genus,  failed  to  give 
its  characters,  and  the  description  of  Girard  is  so  short  and  deficient,  I 
give,  from  a  large  number  of  specimens,  what  I  conceive  to  be  the  dis- 
tinguishing characteristics. 

Generic  characters:  Body  very  robust,  acridoid.  Occiput  broad, 
convex,  smooth ;  vertex  margined  -,  frontal  ridge  broad,  short,  slightly 
sulcate,  expanding  below;  lateral  carinas  distinct,  with  a  sulcus  behind 
each;  antenna!  foveolte  deep,  oblong;  cheeks  prominent.  Pronotum 
large,  elongate,  tricarinate;  carina  distinct,  continuous;  widest  below, 
expanding  posteriorly,  sides  straight,  generally  chagrined  above,  witli 
the  sides  glabrous;  no  transverse  incisions  on  the  dorsum;  anterior 
margin  rounded,  extending  slightly  on  the  head;  posterior  margin 
round.  Elytra  and  wings  rudimentary,  (in  the  known  species.)  Legs 
very  robust;  posterior  femora  long,  as  the  abdomen,  swollen;  tibune 
strongly  spined  nearly  the  entire  length.  Antennae  filiform,  joints  dis- 
tinct ;  long  as  the  head  and  thorax.  Sub-anal  plate  of  the  male  tumid 
entire ;  cerci  very  short ;  female  appendages  stout,  broad.  Palpi  short, 
joints  all  enlarged  at  the  tip ;  the  three  outer  joints  of  the  maxillary 
palpi  nearly  equal,  the  ultimate  a  little  the  longest.  Prosternum  neither 
spined  nor  tuberculate.  Abdomen  somewhat  compressed,  carinated 
above.    A  well-marked  and  distinct  genus. 

B.  magnus^  Girard.  (Marcy's  Expl.  Eed  Eiver  of  Lous.,  p.  2G0,  PI. 
XV,  figs.  1-4.) — This  ponderous  species  is  easily  recognized  by  the 
figures  referred  to,  but  the  description  is  quite  deficient;  therefore,  to 
aid  future  investigations,  I  give  it  more  minutely. 

(Siccus.)  Yellow,  spotted  with  brown.  Occiput  convex,  very  slightly 
scabrous,  an  indistinct  line  running  along  the  middle  to  the  vertex,  a 
few  fine  shallow  pnnctures  visible ;  the  elevated  margins  of  the  vertex 
meet  in  about  a  right  angle  at  the  front ;  frontal  ridge,  although  nar- 
row above  and  gradually  exi)anding  as  it  descends,  is  not  narrowed 
opposite  the  anteunte;  margins  distinct,  obtuse ;  sulcus  shallow,  expand- 
ing and  fading  below,  ininctured.  Pronotum  with  three  distinct,  con- 
tinuou's  piceous  carina} ;  dorsum  strongly  chagrined,  yellowish,  with  igne- 
ous luster ;  sometimes,  especially  in  the  females,  there  is  a  yellow  line 
along  each  margin  of  the  dorsum ;  sides  purplish  at  the  upper  angles, 
yellowish  below.  Elytra  ovate,  reaching  the  third  abdominal  segment; 
nerves  longitudinal,  slightly  branching  near  theextreuuty;  light  brown, 
spotted  with  black.  Wings  very  small,  yellow.  Abdomen  marked  with 
a  brown  spot  each  side  of  each  segment ;  each  segment  is  also  margined 
with  a  row  of  white  dots.     Legs  as  described  by  Girard. 

Dimensions:  Length,  (female,)  2  inches;  pronotum,  .55  inch ;  elytra, 
.3  inch ;  femora,  1.25  inch.  Males  about  one-fourth  less.  Size  varies 
considerably. 

Habitat :  From  Fort  Laramie  south  to  Santa  Fe.  The  green  and 
brown  varieties  were  both  observed;  but  after  being  immersed  for  some 


272  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

time  ill  alcohol  these  colors  fade,  and  all  distinctions  between  the  two 
are  lost. 

BOOPEDOX,    (THOS.) 

Generic  characters:  Has  somewhat  the  appearance  of  Fezoteftjx. 
Body  robnst.  Head  large,  exceeding  the  thorax  in  width,  widest  below  ; 
seen  from  the  side  presents  a  somewhat  semicircular  outline,  deflexed 
below;  occiput  convex;  vertex  sloping,  broad,  sometimes  exhibiting  a 
shallow  foveola,  usually  rliomboidal,  with  a  slight  median  carina;  frontal 
ridge  prominent,  not  sulcate,  margins  obtuse  and  nearly  parallel.  An- 
tennae nearly  as  long  as  the  head  and  thorax,  inserted  in  deep,  oblong 
foveolse.  Pronotumof  medium  length,  sides  parallel;  subtruncate  in 
front;  posterior  angle  obtuse ;  three  transverse  incisions;  the  posterior 
about  the  middle,  cutting  the  median  carina  ;  median  carina  distinct,  but 
not  elevated  ;  lateral  carince  obsolete.  Elytra  shorter  than  the  abdomen 
in  the  female,  about  the  length  of  the  abdomen  in  the  male ;  inflated 
near  the  base,  narrowed  at  the  apex ;  two  longitudinal  veins  dividing 
the  entire  surface  into  three  nearly  equal  tields.  Posterior  femora  stout, 
narrowed  at  the  tip,  passing  the  abdomen ;  tibia  spined,  enlarged  at 
the  tip.  Ultimate  joint  of'the  maxillary  palpi  enlarged  at  the  end, 
truncate.  Prosternum  with  the  anterior  half  tumid ;  the  latter  half 
cleft  by  a  longitudinal  sulcus.  Pectus  sub-convex  or  flat.  Anal  ap- 
pendages of  the  female  short  and  obtuse  ;  sub-anal  plate  of  the  male 
keeled,  trigonal,  and  turned  up. 

This  is  a  very  distinct  genus,  having  a  somewhat  acridoid  appearance, 
and  forming,  perhaps,  the  closest  link  between  the  Mucronati  {Acridii 
genuini)  and  the  Miitici,  (or  Odqmdes,)  and  in  a  strictly  natural  arrange- 
ment should  precede  BracliyiyepJiis.  It  would  connect  between  the 
Pezotettigi  or  Caloiiteni  and  the  ^fenohothri. 

B.  mibilum,  Tllos.  Syn.,  B.  nigrum^  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci., 
Phila.,  1S70,  p.  83.) 

Gryllus  nuhiJus,  Say.  (Jour.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  IV,  308.  Entom. 
N.  Am.,  Ed.  Le  Conte,  II,  237.) — Having  carefully  examined  the  section 
where  Mr.  Say  found  his  species,  I  do  not  know  what  insect  he  refers  to, 
unless  this  be  the  one.  But  when  he  remarks  "  that  it  ascends  into  the 
atmosphere  in  great  numbers,"  he  certainly  cannot  allude  to  this  species, 
unless  he  refers  to  the  short  flights  of  the  males  as  they  poise  themselves 
in  the  air,  a  well-known  habit  of  the  Oe.  (eqiiaUs,  and  some  other  species. 
There  is  another  black  species  found  in  the  same  section,  which  flies 
much  in  the  air,  [Tomonotus  Nietanus,  Sauss.,)  but  its  bright  red  wings, 
so  apparent  during  flight,  and  its  ample  elytra,  would  seem  to  forbid 
the  supposition  that  this  was  the  species  intended.  Yet  I  cannot  ex- 
plain Mr.  Say's  remark,  unless  he  has  confounded  the  two. 

As  his  description  is  rather  short  1  will  add  some  other  points,  chiefly 
from  mv  description,  under  the  name  of  B.  nigrum^  in  the  Proc.  Acad.  Nat. 
Sci.,  Phila. 

Medium  size,  female  much  larger  than  the  male. 

Female :  Occiput  smooth,  a  few  punctures  on  the  vertex,  a  faint  median 
line  visible ;  eyes  about  midway  between  the  front  and  back  margins  ; 
frontal  ridge  convex,  with  a  very  slight  indentation  at  the  ocellus,  punc- 
tured on  the  margins,  reaching  nearly  to  the  cross  suture,  where  it  sud- 
denly expands ;  lateral  carinfe  distinct,  obtuse,  sinuate  and  divergent; 
a  deep  sulcus  below  each  eye.  Pronotum  nearly  as  broad  as  the  head ; 
median  carina  distinct,  straight ;  posterior  lobe  punctate ;  central  por- 
tions of  the  sides  levigate;  cross  incisions  one  and  two  not  reaching  the 
median  rariua.     Elytra  narrow,  covering  about  two-thirds  the  length  of 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       273 

tlie  abdoiiieu,  lanceolate ;  the  two  longitudinal  veins  strong,  approaching 
each  other  at  the  apex  along  the  external  margin;  the  reticulate  veins 
coarse.    Wings  shorter  than  the  elytra. 

Color  (siccus):  Dark  ferruginous;  lower  angles  of  the  face  and  side  of 
the  labrum  black;  tips  of  the  elytra  black  ;  apex  of  the  wings  dusky, 
rest  transparent ;  two  reddish  spots  inside  the  posterior  femora ;  tibia 
transparent  red. 

Male :  Similar  in  coloring,  only  darker.  Elytra  black,  somewhat  paler 
at  the  base;  wings  transparent,  cloudy  at  the  apex. 

Dimensions:  Female — length,  1.5  inch ;  pronotum  .35  inch  ;  elytra,  .55 
inch ;  femora,  .95  inch  ;  tibia,  .80  inch.  Male — length,  .87  inch ;  prono- 
tum, .25  inch  ;  elytra,  .55  inch ;  femora,  .62  inch;  tibia,  .56  inch. 

Habitat :  Southern  Colorado  and  northern  New  Mexico;  mostly  in  the 
valleys  near  the  mountains. 

[Note. — I  regret  very  much  two  mistakes  that  occur  in  ray  paper  pub- 
lished in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  1870,  Jul^-.  One 
occurs  on  page  80,  where  I  have  described  as  a  new  species,  under  the 
name  Oe.  pruinosa.,  Say's  Gryllus  tnfasciatus,  which  isnotonly  sufficiently 
described  for  identification,  but  is  also  figured.  The  other  mistake  is  on 
page  83,  where  I  have  described  Gryllus  nubilus  of  Say  as  a  new  species, 
under  the  name  of  B.  nigrum.  I  had  examined  them  and  determined 
them,  and  laid  them  aside  for  the  purpose  of  referring,  them  to  their 
jiroper  genera  and  had  marked  the  place  in  Say's  Ent.  where  they  are 
described.  Having  to  close  up  my  article  rapidly,  preparatory  to  my 
departure  west,  forgetting  these  facts,  and  finding  them  among  those 
examined  and  to  be  described,  I  proceeded  to  describe  them  without  far- 
ther examination.  A  few  days  after  I  became  aware  of  the  mistake  and 
immediately  wrote  a  letter  to  Dr.  Hayden,  making  the  correction,  and 
forwarded  it  to  him  at  Washington,  as  I  had  forwarded  the  original  man- 
uscript through  him,  but  it  did  not  reach  him  in  time.  The  synonyms 
"v^ill  now  have  to  stand,  and  I  sincerely  trust  they  may  be  the  only  ones 
in  that  paper.] 

B.  Jiavo-fasciatum,  Thos.  Syn.,  B.  flavofasciatum,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad. 
Nat.  Sci.,  Phila,,  1870,  p.  84.) — Female:  Carving  and  figure  much  the 
same  as  the  female  of  jB.  nuhilum,  differing  only  in  this,  that  the  anterior 
transverse  incision  (1)  being  more  indistinct,  and  the  incision  on  the  side 
of  the  pronotum  near  the  front  more  distinct.  Central  foveola  of  vertex 
very  shallow,  divided  into  two  parts  by  a  slight  median  carina;  frontal 
ridge  convex,  sparsely  jDunctured. 

Color  (siccus:)  Yellow,  varied  with  brown.  Head,  yellow;  lower 
angles  of  the  face  black;  a  very  distinct  yellow  line,  starting  from  the 
upper  corner  of  each  eye,  reaches  the  posterior  margin  of  the  prono- 
tum, bowing  inward  near  the  middle,  bordered  on  each  side  by  an  irreg- 
ular, dark-brown  line ;  a  dark  line  borders  each  eye  posteriorly.  Median 
carina  of  the  pronotum  dark  brown  or  piceous  black;  the  transverse 
incision  black;  rest  of  the  pronotum  brownish,  palest  on  the  sides. 
Eh'tra  formed  as  in  B.  nuhilum,  brown,  a  pale-yellow  stripe  near  the  u])per 
and  lower  margins  of  each,  the  upper  having  a  notch  on  its  lower  side ; 
three  oblong  yellow  spots  in  a  line  or  row  along  the  middle,  and  a  few 
smaller  spots  of  the  same  color  near  the  apex ;  they  reach  the  third  ab- 
dominal segment.  Wings  transparent,  dusky  at  the  tips.  A  brown 
stripe  along  each  side  of  the  abdomen,  near  the  dorsum;  a  yellow  spot 
in  it  on  each  segment  near  the  upper  border.    Venter,  yellow. 

Male:  Unknown. 

Dimensions:  Length,  1.5  inch;   pronotum,  38  inch;  elytra,  .50  inch; 
femora,  .85  inch;  tibia,  .76  inch. 
18  G 


274       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Habitat :  Found  with  the  preceding,  but  a  much  rarer  species.  At  first 
glance,  when  seen  hopping  among  the  grass,  the  collector  is  apt  to  take 
it  for  the  jDupa  of  Calop.  bivittatiis. 

OEDIPODA,  (LATE.) 

Oe.  coralli]}eSy  Hald.  (Stans.  Eep.  Salt  Lake,  p.  371,  PI.  X,  flg.  3.)— 
Dimensions:  Female — length,  1.80  inch;  femora,  .90  inch;  tibia,  .75 
inch ;  to  tip  of  elytra,  2  inches.  Male  about  two-thirds  the  size  of  the 
female. 

Habitat :  Colorado,  Wyoming,  and  Utah. 

The  bright  vermillion  tiut  of  thfe  posterior  legs  fades  in  alcohol.  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  that  Oe.  imrdaUna  (Sauss.)  is  synonymous  with  this 
species,  but  do  not  feel  satisfied  to  decide  positively  on  this  point. 

Oe.  trlfasciata,  Thos.  Syn.,  Oe.  pndnosa,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat. 
Sci.,  Phila.,  1870,  p.  80.) — Gryllus  trifasciatus,  Say.  (Amer.  Ent.  HI, 
PI.  XXXIV,  fig.  3.  (Ed.  Le  Conte,  I,  78,  PI.  XXXIV,  fig.  3.)— The  figure 
given  in  the  edition  by  Dr.  Le  Conte  is  not  a  good  one,  nor, indeed,  does  it 
correspond  with  the  description,  which  is  somewhat  minute.  I  give  the 
following  description,  which  I  think  will  be  sufficient  to  identify  the 
species : 

About  the  size  and  somewhat  similar  in  coloring  and  appearance  to 
Oe.  aequalis,  (Say,)  but  rather  broader  across  the  meso  and  meta  thorax; 
head,  viewed  from  the  side,  oblong;  occiput  convex,  ascending;  vertex 
broadly  triangular,  flat,  not  foveolate,  declined,  slightly  margined  and 
slightly  contracted  between  the  eyes ;  margins  continuous  with  the  frontal 
ridge ;  frontal  ridge  prominent,  rounded  above  and  somewhat  sulcate 
below,  expanding  at  the  ocellus ;  lateral  carinas  distinct,  sinuous,  and 
divergent  below,  (in  the  males  these  carinoe  are  more  distinct  and  ex- 
tended than  in  the  females).  Pronotum  short,  sub-cylindrical  in  fi'ont, 
expanded  and  more  angulate  posteriorly;  cross  incisions  1  and  3  distinct, 
2  very  indistinct  iu  the  males,  apparent  on  the  sides  in  the  females,  l' 
arcuate  above,  .3  slightly  sinuous  and  situated  about  the  inidtlle  of  the 
pronotum;  median  carina  merely  a  raised  line ;  lateral  carinte  obliter- 
ated in  front,  obtuse  on  the  posterior  lobe  ;  truncate  in  front,  posterior 
angle  obtuse.  Elytra  and  wings  considerably  longer  than  the  abdomen. 
Posterior  femora  broad,  not  reaching  the  extremity  of  the  abdomen, 
Antennie  stout,  central  joints  lengthened  and  distinct;  reaching  the 
middle  of  the  abdomen  in  the  males,  a  little  shorter  in  the  females. 

Color  (siccus) :  Varies  considerably ;  that  which  is  described  as  green 
by  Say  is  often  yellowish  iu  the  living  insect,  and  pruinose  after  im- 
mersion in  alcohol ;  and  that  part  of  the  head  and  thorax  described  by 
him  as  brown  often  being  a  pale  lilac,  or  mouse  color.  The  iutermedi- . 
ate  cross  band  on  the  elytra  is  the  broadest  and  darkest  of  the  three. 
The  posterior  femora  are  often  pruinose  at  the  base.  (My  remarks 
apply  to  those  dried  after  immersion  in  alcohol). 

Since  writing  the  description  published  in  the  Proceedings  of  th^ 
Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  Philadelphia,  1870,  p.  80,  I  have  had  an 
opportunity  of  examining  a  number  of  specimens  taken  at  ^videly  dif- 
ferent points  iu  the  West,  and  find  the  species  is  subject  to  considerable 
variations,  some  specimens  ai^proaching  so  near  Oe.  aequalis  thaTt  it  is 
almost  imi)ossible  to  distinguish  them  from  that  species,  if  we  rely  upon 
color. 

Dimensions:  Male — length,  1.10  inch ;  to  tip  of  elytra,  1.42  inch  ;  pro- 
notum, .26  inch ;  femora,  .00  inch ;  tibite,  .58  inch.  Female — length, 
1.48  inch;  to  tip  of  elytra,  1.70  inch;  pronotum,  .34  inch;  femora,  .7(> 
inch ;  tibice,  .70  inch. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       275 

Habitat:  Found  throughout  Wyoming,  Colorado,  Utah,  and  Northern 
New  Mexico,  on  the  elevated  table  lands  and  ridges. 

[Note. — For  explanation  in  regard  to  my  unfortunate  mistake  in  des- 
cribing this  species  as  new,  and  thus  adding  another  synonym  to  the 
already  too  long  list,  see  previous  note  under  Boopedon  nuhUum.] 

The  female  is  seldom  pruinose ;  occiput,  brown  ;  ])rouotnm,  reddish- 
brown,  varied  with  dots  and  lines  of  yellow.  The  posterior  lobe  of  the 
pronotum  in  each  sex  is  densely  punctured,  but  that  of  the  female  inter- 
sected by  irregular,  slightly-raised  lines. 

Oe.  cincif«,  Thos.  Syn.,  0e.ci?jcfrt,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,rhila., 
1870,  1^.  80.) — Female:  Very  similar  in  appearance  and  coloring  to  the 
male  of  Oe.  aeqnalis,  (Say.)  bnt  in  the  carvings  of  the  head  approaching  the 
Tomonoti,  (Sauss.,)  of  which  Oe.  stilphurea  (Burm.)  may  be  taken  as  the 
North  American  type.  The  vertex  channeled ;  the  margins  strongly 
and  sharply  elevated,  waved,  descending ;  truncate  squarely  in  front ;  a 
slight  median  line  visible.  Frontal  ridge  vertical,  straight,  sulcate, 
narrowed  immediately  below  the  antennae,  expanding  at  the  base, 
reaching  the  transverse  suture ;  lateral  carinoe  distinct,  divergent.  Pro- 
notum rugose,  tricarinate,  truncate  in  front,  angled  at  the  posterior  ex- 
tremity; median  carina  only  a  raised  line,  cut  by  incisions  land  3  5 
lateral  carinte  distinct  on  fhe  posterior  lobe,  obliterated  in  front,  coarc- 
tate  in  front,  expanding  j)osteriorly ;  incision  3  situated  before  the 
middle.  Elytra  narrow,  passing  the  abdomen  one-third  their  length. 
Wings  nearly  the  same  length.  Posterior  femora  not  passing  the  ab- 
domen.   Antennce  passing  the  pronotum  slightly. 

Color  (siccus) :  Eusty  brown,  varied  with  lighter  and  darker  .shades. 
Face  and  the  sides  of  the  pronotum  yellow,  mottled  with  brown  ;  two 
black  bands  pass  round  the  front,  one  immediately  above,  and  the  other 
just  below  the  antennae,  (the  lower  a  little  broader  than  the  upper;)  con- 
verging behind  these,  they  pass  through  the  eye  (plainly  to  be  seen  in  a 
fresh  specimen)  and  become  a  single  black  stripe  behind  the  eye,  which 
reaches  to  the  posterior  incision  of  the  pronotum,  decreasing  in  width 
as  it  passes  along  the  lateral  angle.  Pronotum  ash-colbred  on  the  dor- 
sum ;  posterior  lobe  palest,  with  minute  brown  tubercles  scattered  over 
it;  a  dark-brown  spot  on  each  side.  Elytra  brown,  darkest  next  the 
base;  semi-transparent  at  the  apex.  Wings  transparent,  yellow  next 
the  base;  apical  half  dusky ;  this  dark  marginal  band  is  broad  in  front, 
tapering  toward  the  inner  angle  but  does  not  reach  it;  stretches  along 
the  front  sub-margin  nearly  to  the  base ;  is  somewhat  darker  at  the 
inner  and  outer  borders,  reaching  to  the  apex.  Posterior  femora  red- 
dish with  two  oblique  darker  bands  on  the  outer  face,  and  three  black 
bands  inside. 

Dimensions :  Length,  1  inch ;  to  tip  of  elytra,  1.26  inch ;  to  end  of 
X)ronotum  from  vertex,  ,31  inch ;  femora,  .54  inch ;  tibiae,  .44  inch. 

Habitat :  Northeastern  New  Mexico. 

Oe.  carlingiana,  Thos.  Syn.,  Oe.  carliniana,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat. 
Sci.,  Phila.,  1870,  j).  81.) — Female:  This  species  at  first  sight  has  much 
the  appearance  of  Oe.  Carolina.,  (Linn.,)  but  an  examination  of  the  head 
or  thorax,  or  spreading  the  wings,  will  soon  undeceive,  the  observer. 
Altho.ugh  a  little  smaller  than  that  species,  it  is  more  robust,  compared 
with  its  length.  The  carving  of  the  head  is  much  the  same  as  Oe.  cor- 
edlipes.  Occiput  short,  sub-convex,  not  ascending;  vertex  very  broad, 
slightly  deflexed ;  the  broad,  shallow,  central  foveola  divided  by  a  me- 
dian carina  into  two  elongate  pentagonal  spaces,  the  median  carina  and 
margin  next  the  eye  being  the  longest  sides;  the  lateral  shallow  foveolai 
triangular ;  at  the  top  of  the  frontal  ridge  is  a  lunate  depression ;  frontal 


276       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

ridge  somewhat  broad,  obtusely  margined,  expanded  at  the  ocellus,  ver- 
tical, reaching  the  cross  suture;  lateral  carinae  distinct,  reaching  the 
corners  of  the  face.  Antennae  filiform,  sub-planate.  Pronotum  sub- 
cylindrical  in  front,  flat  on  the  posterior  lobe,  expanded  posteriorly,  not 
constricted ;  median  carina,  a  raised  line,  cut  by  the  cross  incisions  1 
and  3 ;  posterior  incision  before  the  middle ;  lateral  carinae  obliterated 
in  front,  but  distinct  on  the  front  of  the  posterior  lobe ;  posterior  lobe 
densely  punctate.  Elytra  and  vsdngs  extend  slightly  beyond  the  abdo- 
men. Posterior  femora  short,  not  reaching  the  extremity  of  the  abdo- 
men ;  inflated.  , 

Color  (siccus) :  Ash-colored;  vertex  and  posterior  lobe  of  the  pronotum 
tinged  with  reddish  brown.  Elytra  opaque  and  somewhat  brownish  at 
the  base,  semi-transparent  at  the  apex;  dotted  over  with  pale  brown. 
The  wings,  when  fully  expanded,  present  a  very  broad  fuscus  band  across 
the  base,  parallel  with  the  body,  the  outer  border  lying  a  little  beyond 
the  middle  of  the  wing,  (when  thus  expanded ;)  a  large  triangular  space 
at  the  apex  transparent,  with  dark  and  white  veins.  Posterior  femora 
spotted  with  black  inside ;  tibite  yellowish. 

Male :  The  male  differs  only  in  size,  and  in  having  the  elytra  crossed 
by  irregular  brownish  bands,  somewhat  a§  in  Oe.  aequaUs,  but  less 
distinct. 

Dimensions :  Female — ^length,  1.38  inch ;  to  tip  of  the  elytra,  1.58  inch ; 
to  tip  of  the  pronotum ,  from  the  vertex,  .45  inch ;  femora,  .64  inch.  Male — 
length,  1.16  inch ;  to  tip  of  elytra,  1.36  inch ;  to  tip  of  pronotum,  .42  inch; 
femora,  .58  inch. 

Habrtat :  Found  in  Colorado  and  Wyoming ;  somewhat  rare  in  the 
former,  but  abundant  in  the  latter.  It  varies  considerably  in  color, 
sometimes  assuming  a  very  distinct  purplish  tinge  throughout,  but 
especially  on  the  elytra  and  wings ;  at  other  times  a  pale,  dirty  yellow, 
with  the  spots  on  the  elytra  wanting.  The  purplish  variety  I  observed 
on\j  in  Wyoming,  between  Chugwater  and  South  Pass.  This  species 
belongs  to  that  group  of  Oedipodes  of  which  the  Oe.  aeqiialis  (Say)  maj- 
be  taken  as  the  type;  to  this  belong  Carolina  at  one  extreme,  and  tri- 
fasciata  at  the  other,  aequalis,  carlingiana,  and  perhaps  cincta  and  some 
others. 

Oe.  neglecta,  Thos.  Syn.,  Oe.  neglecta,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci., 
Phila.,  1870,p.81.) — Female:  Much  like  Oe.coraUijJes,  (Hald.,)  being  about 
the  size  of  the  male  of  that  species,  for  w^hich  it  has  doubtless  often  been 
taken.  In  its  car\dngs,  as  well  as  size,  it  comes  very  near  Oe.  mexicana, 
(Sauss.)  Vertex  very  broad,  transverse,  foveolate;  the  large  central 
foveola  divided,  by  the  recurving  margins,  into  three  contiguous 
foveolae ;  these  margins,  seen  from  the  front,  form  a  W,  with  a  line 
across  the  middle  angle ;  lateral  foveolsB  obsolete ;  frontal  ridge  bisul- 
cate  above  the  ocellus,  sulcate  below,  expanded  at  the  ocellus.  Prono- 
tum flat  above  and  rough  ;  median  carina  a  raised  line,  very  distinctly' 
severed  by  cross  incision  3,  before  the  middle ;  incisions  2  and  3  come 
together  at  the  median  carina ;  anterior  j)ortion  rugose ;  posterior  lobe 
covjered  on  the  dorsum  with  elongate  tubercles,  its  sides  granulose. 
Elytra  and  wings  extend  beyond  the  abdomen.  Antennae  filiform, 
reaching  the  extremity  of  the  pronotum.  Posterior  femora  about  the 
length  of  the  abdomen. 

Color  (siccu-s) :  Dirty  brown,  with  fuscus  spots.  Each  elytron  has  a 
narrow  yellow  stripe  near  the  dorsal  border;  base  brown,  fading  toward 
the  apex,  which  is  semi-transparent;  marked  with  groups  of  fuscus 
spots,  which,  at  two  points,  are  grouped  so  as  to  form  irregular  bands. 
Wings  yellow  at  base;  a  dark  band  of  moderate  width  crossing  just 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       277 

beyond  the  middle,  curving  inward  to  the  posterior  angle ;  apex  trans- 
parent, veins  dusky.  Posterior  femora  crossed  on  the  outside  by  two 
very  indistinct,  oblique,  reddish  bands;  inside,  beneath,  and  tibial  orange 
yellow ;  spines  of  the  tibia)  tipped  with  black.  Antennae  i)ale  at  base, 
apical  portion  dusky. 

Dimensions  :  Female — length,  I.IG  inch  ]  to  tip  of  elytra,  1.38  inch.* 
to  end  of  pronotum,  from  vertex,  .44  inch ;  femora,  .03  inch. 

Habitat :  Northeast  New  Mexico,  Colorado,  and  Wyoming.  Since 
my  return  home,  I  have  taken  here  (Southern  Illinois)  some  specimens 
which  appear  to  belong  to  this  species. 

This  species  agrees  so  nearly  with  Oe.  mcxicana  (Sauss.)  that  I  would 
have  marked  my  specimens  as  such,  but  for  the  fact  that  the  wings  are 
yellow  at  the  base. 

STAUEONOTUS,   (FISCHER.) 

S.  Elliotti,  Thos.  Syn.,  S.  ElUotti,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci., 
Phila.,  1870,  p.  82.) — Male  and  female :  Medium  size,  robust,  sub-angu- 
late.  Head  large,  widest  below ;  face  sub-vertical,  strongly  deflexed 
below  the  transverse  suture;  occiput  convex;  vertex  slightly  declined, 
foveolate ;  foveolte  shallow,  the  central  broad,  the  lateral  triangular, 
the  points  of  the  three  meeting  in  a  sharp  angle  midway  between  the 
upper  angle  of  the  eye  and  the  base  of  the  antennte ;  frontal  ridge  not 
sulcate,  narrowed  above;  lateral  carina?  distinct,  strongly  divergent  be- 
low ;  eyes  medium  size,  ovate.  Pronotum  short,  sub-truncate  in  front, 
posterior  angle  obtuse  and  rounded ;  the  three  transverse  incisions  dis- 
tinct and  closely  approximate,  1  shortest,  2  and  3  connect  at  their  ter- 
mini on  the  side  of  the  x)ronotum  by  an  oblique  depression  ;  incision  3 
about  the  middle  of  the  pronotum;  median  carina  distinct,  not  elevated; 
lateral  carinre  distinct  on  the  anterior  lobe,  and  front  part  of  the  pos- 
terior lobe ;  the  spaces  on  the  anterior  lobe  between  the  median  and 
lateral  cariuie  depressed  like  shallow  basins.  Elytra  and  wings  about 
as  long  as  the  abdomen.  Posterior  femora  inflated  near  the  base,  atten- 
uate near  the  tip.  Pectus  not  broader  than  the  head.  Anteunfe  fili- 
form, reaching  the  end  of  the  j^ronotum.  Anal  appendages  of  female 
very  short  and  blunt.  Color  (siccus)  yellow,  varied  with  brown.  Head 
yellow,  occiput  dotted  with  brown,  sometimes  forming  imi)erfect  waved 
lines;  antennce  pale  at  the  base,  remainder  brown.  Pronotum  with  a 
yellow  cross  on  the  back  ;  beginning  at  the  lateral  angles  of  the  poste- 
rior lobe,  the  stripes  converge  anteriorly,  and.  Crossing  about  tbe  middle, 
fade  on  the  anterior  lobe  ;  a  triangular  brown  spot,  between  these  stripes, 
on  the  i)osterior  lobe;  sides  brownish,  fading  below.  Elytra  brown,  a 
yellow  stripe  along  the  inner  margin ;  lower  half  dotted  with  dark 
brown.  Wings  transparent,  veins  white  except  at  the  apex,  where  they 
are  dusky.  Posterior  femora  yellow,  with  two  or  three  oblique  brown- 
ish spots  near  the  upper  edge,  which  cross  and  become  distinct  bands 
on  the  inside ;  knee  brown ;  tibiae  dusky  above  and  at  the  tips,  rest 
yellow  ;  (I  think  bluish  in  the  living  specimens.) 

Dimensions :  Female — ^length,  1.07  inch ;  to  tip  of  the  elytra,  1.10  inch ; 
to  end  of  pronotum,  .34  inch;  femur,  .62  inch.  Male— length  .88  inch ; 
to  tip  of  elytra,  .88  inch ;  femur,  .00  inch. 

Habitat:  Colorado  and  Wyoming. 

Named  in  honor  of  Mr.  Henry  W.  Elliott,  artist  of  the  expedition, 
who,  in  addition  to  his  arduous  duties,  was  constant  in  his  efibrts  to  col- 
lect specimens  of  natural  history,  and  who  rendered  me  valuable  assist- 
ance in  collecting  plants  and  insects. 

This  sub-genus  of  Fischer  (Orthop.  Europ.,  p.  351)  I  have  here  given 


278       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 

as  a  genus,  as  the  distinguisliing  characters  are  sufficient  to  separate  it 
from  StenohotJiriis.  Sippopedon  (Saussure)  approaches  rather  too  near 
this  genus  to  remain  as  a  separate  group. 

ACROLOPHITUS,  (NOV.  GEN.) 

Generic  characters:  (Edipodiform,  head  pyramidal,  apex  directed 
upward.  Occiput  narrowed  anteriorly,  ascending ;  vertex  pyramidal,  tri- 
angular, pointing  upward  between  the  eyes  and  antennae ;  eyes  ovate, 
placed  high  and  well  forward ;  face  vertical,  carinated ;  frontal  ridge, 
sulcate.  Maxillary  palpi  medium  length,  terminal  joints  sub-equal, 
rather  short ;  labial  palpi  proportionally  longer,  ultimate  joint  longest. 
Antenuoe  stout  sub-plaiiate,  basal  joint  very  large,  triangular,  inserted 
in  deep  oblong  foveolie  under  the  pyramidal  vertex;  medium  length. 
Prouotum  of  moderate  length,  coarctate;  posterior  lobe  with  the  me- 
dian carina  elevated  in  the  form  of  a  crest  arcuate  on  the  top,  the  sharp 
posterior  angle  extending  over  the  base  of  the  elytra ;  the  anterior  por- 
tion rounded  on  the  dorsum,  not  carinated;  the  three  transverse  incis- 
ions distinct,  two  sinuous,  three  bent  abruptly  forward  round  the  point 
of  the  crest.  Elytra  narrow,  reaching  beyond  the  abdomen ;  wings 
ample ;  legs  long,  slender,  and  pilose.  Presternum  not  spined  ;  pectus 
narrow. 

A.  Jiirtijyes,  Thos.  Syn.  Gryllus  Mrtipes,  Say.  (Amer.  Ent.,  Ill,  PI. 
XXXIV,  Le  Conte's  Ed.,  I,  78,  PI.  XXXIY,  Fig.  1.)— The  description 
given  by  Mr.  Say,  with  the  figure,  will  enable  the  entomologist  readily 
to  determine  this  species.  Tlie  figure  gives  rather  too  dark  a  shade  to 
the  abdomen  and  thorax,  which  is  also  the  case  with  the  next  figure  on 
the  same  plate,  {Gnjlliis  formosus ;)  the  color  of  these  parts  varies  from 
a  pale  greenish  yellow  to  a  brownish  yellow.  I  have  formed  the  genus 
AerolopJutus  for  the  reception  of  this  species,  which  should  no  longer 
remain  buried  iu  the  old  genus  Gryllus,  wiiich  is  now  restricted  to  proper 
limits.  I  may  be  permitted  to  remark  here  that  I  had  the  good  fortune 
while  iu  Colorado  to  pass  over  the  same  ground  traversed  by  Mr.  Say, 
and  to  obtain  specimens  of  all  the  species  of  Gryllus  described  by  him, 
viz :  aqiialis,  hivittatiis,  formosus,  Mrtipes,  nuhilus,  and  trifasciatus. 
All  of  these  have  now  been  placed  in  modern  genera,  except  formosus, 
for  which  probably  a  new  genus  will  have  to  be  formed, 

TOMONOTUS,  (SAUSS.) 

T.  niefanus,  Sauss.  (Ort'hop.  l!fov.  Amer.  II,  24.  Eev.  et  Mag.  de  Zool., 
18G1,  p.  321.) 

T.  mexicanus,  Sauss.  (Orthop.  Nov.  Amer.  II,  23.  Eev.  et  Mag. 
et  de  Zool.,  1861,  p.  321.) — I  have  specimens  of  two  species  of  Tomo- 
noti,  which,  I  think,  belong  to  the  species  thus  named  by  Saus- 
sure; they  certainly  agree  very  closely  with  his  short  descriptions. 
The  T.  nietanus,  when  living,  appears  quite  black  ;  its  bright-red  wings 
being  visible  at  a  considerable  distance  when  flying,  and  the  sharp 
notes  of  the  males  being  easily  recognized  by  the  ear  which  has  once 
heard  them.  It  is  closely  allied  to  the  Oe.  sulplmrea  Burm,  which  be- 
longs to  this  genus ;  the  notes  of  the  male  of  this  species  can  also  be 
recognized  by  the  practiced  ear.  It  is  jjossible  that  the  notes  of  the 
males  may,  under  some  circumstances,  enable  us  to  determine  whether 
certain  differences  are  specific  or  only  of  variety. 

The  generic  characters  by  which  Saussure  proposes  to  distinguish 
this  genus  are  not  well  chosen,  as  they  scarcely  cover  the  group  he  evi- 
dently intended  to  embrace ;  nor  is  the  gap  between  Oedipoda  and 
Gomphocerus  or  Trayocepliala  quite  broad  enough  for  the  insertion  of  a 


.GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF   THE    TEREITORIES.  279 

genus  botween  them.  Before  a  true  natural  arrangement  can  be  ob- 
tained the  species  of  these  genera  and  of  the  heterogeneous  Oedipoda 
■will  have  to  be  thrown  together  and  then  separated  into  groups  by  other 
characters. 

T. 2yseiido-nietanus,  Thos.  Syn.,  T.pseudo-nictanus,  Thos.  (Proc.  Acad. 
Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  1870,  p.  82.) — Male:  Size  and  appearance  much  like  T. 
nictanus,  (Sauss.,)  from  which  it  diifers  only  as  follows :  The  facial  costa  is 
slightly  broader  and  less  excavated  below  the  ocellus ;  the  occiput  and 
l^ronotum  less  rugose ;  the  antennae  nearer  cylindrical.  The  color  is 
darker,  the  sides  being  deep-black  throughout  to  the  extremity  of  the 
elytra;  the  posterior  part  of  the  occiput  and  dorsum  of  the  pronotum 
an  ashy  yellow,  the  front  lobe  and  lateral  margins  of  the  pronotum 
dotted  v.ith  black;  the  upper  edge  of  each  posterior  femur  has  two 
yellow'  spots,  the  one  next  the  base  the  larger ;  the  entire  under  surface 
a  sbining  black;  wdugs,  as  \\\  nictanus ;  base  rosaceous ;  posterior  mar- 
gin broadly  margined  with  black,  and  a  facia  of  the  same  running  along 
the  anterior  sub-margin  nearly  to  the  base. 

Dimensions.  Male:  Length,  1  inch;  to  tip  of  elytra,  1.25  inch;  femur, 
.G7  inch. ;  tibia,  .53  inch. 

Habitat:  Found  near  Canon  City,  Colorado,  close  to  the  mountains 
in  a  caQon;  also  near  Fort  Fettermau,  Wyoming.  I  have  not  seen  the 
female.  This  may  possibly  be  a  variety  of  T.  nietamis,  but  from  the 
permanent  difference  in  the  color  of  the  pronotum,  and  from  the  fact 
that  it  was  found  at  but  one  point  in  Colorado,  and  over  a  very  limited 
territory  in  \Yyoming,  while  the  other  was  found  more  generally  distrib- 
uted on  the  Plains,  1  conclude  it  is  a  different  species. 

[XoTE. — While  passing  from  Fort  Fettermau  to  Eed  Buttes,  in  Wyom- 
ing, we  encountered  a  vast  swarm  of  CaJoptenns  spretus,  not  Hying  but 
on  the  ground  pairing.  I  noticed  here,  as  I  had  under  sinrilar  circum- 
stances before,  that  where  these  were  very  numerous,  few  specimens  of 
any  other  species  were  to  be  found.  In  this  case  almost  the  only  species 
to  be  seen  Avere  T.  nietanus  and  Oe.  trifcificiata,  whereas  but  a  few. miles 
back  other  species  could  be  found  in  abundance.] 

STENOBOTHEUS,    (FISCHER.) 

a.  Antennre  filiform  or  sub-filiform. 

b.  Lateral  foveolse  obsolete. 

[Note. — It  was  with  some  hesitancy  that  I  concluded  to  describe 
any  of  the  species  which  appear  to  belong  to  this  genus.  Although 
Fischer  is  generally  very  careful  and  exact,  the  characters  of  this 
genus,  as  given  by  him,  show  the  difficulty  he  has  fallen  into  by  cling- 
ing too  closely  to  variations  in  a  given  part.  The  consequence  is  that 
this  genus  has  become  the  receptacle  for  a  number  of  species  varying 
■widely  from  the  type.  In  fact,  we  may  truly  say  that  the  distinguishing 
character  (if  his  italics  are  to  be  relied  upon)  is  the  exception  instead  of 
the  rule.  Finding  that  neither  Scudder  nor  Saussure  had  allowed  them- 
selves to  be  trammeled  by  this  character,  I  have  concluded  to  follow 
them.  The  subdivisions  given  above  are  after  Saussure,  the  latter 
being  in  direct  opposition  to  the  leading  character  before  alluded  to. 
But,  notwithstanding  these  strictures,  I  admit  there  is  a  marked  group 
for  which  Fischer  evidently  intended  this  genus,  the  similarity  being 
easily  detected  by  the  eye.] 

St.  ohionus^uov.  sp. — Female:  Head  somewhat  narrow,  face  vSub-verti- 
cal;  vertex  slightly  deflexed,  rounded  in  front,  margins  elevated,  a  slight 
median  line;  frontal  costa  obtuse,  convex  above,  with  a  very  slight 
depression  at  the  ocellus;   pronotum  sub-truncate  in  front,  posterior 


280       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

extremity  obtuse-angled;  tricarinate;  median  carina  slightly  elevated, 
entire;  lateral  carinse  converging  before  the  middle,  expanding  pos- 
teriorly, slightly  arcnate  in  this  part;  cross  incisions  indistinct,  and  all 
on  the  anterior  half;  anal  appendages  of  moderate  length ;  elytra  and 
wings  a  little  longer  than  the  abdomen. 

Color  (siccus) :  Testaceous  brown,  varied  with  ashy  green.  Face 
greenish,  varied  with  light  and  dark  shades ;  upper  portion  of  the  cheeks 
and  cranium  brown;  a  very  narrow  yellow  line  running  from  the  eye  to 
the  lateral  carina  of  the  pronotum.  Pronotum  testaceous,  the  anterior 
lobes  being  darkest ;  sides  brown  ;  posterior  lobe  an  ashy  green,  with  a 
dusky  median  stripe.  Elytra  pale  reddish  brown,  translucent  at  the 
apex;  fuscus  spots  along  the  middle  field  and  lower  border.  Venter 
and  pectus  dull  yellow. 

Male:  Differs  from  the  female  only  in  size;  in  the  face  being  more 
rounded  ;  the  upper  portions  of  the  head  and  pronotum  being  darker; 
and  the  spots  on  the  inside  of  the  femora  not  so  dark. 

Dimensions :  Female — length,  1  inch ;  to  tip  of  the  elytra,  1.1  inch;  to 
end  of  pronotum,  .35  inch  ;  antennfe,  about  the  same ;  femur,  .52  inch. 
Male — length,  .65  inch ;  femur,  .40  inch. 

Habitat :  First  seen  on  the  Arkansas  in  the  vicinity  of  Caiion  City ; 
found  in  abundance  on  a  species  of  Obione. 

St.  hrunneus,  nov.  sp. — Female  :  Somewhat  similar  to  St.  prapinquans 
(Scudd.)  in  size  and  appearance,  but  rather  larger.  Vertex  broad,  scarcely 
expanding  in  front  of  the  eyes;  angle  rounded;  apex  blunt,  margins 
raised;  a  faint  median  line  visible.  Frontal  ridge  convex,  punctate  on 
the  margins,  expanding  below,  not  depressed  at  the  ocellus ;  seen  from 
the  side  arcuate.  Pronotum  eub-truncate  in  front,  posterior  angle 
rounded ;  slightly  convergent  in  the  middle ;  the  three  carinre  about 
equally  prominent ;  the  three  transverse  incisions  visible  on  the  dorsum; 
3  is  situated  about  the  middle  and  is  the  only  one  that  cuts  the  median 
carina.  Elytra  narrow,  about  the  length  of  the  abdomen;  wings  about 
the  same  length.  Posterior  femora  just  the  length  of  the  abdomen. 
Presternum  transversely  convex  in  front;  the  posterior  part  slightly 
excavated  in  the  middle.  The  superior  anal  corniculi  covered  by  the 
hood-like  extension  of  the  last  abdominal  segment;  lower  pair  rather 
short  and  slender.    Antennae  reach  the  tip  of  the  pronotum. 

Color  (siccus) :  Reddish  brown.  The  vertex  and  the  face  bright  red- 
dish brown,  bordered  each  side  by  a  yellow  stripe  which  descends  in 
front  of  the  eyes  ;  parts  of  the  mouth  yellow  ;  cranium  brown,  palest  in 
the  middle;  a  narrow  yellow  line  runs  from  the  eye  to  the  lateral  carina 
of  the  pronotum.  Pronotum  brown.  Wings  hyaline,  the  nerves  of  the 
apical  portion  dark.  Femora  on  the  disk  testaceous;  beneath  yellow ; 
inside  crossed  by  two  black  bands.  Tibiae  surrounded  by  an  indistinct 
yellow  ring  below  the  knee ;  rest  a  dull  yellow  (probably  blue  when 
alive.)    Venter  and  pectus  dull  yellow. 

Male  :  Differs  only  in  size  and  as  follows:  the  face  more  arcuate;  the 
upper  portions  of  the  head  and  pronotum  darker;  inside  of  the  femora 
not  so  dark. 

Dimensions:  Female — length,  1  inch;  to  tip  of  the  elytra,  1.10  inch;  to 
end  of  pronotum,  .35  inch;  antennse,  .35  inch;  femur,  .52;  inch.  Male — 
length,  .65  inch  ;  femur,  .40  inch. 

Habitat:  Found  with  preceding;  and  probably  in  Eastern  Wyoming. 

8t.  quadri-maculatus^  nov.  sp. — A  little  smaller  than  St.  ohiomiSj  simi- 
lar in  shape.  Occiput  convex,  ascending ;  vertex  of  moderate  width, 
not  expanded  in  front  of  the  eyes,  front  margins  raised,  meeting  in  a 
blunt  right- angle;  face  slightly  arcuate,  dellexed  below;  frontal  costa 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       281 

prominent,  flat,  not  sulcate;  margins  parallel,  punctate,  slightly  de- 
pressed at  the  ocellus,  reaching  the  clypeus  ;  lateral  carina?  distinct  and 
ivrcurate,  reaching  the  lower  angles.  Pronotum  short,  truncate  in  front, 
angle  behind,  tricariuate;  median  carina  slightly  elevated ;  the  lateral 
carinas  more  obtuse,  convergent  a  little  in  front  of  the  middle,  forming 
an  entering  obtuse  angle ;  divergent  anteriorly  and  posteriorly ;  cross 
incision  3  sinuate,  cutting  all  the  carina?,  and  situated  about  the  middle; 
incisions  1  and  2  represented  on  the  dorsum  bj'  cross  rows  of  punctures. 
Elytra  narrow,  and  shorter  than  the  abdomen.  Posterior  femora  not 
passing  the  abdomen. 

Color  (siccus) :  Yellow  with  brownish  spots  and  stripes.  Face  yellow ; 
cheeks  yellow  and  fuscus ;  a  narrow  fuscns  stripe  along  the  cranium  ; 
a  broad  stripe  of  the  same  reaching  from  each  eye  to  the  pronotum. 
Pronotum  with  alternating  dashes  of  yellow  and  brown ;  lateral  carina? 
yellow ;  corners  of  the  posterior  lobe  brown ;  sides  darkest  above,  yellow 
below.  Elytra  pale  reddish  brown,  fading  toward  the  apex,  with  four 
brown  spots  in  a  row  along  the  middle  field,  and  a  little  dash  of  the  same 
near  the  base.  Wings  hyaline ;  nerves  mostly  white.  Abdomen  with 
rings  of  yellow  and  brown.  Disk  and  two  spots  on  the  upper  carina  of 
the  posterior  femur  reddish-brown.  Antennie  yellow,  darkest  at  the 
tips.    Under  surface  pale  yellow. 

Dimensions  :  Female,  length  .88  inch ;  to  tip  of  the  elytra,  .75  inch  ; 
femur,  .50  inch. 

Habitat :  Southern  Colorado  and,  I  think.  Eastern  Wyoming. 

[Note. — The  living  insect  is  a  pale  pea-green  where  the  dry  is  yellow. 
This  and  all  other  species  were  placed  in  alcohol  before  being  dried.] 

Variety  :  a.  Face  nearly  vertical ;  frontal  costa  more  prominent  and 
somewhat  sulcate ;  lateral  carina^,  not  so  niuch  bent  or  so  divergent ;  cra- 
nium not  quite  so  convex.  Lateral  cariute  of  the  pronotum  less  con- 
stricted. The  yellow  spaces  broader  and  paler ;  the  brown  more 
restricted.  This  may  prove  to  be  a  distinct  species,  but  the  general 
appearance  is  so  much  the  same  that  I  have  preferred  describing  the 
latter  as  a  variety  until  more  specimens  can  be  obtained.  Females 
only  seen. 

REMARKS  ON   THE    CALOPTENUS  SPEETUS. 

The  following  additional  facts  in  regard  to  this  destructive  species 
have  been  obtained  since  the  publication  of  the  report  of  last  year.  I 
would  remark,  first,  that  a  pretty  full  account  of  the  incursions  of  this 
insect  into  the  Mississippi  Valley  has  been  published  in  the  xVmerican 
Entomologist  by  the  lamented  Walsh,  who,  after  a  thorough  examina- 
tion of  all  the  data  he  could  obtain,  comes  to  the  following  conclusion, 
which  I  quote  in  his  own  words  : 

The  above  facts,  aud  otJiers  which  it  would  be  tedious  to  particularize,  snfficieutly 
show  that  the  Hateful  Grasshopper,  when  suddenly  transferred  from  its  native  Alpine 
home  in  the  Rocky  Mountains,  some  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  to 
the  warm  regions  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  less  than  a  thousand  feet  above  the 
sea  level,  gradually  becomes  diseased  and  barren,  and  loses,  more  or  less,  its  natural 
appetites  and  instincts.  Why  we  do  not  observe  the  same  phenomena  in  the  case  of 
the  Colorado  potato  bug,  which  was  originally  a  denizen  of  the  same  cold  Alpine 
country,  is  not  difficult  to  explain.  The  former  insect  reaches  the  Mississippi  lowlands 
at  one  sudden  flight,  and  in  one  season ;  it  has  therefore  no  opi)ortuiiity  to  become 
gradually  acclimatized  and  inured  to  the  new  conditions  of  life  under  whicli  it  is  called 
upon  to  exist.  Consequently,  it  becomes  diseased  and  barren,  and  finally  perishes. 
The  latter  insect,  on  the  other  hand,  has  reached  the  Mississippi  lowlands  only  by  slow 
and  gradual  approaches,  breeding  at  every  way-station  on  the  road,  and  thus  becom- 
ing, generation  after  generation,  more  and  more  acclimatized  to  a  higher  temperature, 
as  indicated  by  the  thermometer,  and  to  a  greater  atmospheric  pressure,  as  indicated 
by  tlie  barometer.  Consequently,  it  may  now  be  considered  as  a  permanently  accli- 
matized resident  of  our  great  western  valley ;  though  even  here  it  thrives  much  better, 


282       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

r.:id  extends  eastward  mucli  faster  in  a  cold  northerly  than  in  a  warm  southerly  lati- 
tude. Wo  have  traced  hack  the  history  of  this  insect  as  far  as  the  year  1820  ;  and  in 
all  these  forty-eight  years,  although  no  less  than  seven  invasions  of  the  country  to  tho 
east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  have  taken  place,  namely,  in  1820,  1856,  1857,  1864,  1866, 
1867,  and  1868,  it  has  never  yet  got  within  one  hundred  and  twelve  miles  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi River ;  and  there  is  uo  reason  to  8ui>pose  it  will  ever  do  so  for  the  future." 
There  must  necessarily  be  some  limit  or  other  to  the  powers  of  flight  of  this  insect. 
It  would  be  absurd,  for  example,  to  suppose  that  it  could  fly,  in  ono  season,  as  far  east- 
ward as  England  or  France,  or  even  as  far  as  the  Atlantic  Ocean.  Consequently,  as  it 
can  be  proved  by  historical  records,  that  it  has  never,  within  the  last  half  century, 
reached  within  one  hundred  and  twelve  miles  of  the  Mississiplii,  the  fair  and  reason- 
able inference  is  that  it  never  will  do  so  in  the  future. 

His  views  in  regard  to  the  liatcliing  grounds  or  nativity  of  this  insect 
are  strongly  contested  by  William  N.  Byers,  esquire,  of  Denver,  who  has 
given  the  subject  considerable  attention.  Wliile  Mr.  Walsh  believes  the 
mountain  canons  are  the  points  from  which  they  issue,  (with  whicli  I  at 
first  agreed,)  Mr.  Byers,  on  the  contrary,  thinks  they  come  from  the  i)Laius 
west  of  the  Eocky  Mountains.  I  will  hereafter  give  my  present  opinion, 
my  first  view  having  been  somewhat  modified  by  subsequent  investiga- 
tion. I  have  received  from  Mr.  Byers  a  full  statement  of  his  observations  * 
in  regard  to  the  history  and  habits  of  this  insect,  from  which  1  make  the 
following  quotations : 

They  generally  enter  Colorado  from  some  jioiut  between  north  and  west,  usually 
about  north  30^  west.  Tho  most  destructive  flight  we  ever  had  here  was  in  1864. 
Early  in  the  season  we  heard  of  great  swarms  of  grasshoppers  hatching  out  upon  the 
plains  of  Montana,  in  the  valleys  of  the  Three  Forks  of  the  Missouri  River,  and  along  tho 
Yellowstone.  Later  we  heard  of  their  progress  south  and  east.  In  August  I  .was  with 
Professor  Parry  (now  botanist  of  the  Department  of  Agriculture)  and  Velie  in  an 
attempt  to  ascend  Long's  Peak.  On  the  21st  we  returned  to  the  plains  at  the  mouth  of 
St.  Train's  Canon,  about  flity  miles  north  of  Denver.  A  man  came  up  the  valley,  in  the 
evening,  to  where  we  stopped,  and  reported  tho  grasshoppers  entering  the  valley  from 
the  north.  The  next  morning,  August  22d,  I  rode  down  the  valley  and  found  portions 
of  the  corn  fields  and  grass  blackened  by  their  nnmbers.  About  live  days  after, 
August  27th,  the  swarm  reached  Denver,  darkening  the  sky  and  often  covering  tho 
streets.  They  devoured  corn,  tomatoes,  ])otato  vines,  onions,  &c.,  almost  entirely,  and 
within  the  space  of  three  to  five  days.  The  column  moved  on,  say  ten  miles  per  day, 
and  left  the  (then)  settled  portions  of  Colorado  within  the  valley  or  basin  of  tho 
Arkansas.  We  heard  no  more  of  them.  But  myriads  remained  hei'e,  or  continued 
arriving  from  the  northwest,  and  deposited  their  eggs  in  plowed  fields  and  upon  rolling, 
sandy,  and  gravelly  land,  where  the  sod  was  unbroken.  In  September  and  October 
most  of  them  died,  The  first  swarm  devoured  all  that  Avas  green,  but  Colorado's  green 
crops  in  August  are  of  small  value  compared  with  those  harvested  in  July  and  up  to 
August  10th.  In  March  following  the  eggs  deposited  by  them  began  hatching,  first  upon 
aaudy,  and  gravelly  hillsides,  facing  the  sun,  and  later  in  plowed  fields  aiid  in  colder 
soils,  the  outcoming  brood  reaching  too  late  in  May.  In  walking  over  the  ground  tho 
young  swarm  rose  about  the  feet  like  a  gray  mist  or  dust,  the  lit'tle  creatures  hopping 
away  like  fleas.  Where  numerous  they  literally  devoured  every  green  thing.  If  a 
wheat  field  (in  which  none  were  hatched)  was  attacked  they  moved  across  it,  or  from 
the  circumference  to  the  center,  with  the  regularity  aud  the  effect  of  advancing  flames. 

The  flights  of  1864  destroyed  corn  aud  other  late  crops ;  the  youug  of  1865  ate  up 
wheat  and  other  small  grains.  The  comparative  damage  was  probably  as  one  to  four, 
the  young  brood  being  far  the  worst,  simply  because  their  opportunity  was  greatest. 
Generally  they  move  leisurely ;  their  direction  influenced  largely  by  the  direction  of 
the  wind.  In  fact  I  attribute  mainly  their  general  course  to  the  prevailing  wmds  which 
come  during  that  portion  of  the  season  when  they  fly  most,  almost  invariably  from  the 
northwest.  Along  toward  noon,  in  bright,  warm  days,  they  rise  by  circular  flights, 
each  seeming  to  act  individually,  to  a  considerable  height,  and  then  sail  awaj'',  with 
tolerable  regularity,  in  one  general  direction.  If  there  is  no  wind,  many  of  them  con- 
tinue Avhirling  about  in  the  air,  like  bees  swarming,  but,  away  beyond,  myriads  can  be 
seen  moving  across  the  sun  toward  the  southeast,  looking  hke  snow-flakes.  If  there 
is  a  change  in  the  atmosphere,  such  as  the  approach  of  a  thunder-storm,  or  gale  of 
wind,  they  come  down  precipitately,  seeming  to  fold  their  wings  and  fall  by  the  force 
of  gravity,  thousands  being  killed  by  the  fall,  if  it  is  upon  stone,  or  other  hard  surface. 
If  not  interrupted  by  such  causes  they  descend  during  the  afternoon. 

The  swarm  of  August,  1864,  and  the  brood  of  April  and  May,  1865,  are  the  only  gen- 
eral visitations  that  have  scourged  Colorado.    Similar  ones,  both  flights  and  broods, 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       283 

hnve  visited  portions  of  tlie  Territory  each  year  since,  but  generally  coufiucdtoijartic- 
ular  localities  or  narrow  belts. 

The  swarms  that  invaded  Kansas  and  portions  of  Western  Iowa  in  18(57  were  traced 
from  their  hatching  grounds  in  Western  Dakota  and  Montana,  along  the  east  flank 
of  the  Rochy  Mountains,  and  in  the  valleys  and  plains  of  the  Black  Hills,  and  between 
them  and  tlie  main  Rocky  Mountain  range. 

The  Hateful  Grasshopper  reaches  perfection  only  in  a  hot  dry  atmosphere.  The  great- 
er the  heat  of  air  and  earth,  the  brighter  the  sun,  the  dryer  everything,  the  more  it 
flourishes.  The  egg  will  hatch  at  a  low  temperatui-e ;  cold  will  probably  not  destroy 
ir  ;  individual  insects  will  endure  a  wonderful  degree  of  cold,  some  living  through  the 
entire  winter  hero  ;  but  under  such  circumstances  I  do  not  believe  that  the  young  will 
become  a  perfect  insect,  capable  of  perpetuating  its  species.  Heavy  dews,  frequent 
showers  with  prevailing  cloudy  weather  and  humid  atmosphere  are  very  unfavorable 
to  their  growth.  Hence  I  argtie  that  there  is  no  danger  of  their  ever  becoming  a  gen- 
eral or  permanent  scourge  in  the  United  States.  The  exceptional  seasons,  like  that  of 
13!)7,  when  the  season  has  favored  their  early  development,  and  prevailing  westerly 
■winds  carry  them  steadily  and  rapidly  on  their  journey,  they  may  invade  some  of  the 
States  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Their  eggs  deposited  there  may  even  hatch,  but  I  think 
the  product  will  be  a  feeble  and  comparatively  harmless  generation,  from  which  none 
v^ill  follow. 

In  185*2  I  first  observed  the  insect  in  question  in  the  vally  of  the  south  fork  of  the 
Columbia  River,  not  far  from  Fort  Hall.  A  swarm  lasting  two  or  three  days  passed 
over  from  about  W.  S.  W.,  moving  with  the  wind,  at  times  darkening  the  sun,  cover- 
ing horses,  cattle,  and  wagons,  against  which  they  were  driven.  The  Digger  and 
Snake  Indians  were  gathering  them  for  food.  In  1865,  when  they  hatched  here,  upon 
attaining  about  half  their  full  size,  they  were  attacked  by  a  fly,  which,  stinging  them 
in  the  back  between  the  root  of  the  wings,  deposited  one  or  more  eggs,  which  produced 
a  large  white  maggot.  The  worm  subsisted  upon  the  grasshopper,  finally  causing  its 
death,  when  it  cut  its  way  out  and  entered  the  earth.  In  this  way  probably  half  were 
destroyed,  often  covering  the  ground  and  filling  the  furrows  in  plowed  fields  with  their 
carcases.  The  remainder  took  to  flight,  moving  southeast,  when  their  Avings  were 
sufficiently  develoiied,  and  we  lost  trace  of  them  on  the  great  Plains.  In  the  same 
year,  about  the  last  of  August,  I  was  in  the  valley  of  South  Boulder  Creek,  close  up  to 
the  Snowy  Range,  and  found  the  young  grasshoppers  very  numerous,  varying  in  size 
fiom  those  just  hatched  to  one-third  grown.  I  know  that  winter  caught  and  killed 
tliem  liefore  they  were  able  to  fly  out  of  the  valley,  or  old  enough  to  produce  eggs. 

In  1867 1  observedthe  same  thing  in  the  valleys  west  of  the  Snowy  Range.  Late  in  that 
year  the  Middle  Park  was  also  invaded  by  full-grown  grasshoppers  that  came  from  the 
northwest.  They  deposited  eggs  in  favorable  ground.  In  1863  those  eggs  began  hatching 
in  the  lowest  and  warmest  portions  of  the  Park  in  June,  increasing  in  Julj',  and  con- 
tinuing through  August  and  into  September  in  the  higher  portions  of  the  Park,  uj)  to- 
ward its  rim,  where  snow  and  frost  continue  later  in  the  spring  and  summer.  The  first 
hatched  moved  from  their  native  idace  up  the  Park  eastward,  but  never  got  out  of  it. 
The  later  broods  never  left  their  hatching  ground.  All  were  destroyed  by  the  fall 
snows.  From  the  middle  to  the  25th  of  August,  1868,  I  was  upon  aud  near  the  Snowy 
Range  east  of  Middle  Park,  and  on  Long's  Peak.  There  was  a  large,  daily  flight  of  full- 
grown  grasshoppers,  from  about  W.  N.  W.,  reaching,  apjiarently,  to  the  highest  limit 
of  vision  when  on  the  highest  peaks.  Daily  showers  i^revailed  of  rain,  snow  and  hail, 
usually  from  12  m.  to  3  p.  m.,  and  most  of  the  flying  insects  were  beaten  down  by  them, 
when  they  became  so  chillecl  aud  benumbed  that  they  never  rose  again.  The  snow- 
fields  in  many  places  were  literally  covered  with  the  dead  aud  dying.  Bears  were  very 
plentiful  feeding  and  fatteuing  upon  them.  Hundreds,  yes,  thousands  of  bushels  might 
have  been  shoveled  up  from  the  hard  snow. 

I  know  that  they  did  not  come  from  the  adjacent  Middle  Park,  because  those  bred 
there  had  not  then  attained  their  full  growth,  and  never  did,  as  before  stated.  The 
migrating  swarms,  therefore,  must  have  come  from  beyond — from  the  Green  River  basin ; 
or,  as  I  think,  from  the  wide,  hot,  dry  plains  of  Utah. 

These  notes  by  Mr.  Byers  contain  so  many  important  fiicts  in  respect 
to  the  historj'  of  this  species,  that  I  have  thonght  it  best  to  make  very 
fall  quotations  from  them,  that  they  may  be  on  record  for  future  exam- 
ination. During  the  expedition  of  the  present  year,  while  traveling"  up 
the  Xorth  Platte,  between  Fort  Fetterman  and  Red  Buttes,  (August 
2i)-23),  we  observed  vast  numbers  of  this  species.  They  were  not  on 
the  wing,  having  to  all  appearance  ended  their  flight,  and  were  now 
pairing,  doubtless  intending  to  deposit  their  eggs  there.  Fremont  en- 
countered a  similar  swarm  in  jiassiug  over  this  part  of  the  ]S'orth 
Platte  Valley.    He  remarks,  "  This  insect  has  been  so  numerous  since 


284       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

leaving  Fort  Laramie  that  the  ground  seemed  alive  with  them; 
and  in  walking  a  little  moving  cloud  preceded  our  footsteps."  They 
had  probably  ceased  their  flight,  and  were  preparing  to  deposit  their 
eggs.  By  reference  to  my  present  report  on  the  agriculture  of  this  sec- 
tion it  will  be  seen  that  here  there  appears  to  be  an  almost  constant 
current  of  air  sweeping  down  the  Platte  Valley  from  the  west.  Wlien 
we  reached  South  Pass  City  I  learned  from  Major  Baldwin  that  about 
the  first  of  the  month  (August)  a  large  swarm  had  crossed  over  the 
pass  from  the  west,  moving  eastward,  and  that  they  had  not  goue  to 
Wind  River  Valley.  I  am  satisfied  that  they  did  not  go  upon  the  Lar- 
amie Plains,  as  I  visited  that  section  twice  during  the  season.  Nor  did 
we  meet  with  any  swarms  during  our  passage  uj)  the  Sweetwater ;  we 
may,  therefore,  reasonably  infer  that  those  we  saw  on  the  North  Platte 
were  the  same  that  crossed  the  mountains  at  South  Pass.  From  whence 
did  they  come  ?  As  we  heard  nothing  of  them  during  our  passage  down 
Big  Sandy  along  the  stage  road,  I  infer  that  they  must  have  come  from 
the  northwest;  but  what  distance  I  have  no  means  of  ascertaining.  As 
heretofore  stated,  they  have  been  very  destructive  in  Utah  for  the  past 
three  years,  not  only  injuring  very  materially  the  growing  crops,  but 
eating  the  leaves  from  the  fruit  trees  to  such  an  extent  as  to  injure  the 
fruit.  From  Dr.  A.  T.  McDonald,  of  Provo  City,  I  learned  the  follow- 
ing particulars  in  regard  to  the  incursions  of  this  insect  into  the  Terri- 
tory. That  the  i^revailing  cold  and  winter  storms  are  from  the  north- 
west, but  that  the  grasshoppers  seldom  come  from  that  direction.  On 
the  contrary,  they  generally  came  from  the  northeast  through  the 
caiions,  being  brouglit  in  by  the  local  currents  which  sweep  through 
these  mountain  openings,  and  that  they  generally  pass  oft"  in  a  south- 
west direction,  though  the  swarms  that  come  in  often  remain  and  de- 
posit their  eggs,  from  which  another  brood  arises  in  the  spring.  Some- 
times, after  a  swarm  has  departed  to  the  southwest,  the  wind  changes, 
and  they  are  driven  back  to  be  swallowed  up  in  the  lakes,  or  perish  in 
the  valley.  The  time  of  coming  varies  from  the  middle  of  May  to  the 
middle  of  August.  The  eggs  that  are  deposited  here  usually  hatch  out 
in  April  and  May.  The  growing  crops  receive  their  greatest  injury 
from  the  young,  which  are  hatched  in  the  valley.  The  usual  method  of 
fighting  these  young  gormands  is  to  drive  them  into  the  irrigating 
ditches,  where  they  are  drowned  in  the  water.  When  they  are  a  little 
older  they  are  often  checked  by  scattering  straw  along  the  edge  of  the 
ditches,  and  driving  them  into  it  early  in  the  morning,  and  then  firing 
it ;  those  which  are  not  destroyed  by  the  fire  being  caught  in  the  water 
of  the  ditch  and  drowned.  But  these  methods  of  combating  them  are 
practicable  only  when  they  are  in  the  larvae  and  pupa  states. 

Dr.  McDonald  says  that  in  Utah,  at  least,  the  females  deposit  their 
eggs  in  the  ground  in  sacks — a  fact  heretofore  noticed  and  published — 
on  the  gravelly  elevated  plateaus,  or  foot-hills.  And  from  my  observa- 
tions this  season  I  am  inclined  to  agree  with  him  in  the  opinion  that 
these  elevated  table  lands,  which  are  composed  of  coarse  sand  and 
gravel,  and  but  slightly  covered  with  vegetation,  are  the  principal  hatch- 
ing grounds  of  the  migratory  swarms.  The  local  broods  are  to  be  found 
all  over  the  Eocky  Mountain  region,  from  Raton  Mountains  as  far  north 
as  I  have  been,  and  as  far  west,  at  least,  as  Salt  Lake  Valley.  These 
are  found  hatching  out  in  the  grassy  valleys  and  broad  plains  of  the 
lower  lands,  and  up  the  mountain  canons  almost  to  the  snow  limits. 
And  these  broods  appear  to  have  little  or  no  connection  with  the  mi- 
grating broods ;  but  the  solution  of  these  questions  will  require  more 
extended  observations  by  those  who  can  distinguish  the  species. 


PA.ET     IV. 


SPECIAL    EEPOKTS 


I.  PKELIMINAEY  PALEONTOLOGICAL  REPORT.    By  F.  B.  MEEK. 
II.  ON  THE  TERTIARY  COALS  OF  THE  WEST.     By  JAS.  T.  HODGE, 
ni.  ON  THE  ANCIENT  LAIvES  OF  WESTERN  AMERICA :    THEIR  DEPOSITS 

AND  DRAINAGE.    By  J.  S.  NEWBERRY,  LL.D. 
IV.  ON  THE  VERTEBRATE  FOSSILS  OF  THE   TERTIARY  FORMATIONS  OF 
THE  W^EST.     By  JOSEPH  LEIDY,  LL.D. 
V.  ON  THE  FOSSIL  PLANTS  OF  THE  CRETACEOUS  AND  TERTIARY  FOR- 
MATIONS OF  ICANSAS  AND  NEBRASKA.     By  MR.  L.  LESQUEREUX. 
VL  ON  THE  FOSSIL  REPTILES  AND. FISHES  OF  THE  CRETACEOUS  ROCKS 

OF  KANSAS.    By  PROF.  E.  D.  COPE. 
VII.  ON  THE  FOSSIL  FISHES  OF  THE  GREEN  RIVER  GROUP.    By  PROF.  E. 

D.  COPE. 
VIII.  ON  THE  REPTILES  AND  FISHES  OBTAINED  BY  THE  NATURALISTS  OF 
THE  EXPEDITION.     By  PROF.  E.  D.  COPE. 
IX.  ON  THE  INDUSTRIAL  RESOURCES  OF  WESTERN  KANSAS  AND  EAST- 
ERN COLORADO.    By  MR.  R.  S.  ELLIOTT. 


I.— PRELIMINARY    PALEONTOLOGICAL     REPORT, 

CONSISTING  OF 

LISTS  OF   FOSSILS,  WITH   DESCRIPTIONS   OF   SOME  NEW 

TYPES,  ETC. 


By  F.  B.  Meek. 


GENERAL  EEMARKS.* 


The  few  Silurian  fossils  enumerated  in  the  following  list  appear, 
judging  from  their  affinities,  to  belong  to  a  low  horizon  in  that  series  or 
system  of  rocks.  OpMleta  complanata,  as  is  well  known,  occurs  in  the 
calciferous  group  of  the  Lower  Sikiriau  in  New  York.  The  specimens 
in  the  collection  referred  to  this  shell  are  smaller  than  the  usual  size  of 
Vanuxem's  species,  and  may  possibly  belong  to  a  distinct  representative 
form,  though  they  seem  to  agree  in  all  respects,  excepting  in  size,  with 
0.  compJanata.  An  associated  sub-discoid  shell,  belonging  apparently 
to  the  genus  RapJiistoma,  is  also  nearlj^  allied  to  a  species  found  along 
with  0.  eomplanata  in  rocks  of  about  the  age  of  the  calciferous  along 
Lake  Pepin  in  Minnesota  and  Wisconsin.  Another  little  gasteropod, 
however,  found  associated  with  those  mentioned  above,  and  for  which  I 
have  proposed  the  name  Bucandla  nana,  is  not  only  congeneric  with,  but 
even  specifically  allied  to  one  found  in  the  Medina  sandstone,  and  some 
of  the  higher  rocks  in  New  York,  though  it  is  nevertheless  specifically 
distinct  from  the  New  York  form.  So  far  as  these  few  fossils  warrant 
the  expression  of  an  opinion  respecting  the  age  of  the  rock  from  which 
they  were  obtained,  I  should  be  inclined  to  place  it  nearly  on  a  parallel 
with  the  calciferous  division  of  the  Lower  Silurian. 

The  rock  from  which  the  single  Orthis  was  obtained  at  Colorado  City 
is  probably  also  Lower  Silurian,  as  this  shell  belongs  to*  a  section  of  the 
genus  found  in  rocks  of  that  age,  and  is  unlike  any  carboniferous  or 
Devonian  form  known  to  me. 

In  regard  to  the  carboniferous  species  mentioned  in  the  following  list, 
I  have  elsewhere  remarked  that  although  some  of  them  "  are  forms 
known  to  be  common  to  the  lower  carboniferous  and  the  coal  measures 
of  the  Western  States,  they  are  all,  with  one  or  two  exceptions,  so  far 
as  they  have  been  identified,  found  in  the  coal  measures  of  Illinois,  Iowa, 
Kansas,  and  Nebraska,  while  not  a  single  one  of  them  is  identical  with 
any  of  the  species  peculiar  to  the  carboniferous  limestone  series  below 
the  horizon  of  the  millstone  grit  in  the  Western  States,  though  about 
fourteen  of  them  are  peculiar  to  the  coal  measures  there."  t 

From  these  facts  it  would  seem  that  if  the  lower  carboniferous  lime- 
stones of  the  Mississippi  Valley  are  represented  at  the  localities  from 
which  these  collections  were  obtained,  they  probably  contain  few  fossils, 
and  that  the  principal  fossiliferous  carboniferous  strata  there  belong  to 
the  horizon  of  the  coal  measures,  as  developed  farther  eastward.     We 

*  I  am  iiutler  oblijrations  to  Professor  Henry  for  the  usual  facilities  at  the  Sniithsouiaa 
Iii*titutiou,  while  preparing  this  paper, 
t  Proceed,  Am.  Philosoph.  Soc,  Phila.,  XI,  p.  428,  1870. 


288       GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TEKKITORIES. 

bave  reason  to  believe  that  tliere  are,  however,  in  the  region  of  the  Great 
Salt  Lake,  beds  representing  some  of  the  higher  members  of  the  lower 
carboniferous  series  of  the  Mississippi  Valley.  Colonel  Simpson  brought 
from  there,  in  a  dark,  very  hard  limestone  matrix,  specimens  of  one  of 
those  curious,  screw-shaped  Po??/2^o«,  known  by  the  generic  name  ^rc/iim- 
cdes,  so  common  in  the  lowev  carboniferous  limestones  of  the  Western 
States,  but  unknown  in  the  coal  measures.  Some  of  the  corals  brought 
by  Colonel  Simpson  and  others  are  also  unlike  any  of  those  known  in 
the  coal  measures  of  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  more  nearly  allied  to 
forms  found  in  the  upper  members  of  the  lower  carboniferous  lime- 
stone series  in  the  States  east  of  the  Rocky  Mountains. 

Among  all  of  the  carboniferous  fossils  yet  brought  from  any  part  of 
the  llocky  Mountains,  as  well  as  from  localities  west  of  there,  I  have 
never  seen  a  single  species  indicating  the  existence  there  of  any  repre- 
sentative of  the  Burlington  limestone,  which,  with  its  great  profusion 
of  beautiful  criuoids,  forms  so  marked  a  horizon  in  the  carboniferous 
rocks  as  developed  in  some  of  the  States  farther  eastward.  This,  how- 
ever, is  just  what  we  might  expect,  since  the  Burlington  limestone,  even 
in  the  States  alluded  to,  is  comparatively  limited  in  its  geographical 
range,  and  evidently  owes  its  origin  to  local  physical  conditions ;  while 
the  Chester,  St.  Louis,  and  Keokuk  limestones  have  a  much  wider  geo- 
graphical range  in  the  Mississippi  Valley,  and  hence  would  be  more  apt 
to  be  represented  at  these  distant  western  localities. 

Judging  from  the  few  fossils  yet  brought  from  the  far  West  that  be- 
long to  the  lower  carboniferous,  the  evidence  seems  to  favor  the  con- 
clusion that  the  rocks  from  which  they  were  collected  rather  represent 
the  Chester  and  St.  Louis  beds  than  any  of  the  older  divisions.  It  is 
not  improbable,  however,  that  when  the  whole  series  of  carboniferous 
deposits  in  the  Eocky  Mountains  can  be  thoroughl}'  worked  out  in  detail, 
there  may  be  found  subdi%isions  there  that  have  no  representatives  in 
the  Mississippi  Valley,  as  we  have  reason  to  believe  several  members  of 
the  series,  as  made  out  in  the  latter  districts,  may  be  wanting  farther 
westward.  So  far  as  yet  known  we  have  no  reason  to  believe,  from  any 
paleontological  evidence,' that  the  important  oldest  member  of  the  car- 
boniferous, known  in  Ohio  as  the  Waverly  group  or  series,  occurs  in  the 
Eocky  Mountain  region. 

The  small  collection  of  fossils  I  have  placed  in  a  separate  list,  under 
the  heading  "  Permo-carboniferons,"  are  contained  in  a  brittle,  whitish, 
cherty  matrix  from  Box  Elder  Station,  on  Platte  River.  Although 
without  exception,  so  far  as  they  can  be  identified,  forms  that  have  an 
extensive  range  in  the  coal  measures  of  the  Western  States — most  of 
them  even  extending  into  the  middle  and  lower  coal  measures,  and  one 
even  into  the  Chester  limestone* — these  fossils,  when  viewed  together 
as  a  group,  point  to  a  higher  position  in  the  series  than  those  that  pre- 
cede them  in  the  following  lists.  Indeed,  there  are  probably  few  Euro- 
pean geologists  unacquainted  with  the  range  of  these  forms  in  the 
carboniferous  rocks  of  this  country,  that  would  hesitate  to  refer  them  to 
the  Permian.  The  genera  Pseudo-monotis  {Monotis  of  some,  not  of 
Bronn)  and  BaJcevellia  are  generally  regarded  in  Europe  as  characteristic 
of  the  Permian,  while  the  Schizodus,  Myalina  and  Pleurojjhorus,  particu- 
larly the  former  two,  are  specifically  closely  allied  to  foreign  Permian 
types.  The  fact,  too,  that  we  find  among  the  specimens  from  this  chert 
but  one  species  of  the  BracMopoda  {Remipromies  crassus)  so  very  com- 

*  I  have  recently  identified  Hemipronites  crassus,  from  specimens  sliowius;  both  thejn- 
ternal  and  external  characters,  among  some  collections  sent  to  me  from  Professor 
Stevenson  from  the  Chester  limestone  of  West  Virginia. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  2'S9 

mou  iu  our  western  coal  measures,  and  scarcely  any  of  tbe  coal-measure 
Gasteropoda,  and  none  of  the  Polyzoa,  Fonwiiniferaj  corals  or  fisli  re- 
mains, when  viewed  in  connection  with  the  affinities  of  the  forms  men- 
tioned, certainly  imparts  quite  a  Permian  aspect  to  this  little  group  of 
fossils. 

On  the  other  hand,  when  we  bear  in  mind  the  fact  above  stated,  that 
«//  of  the  species,  so  far  as  they  can  be  identified,  are  certainly  known 
to  rauge  far  down  into  the  unquestionable  coal-measures  of  the  western 
States,  while  we  here  also  find  associated  with  them  a  rhlUlpsiaj  a 
genus  entirely  unknown  in  the  Permian  of  Europe,  and  even  belonging 
to  an  order  or  suborder  of  Crustacea,  not  certainly  known  to  have  ex- 
isted after  the  close  of  the  Carboniferous  epoch,  v;e  at  once  see  the  ne- 
cessity for  caution  in  referring  this  rock  to  the  Permian,  on  such  evi- 
dence. 

Every  one  fji miliar  with  the  organic  remains  of  the  coal-measures  of 
the  31ississippi  Valley,  is  aware  of  the  fact  that  we  not  unfrequently 
meet  with  thin  local  beds  and  seams  there,  coutainiug  preciselj'  such  a 
group  of  fossils,  and  yet  overlaid,  where  there  is  not  the  slightest  dis- 
turbance of  the  strata,  by  hundreds  of  feet  of  unmistakable  coal-meas- 
ures, filled  with  their  characteristic  plants,  Foraminifcra,  Brachiopoda., 
LameUihranchiata,  (rfl,stero/;of7fl,  Trilobites,  fish  remains,  &c.  Hence  it  is 
more  probable  that  the  association  of  these  ten  or  twelve  fossils  iu  this 
bed  of  chert,  and  the  absence,  so  far  as  known,  of  the  other  forms  men- 
tioned, resulted  from  some  j)eculiar  local  physical  conditions  he/ore,  rather 
than  at  or  after  the  close  of  the  carboniferous  period.  The  })robability  is, 
that  this  bed  belongs  to  the  same  horizon  as  the  rocks  in  Kansas,  to  which 
we  have  applied  the  name  Permo-carboniferous,  though  it  may  be  even 
somewhat  older. 

The  few  forms  placed  iu  the  list  under  the  heading  "  Jurassic  species," 
nearly  all  came  from  the  same  horizon,  and  some  of  them  from  the  same 
localities,  as  those  we  have  figured  and  described  in  the  paleontology  of 
the  Upper  Missouri,  and  there  referred  to  the  Jura.  Although  the  spe- 
cies known  from  these  beds  are  amply  sufficient  to  prove  them  to  be 
of  Jurassic  age,  they  scarcely  warrant,  or,  at  any  rate,  have  not  yet  been 
sufficiently  compared  with  European  Jurassic  species  to  justifj"  a  positive 
opinion  in  regard  to  their  precise  horizon  in  that  great  series  of  rocks, 
though  the}'  appear  to  occuj)y  a  rather  low  position  iu  the  same,  judging 
from  their  affinities.  The  single  Ammonite  from  between  Sacramento 
and  Summit  Station,  described  by  Mr.  Gabb,  under  the  name  A.  N'eva- 
densis,  probably  came  from  the  horizon  of  some  part  of  the  Lias. 

The  cretaceous  species  enumerated  in  the  list  belong  to  horizons  rep- 
resenting all  of  the  subdivisions  of  the  cretaceous  series  as  made  out  in 
the  Upper  Missouri  country,  and  serve  to  illustrate,  to  some  extent,  the 
geographical  extension  of  these  several  rocks  or  groups,  southward  and 
westward  from  the  original  typical  localities.  The  numbers  1,  2,  3,  4, 
and  5,  along  the  right-hand  margin  of  the  list,  opposite  the  localities,, 
show  to  which  member  of  the  Upper  Missouri  cretaceous  each  species- 
belongs — the  subdivisions  of  the  Upper  Missouri  cretaceous  having 
been  severally  named  and  numbered  from  below  upward,  as  follows : 
Xo.  1,  Dakota  Group ;  ]S"o.  2,  Fort  Benton  Group  ;  Xo.  3,  Niobrara  Di- 
vision ;  No.  4,  Fort  Pierre  Group,  and  No.  5,  Fox  Hills  Beds ;  the  names 
being  derived  from  localities  where  the  several  formations  are  well  de- 
veloped. 

The  specimens  from  twelve  miles  southwest  of  Salina,  Kansas,  came 
from  a  brown  ferruginous  sandstone  belonging  to  the  horizon  of  the 
DakotaGroup,  or  oldest  division  of  the  Upper  Missoiu*'  cretaceous  series. 
19  G 


290       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

For  these  we  are  under  many  obligations  to  Professor  B.  F.  Mudge,  of 
the  Kansas  Agricultural  College,  at  Manhattan.*  They  are  especially 
interesting,  because  we  have  hitherto  known  only  a  few  of  the  Molhisca 
of  this  horizon,  though  the  remains  of  many  species  of  forest  trees  had 
been  obtained  from  this  rock,  both  on  the  Missouri  and  in  the  interior 
of  Kansas.  The  shells  discovered  by  Professor  Mudge  are  marine 
types,  with  probably  the  exception  of  two  species  of  Corbimila ;  while 
on  the  Missouri  we  have  obtained  from  this  rock  only  a  few  marine 
types,  such  as  Mactra  and  Axincea,  associated  with  Cyrena,  Unio,  and 
Fha7'ella. 

It  is  i^roper  to  remark  here  that,  although  we  usually  speak  of  this 
Dakota  Grouii  or  division  as  belonging  to  the  earlier  or  lower  cretaceous 
of  the  Upper  Missouri  country,  we  do  not  thereby  mean  that  it  belongs 
to  the  loiver  part  of  the  cretaceous  system,  as  understood  in  Europe ; 
but  simply  that  it  is  the  oldest  member  of  the  series  yet  certainly  known 
in  the  Upper  Missouri  country.  It  is  probably  not  older  than  the  lower 
or  gray  chalk  of  British  geologists,  as  we  have  elsewhere  explained. 

The  specimens  from  near  Fort  Bridger  and  Medicine  Bow  Eiver, 
Wyoming,  as  well  as  from  six  miles  west  of  Caiion  Station  and  Dodson's 
Ranch,  show  that  the  Fort  Benton  Group  or  division  of  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri cretaceous  occurs  at  those  localities.  Among  the  specimens  from 
between  Hardscrabble  and  St.  Charles,  from  Fort  Bascom,  Medicine 
Bow  River,  and  Colorado  City,  there  are  characteristic  forms  of  the 
Niobrara  Division ;  and  from  the  mouth  of  Deer  Creek,  Wyoming,  val- 
ley of  Fountain  Creek,  and  Box  Elder  Creek,  Colorado,  there  are  Fort 
Pierre  forms.  The  Fox  Hills  beds  are  also  shown  to  be  represented  at 
Fountain  Creek,  and  Colorado  City,  Colorado. 

Some  of  the  specimens  from  near  Bear  River,  and  at  Coalville,  Utah, 
from  a  light-colored  sandstoue,  containing  beds  of  a  good  quality  of 
brown  coal,  appear  to  belong  to  a  member  of  the  cretaceous  series  not  • 
■  corresponding  to  any  of  those  named  in  the  Upper  Missouri  country; 
though  it  is,  as  I  believe,  represented  by  a  similar  sandstone  under  the 
■oldest  estuary  tertiary  beds  at  the  mouth  of  the  Judith  River,  on  the 
Upper  Missouri.  In  1800  Colonel  Simjison  brought  from  this  rock,  on 
Sulphur  Creek,  a  small  tributary  of  Bear  River,  in  Utah,  some  casts  of 
Inoceramus,  and  other  fossils ;  and  in  some  remarks  on  Colonel  Simp- 
son's collection,  published  by  the  writer,  in  connection  with  Mr.  Henry 
Engelmanu,  the  geologist  of  Colonel  Simpson's  survey,*  we  referred  this 
formation  to  tlie  cretaceous.  The  collections  that  have  since  been 
brought  in  from  it,  in  Utah,  by  Mr.  King's  and  Dr.  Hayden's  surveys, 
confirm  the  conclusion  that  it  belongs  to  the  cretaceous,  as  they  contain, 
among  other  things,  species  of  Inoceramus,  Anchura,  and  (xyrodes — 
genera  that  seem  not  to  have  survived  the  close  of  the  cretaceous 
period.  In  addition  to  this,  there  is  among  Dr.  Hayden's  collections 
from  this  rock,  at  Coalville,  a  Turritella  that  I  cannot  distinguish  by  the 
figure  and  description,  even  specifically,  from  T.  Martinezensis,  described 
by  Mr.^Gabb,  from  one  of  the  upper  beds  in  California  referred  to  the 
cretaceous.  A  Modiola  from  the  same  horizon  also  appears  to  be  spe- 
cifically identical  with  M.  Pedernalis,  of  Tioemer,  from  the  cretaceous 
of  Texas.  Dr.  Hay  den  also  has,  from  a  little  above  the  coal  beds  at 
Coalville,  specimens  of  oyster  that  seem  much  like  0.  Idriaensis  and  0. 
Breiccrii,  of  Gabb,  from  the  upper  beds  of  the  California  cretaceous. 
As  no.  other  fossils  were  found  directly  associated  with  these  oy'sters, 

*  I  have  prepared  a  quarto  plate  fully  illustratine;  these  fossils,  to  he  i)uhlished  in 
;tho  Paleontology  of  the  Upper  Missouri. 

*  See  Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  1860. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       291 

however,  nor  any  strictly  marine  forms  above  them,  it  is  possible  that 
they  may  belong  to  the  lower  tertiary. 

From  the  affinities  of  some  of  these  fossils  to  forms  found  in  the  latest 
of  the  beds  referred  in  California  to  the  cretaceous,  and  the  intimate 
relations  of  these  marine  coal-bearing;  strata  of  Utah  to  the  oldest  ter- 
tiary of  the  same  region,  and  the  apparent  occurrence  of  equivalent 
beds  bearing  the  same  relations  to  the  oldest  brackish-water  tertiary 
beds  at  the  mouth  of  Judith  River  on  the  Upper  Missouri,*  I  am  in- 
clined to  believe  that  these  Coalville  beds  occupy  a  higher  horizon  in 
the  cretaceous  than  even  the  Fox  Hills  beds  of  the  Upper  Missouri  cre- 
taceous series ;  or,  in  other  words,  that  they  belong  to  the  closing  or 
latest  member  of  the  cretaceous. 

All  of  the  explorers  of  this  region  concur  in  the  statement  that  the 
above-mentioned  cretaceous  beds  are  intimately  related  to  the  succeed- 
ing brackish- water  deposits  that  appear  to  belong  to  the  oldest  tertiary ; 
the  two  formations,  wherever  they  occur  together,  being  conformable 
and  without  any  intermediate  beds,  so  that  the  one  seems  to  shade  into 
the  other,  without  any  abrupt  or  sharply-defined  Hue  of  separation ;  the 
change  being  mainly  indicated  by  a  gradual  transition  from  beds  con- 
taining cretaceous  types  of  only  marine  origin,  to  those  with  brackish 
and  fresh  water  types,  apparently  most  nearly  allied  to  early  eocene  spe- 
cies of  the  Old  World. 

So  far  as  yet  known,  there  would  appear  to  be  no  strictly  marine  ter- 
tiary deposits  in  all  this  interior  region  of  the  continent ;  even  the  lower 
parts  of  the  surface  here  having  been  apparently  gradually  elevated 
above  the  sea  level  at,  or  very  near,  the  close  of  the  cretaceous  period. 
For  the  same  reason  all  of  the  beds  hitherto  referred  with  confidence  to 
the  cretaceous  are  of  undoubted  marine  origin,  as  they  contain  only 
marine  tyi)es. 

These  cretaceous  gulfs  or  seas,  however,  evidently  did  not  occupy  the 
whole  country  here,  as  we  know  from  the  absence  of  cretaceous  deposits 
throughout  what  were  doubtless  wide  areas,  or  possibly,  in  some  cases, 
smaller  islands  of  dry  land  at  that  time.  As  the  whole  surface  was 
gradually  elevated,  however,  even  the  lowest  iiortious  rose  finally  to 
near  the  tide  level,  thus,  probably,  leaving  large  iulets  and  estuaries  of 
brackish  waters  that  subsequently  became  so  far  isolated  by  the  contin- 
ued elevation,  and  from  sedimentary  deposits,  as  to  iirevent  the  influx 
of  the  tides  and  form  fresh-water  lakes,  in  which  the  later  fresh-water 
and  terrestrial  types  of  fossils  only  were  deposited. 

That  this  change  from  marine  to  brackish- water  conditions  was  exactly 
contemporaneous  with  the  close  of  the  cretaceous  epoch,  and  the  intro- 
duction of  the  tertiary  in  Europe,  is  not  certain ;  nor  is  it  necessary  that 
this  should  have  been  the  case  to  constitute  the  older  rock  cretaceous  and 
the  later  tertiary,  because  in  the  use  of  these  terms  we  have  reference 
rather  to  the  order  of  succession  of  certain  great  physical  changes,  affect- 
ing life  in  distantly-separated  parts  of  the  earth,  than  to  the  exact  time 
of  the  occurrence  of  these  changes. 

*  Associated  with  the  estuary  beds  at  the  month  of  Judith  River,  ou  the  Upper  Slis- 
souri,  there  is  a  yellowish  areuaceotis  rock,  agreeing  exactly  iu  its  litliological  charac- 
ters with  the  coal-beariug  strata  on  Bear  River,  iu  Utah,  aud  containing  an  oyster  ap- 
parently belonging  to  the  same  species  as  one  found  in  the  rock  mentioned  at  the  lat- 
ter locality.  All  of  the  strata  at  this  Judith  River  locality  are  upheaved,  and  more  or 
less  mingled  together,  and  I  have  long  suspected  that  some  vertebrate  remains  found 
there  by  Dr.  Hayden,  and  supposed  bj-  Dr.  Leidy  to  be  cretaceous  types,  belong  rather 
to  the  sandstone,  that  apjiears  to  be  an  equivalent  of  the  Bear  River  coal  strata  of 
Utah,  than  to  the  estuary  beds.  It  is  even  possible  that  equivalent  beds  at  other 
localities  in  the  Upper  Missouri  country  may  have  been,  from  the  absence  of  charac- 
teristic fossils,  included  along  with  the  tertiary. 


292       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

*  The  oldest  beds  in  the  Bear  Eiver  •country  of  Utah  and  Wyoming, 
properly  belonging  to  the  tertiary,  and,  as  above  stated,  so  intimately 
related  to  the  latest  cretaceous,  contain  species  of  Corbula,  Gyrena,  {Gor- 
hicula),  perhaps  Ostrea  and  a  univalve  related  to  Melamjms,  directly  asso- 
ciated with  several  species  of  Goniohasis,  two  of  Unio,  one  or  two  of  Me- 
lantho,  several  species  of  Vivijjarus,  one  of  Tiara,  &c.,  showing  clearly 
that  these  strata  were  deposited  in  brackish  waters.t  These  shells  also 
exist  in  great  numbers,  and  are  preserved  in  a  condition  showiug  that 
they  could  not  have  been  transported  far  by  currents,  but  that  they  must 
have  lived  and  died  at  least  near  where  we  now  find  them. 

All  i)aleontologists  are  aware  of  the  fact  that  the  remains  of  fresh  and 
brackish-water  shells  do  not  generally  present  such  well-marked  peculi- 
arities of  form,  ornamentation,  &c.,  in  beds  of  different  ages,  as  we  see 
in  marine  types,  so  that  they  cannot  always  be  relied  upon  with  the 
same  degree  of  confidence  in  identifying  strata  that  we  place  ia  marine 
forms ;  some  of  those  from  oldest  cretaceous  being,  for  instance,  A-ery' 
similar  to  existing  species.  So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  compare  the 
species  from  this  formation  with  described  forms  from  other  parts  of  the 
world,  they  generally  agree  most  nearly  with  lower  eocene  types ;  the 
Corbiculas  and  Tiara  being  very  similar  to  forms  found  in  the  lower 
lignites  of  the  Paris  basin,  and  at  the  mouth  of  the  Ehone  in  France.  At 
the  same  time  it  is  worthy  of  note,  that  most  of  these  shells  are  quite 
unlike  any  of  the  known  existing  Islorth  American  species,  and  one  of 
them  {Tiara  humerosa)  belongs  even  to  a  gen  as  entirely  unknown  among 
the  existing  Melanians  of  the  American  continent,  though  found  inhab- 
iting the  streams  of  Madagascar,  the  Fejee  Islands,  &c.  One  of  the 
Uuiones  ( JJ.  hellipJicatus)  resembles  in  its  ornamentation  some  of  the 
South  American  species  and  the  genus  Gastalia,  much  more  nearly  than 
it  does  any  of  the  recent  North  American  species,  although  having  the 
form  and  hiuge  of  a  true  Unio  ;  and  another  abundant  bivalve,  found  in 
the  same  associtiaou  {GorhulaAnisotliyris  xjyriformis)  seems  to  be  allied 
in  some  respects  to  a  peculiar  group  recently  described  from  a  pliocene 
or  miocene  formation  on  the  Upper  Amazon  of  South  America,  by  Mr. 
Gabb,  under  the  name  Pachydon,  and  afterward  renamed  Anisothyris  by 
Mr.  Conrad,  because  the  name  Fachyodon  had  been  previously  used  for 
another  genus. 

This  last-mentioned  shell  [Gorljula  pyriformis)  was  referred  by  me,  pro- 
visionally, to  Azara,  because  it  occurs  in  the  sams  beds  with  fresh  and 
brackish-water  forms,  and  has  the  general  aspect  of  some  species  of  Gor- 
hula,  which  group  is  believed  by  some  good  authorities  on  concholog.y 
to  include  Azara  as  a  sub-genus;  while  none  of  our  specimens  showed 
the  hinge.  Among  some  of  the  latter  collections,  however,  I  found  speci- 
mens by  which  I  was  enabled  with  considerable  difficulty  to  succeed  in 
working  out  the  hinge,  and  found  that  it  does  not  agree  with  that  of  Asara, 
but  apparently  conforms  almost  exactly  with  that  of  GorbuJa,  with  prob- 
ably the  exception  of  some  regidar  furrows  on  the  tooth  of  the  right 
valve.  From  its  brackish-water  habits,  however,  and  its  general  simi- 
larity of  form  to  Anisothyris  or  {Pacliydon)  erectus,  Conrad,  I  referred  it,  in 
manuscript,  to  Anisothyris,  placing  that  group  as  a  sub-genus  under 
Gorhula.  Soon  after  I  mentioned,  in  a  letter  to  my  friend  Mr.  Conrad, 
that  I  had  discovered  that  this  shell  does  not  possess  the  hinge  of  Azara, 
and  that  I  had  referred  it  to  Anisothyris. 

*  These  remarks  from  this  paragraph  to  the  end  of  the  first  paragraph  ending  on 
page  295,  inchisive,  Avere  extracted  and  printed  in  pamphlet  form,  excepting  the  foot 
notes,  on  the  18th  February,  1871. 

t  The  conditions,  however,  might  have  been  such  that  the  saltness  of  these  estuaries 
was,  at  first,  xcvy  little  diluted  by  the  streams  that  brought  from  the  adjacent  shores 
the  fresh-water  types. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       293 

Subsequently  I  received  a  note  from  Mr.  Conrad,  informing  me  that 
be  had  proposed,  in  manuscript,  a  sub-genus,  Anisorhynchus,  for  this  spe- 
cies. If  this  separation  from  Corhula  is  necessary,  however,  on  account  of 
the  habits  of  the  species,  I  would  think  it  should  still  stand  as  a  sub-genus 
under  that  group,  or,  in  other  words,  that  the  name  of  the  species  should 
be  wiutten  Corhula  {Anisorhynchus)  pyriformis,  because  it  seems  to  me 
even  doubtful  whether  Aiiisothyris  is  more  than  sub  generically  distinct 
from  Corhula;  while  the  species  C.  pyriformls  is  still  more  closely  allied 
to  Corhula  than  Anisotliyris  is ;  in  fact,  it  agrees  almost  exactly,  in  its 
hinge,  muscular,  and  pallial  impressions,  with  Corhula,  even  in  the  very 
few  characters  distinguishing  Anisofhyris  from  the  same,  and  we  have 
almost  nothing  left  but  its  Neara-like  form,  and  brackish-water  habits,.  b. 
to  separate  it  from  Corhula;  while  some  marine  species,  such  as  C.  alee-  ^ 
formis  of  Gabb,  present  almost  exactly  the  same  form.  (j_  -J 

It  may  bo  proper  to  remark  in  this  connection  that  the  South  Ameri-  q  KT 
can  group  Anisotliyris,  or  Packydon,  is  much  more  nearly  allied  to  Corhula        f\ 
proper  than  was  supposed  by  my  friends  Mr.  Gabb  and  Mr.   Conrad,  ^  ^ 
(although  the  latter  placed  it  near  Corhula)  since  they  both  thought  it  fc  r~" 
had  an  external  ligament,  and  no  internal  cartilage.     On  examining  [^  [ij 
good  specimens  of  six  of  the  South  American  species  sent  on  by  Pro-  n    ^^ 
fessor  Orton  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  however,  I  at  once  satis- q  "^ 
fied  myself  that  these  shells  certainly  had  an  internal  cartilage  in  a  pit  (£ 
behind  the  tooth  in  the  right  valve,  and  attached  to  a  process  in  the(l,  Li, 
left,  exactly  as  in  Corhula,  excepting  that  the  process  is  more  oblique  , 

and  less  flattened  than  is  usual  in  that  genus.*  |^ 

On  mentioning  these  facts  in  regard  to  the  presence  of  an  internal 
cartilage,  in  a  letter  to  Mr.  Conrad,  he  wrote  back  that  a  further  exami- 
nation had  satisfied  him  that  I  was  right  in  this,  and  that  he  now  rests 
the  grouj)  entirely  upon  its  sub-si^iral  beaks,  a  kind  of  rudimentary 
l)osterior  lateral  tooth  in  the  right  valve,  and  a  small  accessory  scar  at 
the  upper  end  of  that  of  the  posterior  adductor,  together  with  the 
brackish- water  habits  of  the  species.  It  should  be  borne  in  mind,  how- 
ever, that  this  faint  rudimentary  posterior  lateral  tooth  does  not  exist  in 
all  the  typical  species ;  while  it  is  obscurely  represented  in  some  marine 
tertiarj'  species  of  Corhula ;  nor  have  I  been  able  to  find  the  posterior 
pedal  muscular  scar  in  them  all,  more  clearly  defined  than  in  some 
marine  tertiary  species  of  Corhula. 

Several  of  the  other  forms  found  in  these  Bear  Eiver  beds  present 
more  marked  peculiarities  than  are  to  be  seen  in  Corhula  pyriformis, 
which  may  render  it  desirable  to  place  them  under  separate  sub-generic 
groups;  for  instance,  that  I  have  described  under  the  name  Corhicula 
Durl^eei,  which  is  a  remarkable  trigonal,  thick  shell,  has  the  posterior 
dorsal  margins  of  the  valves  inflected,  and  the  cardinal  teeth  directed 
more  obliquely  backward  than  we  see  in  the  recent  species,  w'hile  its 
elongated  lateral  teeth  are  nearly  or  quite  smooth,  instead  of  being 
transversely  striated.  The  posterior  lateral  tooth  of  its  left  valve  is 
also  mainly  formed  by  the  beveling  of  the  inflected  margin,  instead  of 
standing  out  as  a  distinct  tooth.  In  some  respects  this  shell  is  more 
like  Verlorita,  from  which,  however,  it  differs  materially  in  others. 

*  lu  some  interesting  remarks,  recently  iiublislied  by  Mr.  Henry  "Woodward  of  the 
British  Museum,  in  the  Ann.  and  Mag.,  N.  A.,  <on  the  relations  of  Anisothjris  to  Corhula 
and  some  allied  groups,  he  mentions  as  one  of  the  diffci'ences,  that  the  latter  have  the 
cardinal  tooth  in  the  left  valve,  while  in  Anisothyris  it  is  in  the  right,  and  the  sockc^t  vice 
versa.  This,  however,  is  probably  due  to  some  typograi^hical  error,  as  there  is  certainly 
no  diiiercnce  in  the  iiositiou  of  the  cardinal  tooth  and  socket,  or  in  that  of  the  cartilage 
process  with  relation  to  each  other,  or  to  the  two  valves,  Ijetween  Corhula  and  -J«i"s- 
ofln/ris;  both  having  the  tooth  in  the  right  valve,  and  the  socket  and  cartilage  process 
in  the  left. 


294       GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 

If  it  should  be  tliouglit  desirable  to  make  it  tbetype  of  a  distinct  sub- 
genus, it  may  be  called  Corbicula  ( YeloritinaJ  DurJceei.  In  the  same 
way,  if  the  proposed  sections  of  Unio  should  be  sustained,  the  curiously 
plicated  species,  described  by  me  under  the  name  U.  hellqjUcata,  may  be 
called  U.  fLoxopleurusJ  bellijjJicatusA 

I  have  elsewhere  proposed,  in  manuscript,  to  make  my  Melanqms  pris- 
cus  from  this  formation,  the  type  of  a  new  group,  under  the  name  Rhy- 
tophorus  priscus,  on  account  of  its  i)eculiar  costated  surface,  smooth 
outer  lip,  and  single  weU-developed  plait,  and  another  obscure  one,  on 
The  columella. 

Of  the  species  of  Tiara,  already  mentioned  from  this  rock,  thousands 
of  specimens  have  been  obtained,  and  yet  it  is  remarkable  that  not  a 
single  one  of  them  shows  the  lip  about  the  lower  part  of  the  aperture 
unbroken,  and  entirely  free  from  the  matrix.  Some  of  those  I  have  re- 
cently seen,  however,  appear  to  show  a  kind  of  angularity  about  the 
base  of  the  aperture  not  seen  in  the  typical  forms  of  Tiara,  and  some 
appearance  of  a  peculiar  furrow  along  the  outer  edge  of  the  base  of  the 
columella.  If  these  are  not  due  to  accident — and  they  certainly  seem 
not  to  be — it  may  be  found  that  this  shell  should  be  regarded  as  the 
type  of  a  sub-genus,  bearing  somewhat  similar  relations  to  Tiara  to 
those  existing  between  Goniohasis  and  the  elongated  old  world  Melauians. 
If  so,  it  may  be  called  Tiara  fPyrguliferaJ  liumerosa.\ 

Of  course,  comparisons  of  the  shells  from  this  formation  with  those 
of  the  tertiary  beds  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  slopes,  afford  no  aid 
whatever  in  fixing  its  precise  position  in  the  series,  because  the  species 
from  the  latter  are,  almost  without  exception,  marine  types.  There  is 
less  dilficulty,  however,  in  drawing  parallels  between  it  and  the  tertiary 
deposits  of  the  Upper  Missouri  country,  by  a  comparison  of  fossils,  al- 
though the  species  are  mainly  different,  so  far  as  yet  known,  in  these 
two  districts.  At  least  two  of  the  known  forms,  however,  from  the  Utah 
and  Wyoming  beds  under  consideration,  are  believed  to-be  specifically 
identical  with  species  found  in  the  oldest  beds  referred  to  the  tertiary 
at  the  mouth  of  Judith  Eiver  on  the  Upper  Missouri,  under  the  name 
Fort  Union  Group.  These  are  Unio  prisciis  and  Viviparus  Conradi.  In 
addition  to  this,  the  fossils  at  these  two  localities  are  in  precisely  the 
same  state  of  i)reservation,  and  have  a  more  ancient  appearance  than 
those  of  the  later  deposits  of  both  districts,  while  they  also  agree  exactly 
in  their  mixture  of  brackish  and  fresh-water  characters.  Again,  at  both 
localities,  these  deposits  are  intimately  associated,  as  already  stated, 
with  what  appears  to  be  the  latest  of  the  cretaceous  series :  while  in 

I I  have  had  no  opportuuity  to  consult  Spix's  work  in  which  he  proposed  the  groni> 
Diplodon,  hut  had  supposed  from  the  strongly  alate-shell  figured  by  Sowerley  as  an 
illustration  of  the  same,  that  it  was  founded  on  a^  widely  distinct  type  from  our  Utah 
shell.  From  the  diagnosis  of  Diplodon,  given  by  H.  and  A.  Adams,  however,  I  am  led 
to  think  it  may  jiossibly  include  our  type,  though  I  cannot  believe  the  North  American 
species  ranged  by  the  above-named  authors  should  bo  placed  in  the  same  section  with 
our  species. 

X  Since  these  remarks  wei'e  in  type  and  issued  in  pamphlet  form,  Mr.  Conrad  kindly 
sent  me  a  sketch  of  a  specimen  of  this  species  at  the  Pliiladelphia  Academy  of  Science, 
showing  more  of  the  lip  and  base  of  the  aperture  than  I  had  seen,  and  expressed  the 
oi)inion  that  it  is  a  good  genus.  Soon  after  I  succeeded  in  working  the  matrix  from 
the  aperture  of  a  perfect  very  largo  specimen,  and  from  this  and  Mr.  Conrad's  sketch, 
the  inner  lip  is  seen  to  be  quite  thick  all  the  way  np,  but  iiarticularly  below,  and  the 
narrow  base  of  the  aperture  sinnous.  My  sijecinjen  also  shows  that  there  is  a  shallow 
marginal  sinus  of  the  outer  lij)  at  the  termination  of  the  shoulder,  while  beloAv  this  it 
is  prominent.  It  is  therefore  evident,  that  with  the  distinctly  turreted  sjnre,  shouldered 
and  coronate  wheels,  as  well  as  the  general  aspect  of  Tiara,  in  its  thickened  inner 
lip  and  some  other  characters,  it  resembles  Lithasia,  and  constitutes  a  distinct  geuus 
from  Ijoth,  in  which  oi^iuion  Mr.  Conrad  and  Professor  Gill  concur. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       205 

both  districts  they  contain  lignite,  and  are  sncceeded  by  later  tertiary 
beds  of  strictly  fresh-water  origin. 

The  fossils  froni  the  later  tertiary  deposits  of  Wyoming  and  Utah, 
mentioned  in  the  lists,  came  from  Henry's  and  Black's  Forks  of  Green 
iJiver,  Chnrch  Buttes,  Barrel  Springs,  Fort  Bridger,  racitic  Springs, 
and  other  localities  of  the  same  region.  They  belong  to  the  genera 
Unio,  Sj^hccrium,  Goniohasis,  BythineUa.,  PJiysa,  Planorbis^  «S:c.,  most  of 
which  are  very  numerous  in  individuals,  though  there  are  not  many 
species  of  any  one  of  these  genera.  From  the  entire  absence  of  marine 
and  brackish-water  types  in  these  beds,  it  seems  evident  that  they  were 
deposited  in  fresh-water  lakes,  entirely  isolated  from  the  influx  of  tides, 
in  l)asins  that  were  raised  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  in  part  by  the  ac- 
cumulation of  sedimentary  deposits,  and  probably  in  part  fr(*ni  the  grad- 
ual elevation  of  the  whole  country.  These  later  beds  may  be  susceptible 
of  subdivision  into  several  subordinate  groups,  but  the  fossils  yet  known 
show  closer  relations  between  the  different  beds  of  this  series  than  be- 
tween any  of  them  and  the  brackish-water  deposits  beneath.  Indeed,  I 
have  not  been  able  to  identify  a  single  species  from  the  latter  with  any 
of  those  from  the  strictly  fresh-water  beds  under  consideration,  and  they 
are  also  equally  distinct  from  all  of  those  known  from  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri country. 

From  the  differences  observable  between  the  species  found  in  these 
fresh-water  deposits  and  the  older  brackish- water  beds  of  the  same  re- 
gion, believed  to  belong  to  the  eocene,  and  the  superposition  of  the  for- 
mer, it  is  reasonable  to  infer  that  the  later  series  belongs  wholly  or 
maiuly  to  the  horizon  of  the  miocene,  especially  as  none  of  the  fossils 
contained  in  thes6  beds  are  certainly  known  to  belong  to  existing  spe- 
cies. 

LISTS   OF  FOSSILS   COLLECTED. 
SILURLVX  SPECIES. 

1.  Ortliis  desmoplem-a,  Meek' ;  Colorado  City. 

2.  Mcristella  or  Mcrista  (imdetermiued  species) ;  Crater's  Falls. 

3.  Ophileia  complanata,  var.  nana;  Crater's  Falls. 

4.  BucancUa  nana,Mee\i.^;  Crater's  Falls. 

5.  I\a2)lustoma  ;  Crater's  Falls. 

6.  Endoceras  (undetermined  sj)ecies) ;  Crater's  Falls. 

CARBONIFEROUS  SPECIES. 

1.  Fusnlina  cylindrica,  Fischer ;  Moleeu  Station. 

2.  Suringopora  (undetermined  specimen);  Moleen  Station. 

3.  Campoj^IniUiim,  like  C.  iorquium,  Owen  ;  Hot  Springs,  Salinas  Creek,  Salt  Lake. 

4.  Zaphrcntis  (Z);  Head  Black  Fork  Bear  River,  Utah. 

5.  Crinoid  columns  ;  Pecos  Chiu'ch,  Mora  Creek,  and  Hot  Spriuf^-s. 

6.  Chwtetes  (undetermined  massive  and  ramose  forms);  Moleen  Station,  Salinas 
Creek. 

7.  Fenestella  and  Polypora  ;  near  Pecos  Range,  10  miles  south'of  Kosylowiski,  New 
Mexico,  and  Mora  Station. 

8.  Sijnocladia  (Scptojyora)  Cesfriensis,  Prout  (sp.);  Mora  River. 

9.  dw/u's  (undetermined  species) ;   Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico. 

10.  Hcmipronitcs  crassus,  M.  and  W.;  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  Box  Elder  Canon,  North 
Platte. 

11.  Choneks  (undetermined  .species) ;  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico,  Box  Elder  Caiiou. 
V2.  rroducius  Xebrascensis,  Owen ;  Moleen  Station,  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico. 

13.  Productus  jmnctatus,  Martin,  (sp.) ;  Sangre  de  Christo  Pass,  Colorado, 

1.  I  proposed  for  this  species  the  name  O.  Coloradoensis,  in  the  Proceed.  Am.  Philosoph.  Soc,  xi,  p. 
425.  1370:  but  .is  Dr.  Shnmard  had  previously  used  that  name  for  another  species  of  this  genus,  it  be- 
comes necessary  to  make  a  change. 

2.  Proceed.  Am.  Philosoph.    Soc,  xi,  p.  420,  1870. 


296       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEKRITORIES. 

14.  Productus  semireticulatus,  Martin,  (sp.) ;  Saugre  de  Christo  Pass,  Colorado,  and 
Pecos  ChiTrch,  Mora  City,  Weber  Mountains,  Box  Elder,  North  Platte. 

15.  Productus  nodosus,'NewheTvj ;  Mora  Creek,  New  Mexico,  Hot  Springs,  Salinas 
Creek,  Santa  Fe,  New  Mexico. 

16.  Productus  Prattenianus,  N. ;  head  Black's  Fork,  Bear  River,  Utah. 

17.  Productus  lonri'isjunns,  Sow.,  Far.  TVahashensis,  N.  and  P. ;  Hot  Springs,  Salinas 
Creek,  Santa  Fc^  New  Mexico. 

18.  Productus  (two  or  more  nndetermined  species) ;   Santa  F6,  New  Mexico. 

19.  Spirifer  (Martinia)  like  S.  planoconvexus,  Shum.;  Moleeu  Station. 

20.  Spirifer  cameratus,  Morton;  Pecos  Church,  Mora  Creek  and  River,  New  Mexico. 

21.  Spirifer  Pocly-Montam,  Marcou  (?) ;  Santa  Fe,  Mora  Creek,  New  Mexico. 

22.  Athyris  suhtiUfa,  Hall,  (sp.) ;  Santa  F6,  Mora  Creek,  10  miles  south  of  Kosylo- 
wiski ;  near  Pecos,  New  INIexico,  and  Sangro  de  Christo  Pass,  Colorado. 

23.  Aviculopccten  (nndetermined  species);  near  Pecos  River,  New  Mexico. 

24.  AvicuJopccten  carhonarius,  Stevens ;  near  Pecos  River,  New  Mexico. 

25.  Myalina'Swallovi,  ilcChesney;  10  miles  south  of  Kosylowiski. 

26.  Avicula  (undetermined  species);  10  miles  south  of  Kosylowiski. 

27.  Pleurophorus  angulatus,  M.  and  W. ;  10  miles  south  of  Kosylowiski. 

28.  Belleroplion  (fragments  of  large  undetermined  species) ;  Moleen  Station. 

PEKMO-CARBONIFEROUS.  (?) 

1.  Fragments  of  Crinoid  columns,-  Box  Elder  Station,  Platte  River. 

2.  Hemipronites  crassus,  M.  and  H. ;  Box  Elder  Station,  Platte  River. 

3.  Aviculopccten  oceidcutalis,  aimm.;  Box  Elder  Station,  Platte  River. 

4.  MyaUna perattenuata,  M.  and  H. ;  Box  Elder  Station,  Platte  River. 

5.  Pscudomonotis  Uawni,  M.  and  H. ;  Box  Elder  Station,  Platte  River. 

6.  Balcevcllia  (nndetermined  species);  Box  Elder  Station,  Platte  River. 

7.  Pinna  pcracuta,^\mm.;  Box  Elder  Statiou,  Platte  River. 

8.  Sclxizodus  curtus,  M.  and  W. ;  Box  Elder  Station,  Platte  River. 

9.  Edmondia  Aspenicallensis,  M.    (New  species;  see  description  at  end  of  list.)    Bos 
Elder  Statio^i,  Platte  River. 

10.  Pleuroplwrus  (?)  (undetermined  casts);  Box  Elder  Station.  Platte  River. 

11.  Macrocltcilus,  (nndetermined  species) ;  Box  Elder  Statiou,  Platte  River. 

12.  Orthoceras  (?)  (small  undetermiued  species) ;  Box  Elder  Station,  Platte  River. 

13.  P/ij?/(23sfa  (fragments  of  an  undetermined  species);  Box  Elder  Station,  Platte 
River. 

JURASSIC  SPECIES. 

1.  Ostrea  (a  very  small,  undetermined  species,  with  beak  truncated) ;  mouth  Henry's 
Fork  of  Green  River,  Dakota  Teritory. 

2.  Campionectes  cxtenuaius,  M.  and  H. ;  mouth  Hemy  Fork  of  Green  River,  Dakota  Ter- 
ritory. 

3.  Camptonectcs  bellistriatus,  M.  and  W. ;  Red  Buttes,  Green  River,  Dakota  Territory. 

4.  Trigonia  (a  small,  undetermined  species  of  Jurassic  type);  Red  Buttes.  Green 
River,  Dakota  Territory. 

5.  Bivalves  (casts  of  several  small,  undetermined  species) ;  Red  Buttes,  Green  River, 
Dakota  Territory. 

6.  Cardinia  (?)  ;  Salinas  Creek,  Hot  Springs. 

7.  Plwladomya  (mere  rude  undeterminable  casts) ;  Salinas  Creek,  Hot  Springs. 

8.  BeJemnilcs  densus,  M.  and  W. ;   Como. 

9.  Ammonites  Nevadensis,  Gabb;  between  Sacramento  and  Supmit  Station. 

CRETACEOUS  SPECIES. 

1.  Ostrea  congesia,  Conrad;  between  Hardscrabble  and  St.  Charles.     Cret.,  No.  3. 

2.  Ostrea  solcniscus,  Meek  ;  near  Bear  River,  assctciated  with  coal.     Cret.,  No. — (?) 

3.  Ostrea  ajyjn-essa,  Gahh  P  ;   Coalville.    No. — (?) 

4.  Gryphcea  navia,'C(mvad;  FovtBascom.     Cret.,  No.  3. 

5.  Inoceramus  Sagensis,  Owen  (?)  ;  Fountain  Creek,  Colorado  Citj',  Colorado.  Cret., 
No.  4. 

6.  Inoceramus  fragilis,  H.  and  M. ;  Medicine  Bow  River.     Cret.,  No.  3. 

7.  Inoceramus  2)y obi emaiicus,  Sch\ot\i,  (sT^);  Fountain  Creek,  between  Hardscrable, 
Dodson  Ranch,  and  St.  Charles.     Cret.,  Nos.  2  and  3. 

8.  Inoceramus  (undetermined  species) ;  six  miles  east  Como  Station,  Union  Pacific 
Railroad.     Cret.,  No.  2. 

9.  Inoceramus  diformis,  Jleek-* ;  Colorado  City.     Cret.,  No.  3. 

3.  This  may  be  cither  Mr.  Gnbh's  O.  appccssa  or  his  O.  Idriacnsis,  if  they  .ire  distinct,  as  there  are 
among  the  specimens  indivichials  that  agi'oe  pretty  -svell  with  both,  and  yet  .seem  to  bo  only  varieties  of 
one  species.  These  and  O.  Solcniscus  are  found  Just  above  a  bed  of  brown  coal,  and  may  possibly  bo 
lower  tertiary,  bat  are  more  probably  upper  cretaceous. 

4.  Sec  Fremont's  Report,  pi.  iv,  iig.  2. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       297 

10.  Inoccmmus  (nndetermined  species®) ;  Caclie  la  Poiulre  River,  near  Greeley,  Den- 
ver and  Pacitic  Railroad.    Cret.,  No.  3. 

11.  Inoccramus  aultus,  Meek:  ;aear  Medicine  Bow  Station,  Pacific  Railroad.     Cret., 
No.  3. 

12.  (7HC»Z?a'«  (niKlctcrniiued  si>ecies) ;  Dodson  Ranch.     Cret.  No.  2. 

13.  Modiola  rcdernalis,  Rocmev ;  Near  Coalville.    Cret.,  (?) 

14.  Xucidana  (luuletcrmiucd  species);  Near  Coalville.     Cret.,  (?) 

l.^>.  Pachymija  (?)  iruncaia,  Meek,  (new  siiecies,  see  descrii^tion,)  (?)  4.    Exact  locally 
nukuown. 

16.  CrassatolUna  oZ)?o»i7<7,  Meek,  (now  species,  see  description);  twelve  miles  south- 
west of  Saliiia,  Kansas,  Professor  Mudge.     Cret.  No.  1. 

17.  Unio  Nebrascciisis,  Mecli.  (ne'w  species,  see  descrij)tion) ;  opposite  Sioiix  City,  Da- 
kota County,  Nebraska.     Cret.  No.  1. 

18.  Area  (?)  iKindlda,  Meek  (new  species,  see  descrij)tiou) ;  twelve  miles  southwest 
of  Salina,  Kansas,  Professor  Mudge.     Cret.  No.  1. 

19.  Toldia  microdoiiia,  Meek  (new  species,  sec  description);  twelve  miles  southwest 
of  Salina,  Kansas,  Professor  Mudge.     Cret.  No.  1. 

'.^0.  Coj-dium  paupcrculum,  Meek  (new  species,  see  description) ;  near  Fort  Bridger, 
Wyoming.     Cret.  No.  2. 

21.  Cardium  Eansascnsi^,  Meek  (new  species,  see  description) ;  twelve  southwest  o± 
Salina,  Kansas,  Professor  Mudge.     Cret.  No.  1. 

22.  Cardium  (Frotocardia)  sal'utens,  Meek  (new  species,  see  description);   twelve  miles 
southwest  of  Salina  Kansas,  Professor  iludge.     Cret.  No.  1. 

23.  Ctjrcna  (Corhknia  ?)  nucalis,  Meek  (new  species,  see  description);  twelve  miles 
southwest  of  Saliua,  Kansas,  Professor  Mudge.     Cret.  No.  1. 

24.  Cyrena  (Corhicula?)  subirigonalis,  Meek  (new   species,  see  description);   twelve 
miles  so;ithwest  of  Salina,  Kansas,  Professor  Mudge.     Cret.  No.  1. 

25.  Alacfra  (.?)  Canonensis,  Meek  (new  species,  see  descrij)tion.) 

26.  TajKS  Tt'iiomiuf/cnsis,  Meek  (new  species,  see  description) ;  mouth  Deer  Creek,  Wy- 
omijig.   Cret.  No.  4. 

27.  TclUna  sithscltula,  Meek  (new  species,  see  description) ;  twelve  miles  southwest 
of  Salina  Kansas,  Professor  Mudge.     Cret.  No.  1. 

28.  TeUina  (?)  maclroidcs,  Meek  (new  species,  see  description) ;  twelve  miles  southwest 
of  Salina,  Kansas,  Professor  Mudge.     Cret.  No.  1. 

29.  Lcptosolcii  Conradi,  Meek  (new  species,  see  descrij)tion) ;  twelve  miles  southwest 
of  Salina,  Kansas,  Professor  Mudge.     Cret  No.  1. 

30.  AHchnra  {/)  (uudetermiued  species) ;   Dodson's  Ranch. 

31.  Turritella  Mart'mezcnsis,  Gabb  (?) ;  Coalville,  Utah. 

32.  Turritella  Kansasensis,  Meek  (new  species) ;  twelve  miles  southwest  of  Salina,  Kan- 
sas, Professor  Mudge.     Cret.  No.  1. 

33.  Anisomijon  centrale,  Meek  (new  species);  Valley  of  Fountain  Creek  and  Box  Elder 
Creek,  Colorado.     Cret.  No.  4. 

34.  Plcurotomaria  (?)  (undetermined  species) ;  near  Coalville,  Utah. 

35.  Turho  Mudgcanus,  Meek  (new  species);  twelve  miles  southwest  of  Salina,  Kansas, 
Professor  Mudge.     Cret.  No.  1. 

36.  BaeuUtes  compressus,  Say ;  Fountain  Creek,  Colorado  City.     Cret.  No.  4. 

37.  Baeulities  ovatus,  Say;  Fountain  Creek,  Colorado  City,  Miser  Station,  and  Como. 
Cret.  No.  4. 

38.  ScapMtes  {DiscoscajMtes)  Conradi,  Morton^ ;  Fountain  Creek,  Colorado  City.  Cret. 
No.  5. 

39.  Scajyliites  {DiscoscapMtes)  Cheyennensis,  Owen;  Foimtain  Creek,  Colorado  City. 
Cret.  No.  5. 

40.  ScapMtes  nodosus,  Owen ;  Fountain  Creek,  Colorado.    Cret.  No.  4. 

41.  Seapltiies  Warrcnanus,  M.  and  H. ;  Mediciue  Bow  River.    Cret.  No.  2. 

42.  Ammonites  (rmdetermined,  not  a  typical  ammonite.)    Fountain  Creek,  Colorado. 

5.  This  is  a  rather  large,  longitudinally  oblong  or  depressed  suboval,  very  gibbous,  oquivalve  species, 
■with  a  long,  straight  hinge  lino,  and  with  posteiior  side  long  and  subtruncatedor  more  or  less  obliquely 
rounded.  Its  beaks  are  equal,  very  gibbous,  oblique,  depressed,  and  almost  terminal,  while  its  internal 
casts  only  show  more  or  less  irregular,  sometimes  obscure,  concentric  undulations.  It  seems  to  be  dis- 
tinct from  all  of  the  previously  known  far-western  species,  and  if  new  may  be  called  I.  oblongus. 

ij.  This  is  the  type  of  a  group  of  Scaphites,  for  which  I  have  proposed  (troced.  Am.  I'hil.,  Soc,  xi,  p. 
429)  the  name  Discoscaphiies,  compared  with  the  typical  species  of  Parkinson's  genus,  such  as  »5)'.  cequcdis, 
Sowerby,  these  shells  are  seen  to  differ  in  having  the  characteristic  extension  of  the  body  volutions  so 
very  slightly  developed  that  they  have  often  been  referred  to  the  genus  Ammonites.  They  also  dilitr 
in  having  the  peripheny,  especia'lly  in  the  adult,  more  or  less  flattened,  and  the  sides  of  the  volutions 
occupied'by  numerous  small  nodes,  arranged  in  regular  revolving  rows.  The  group  includes  two  sec- 
tions, the  lirst  of  which  (represented  by  S.  Conradi)  has  the  volutions  so  broad  and  deeply  enveloping 
as  to  leave  only  a  very  small  umbilicus,  while  the  second  (represented  by  S.  [Disco.]  Chcjcniicnsis,  Owen, 
and  Ammonites  {Disco.]  Mandanensis,  Morton)  has  a  wider  umbilicus,  with  the  body  volution  very  nar- 
row and  but  little  enveloping. 

7.  This  may  be  regarded  as  the  type  of  a  group  of  Ammonites,  for  which  I  proposed  (Proc.  Philos. 
Soc,  xi,  p.  4-29)  the  name  Placcntoccrus.  Compared  with  Ammonites  bisidcatus,  lli iiguii  re  (v.hich  it 
seems  to  me  should  be  regarded  as  the  type  of  that  genus,  because  it  was  long  back  cited  alone  as  th« 
typical  form  by  Lamarck.)  This  shell  will  be  observed  to  differ  remarkably  in  sover.al  respects,  par- 
ticukuli-  in  its  broad,  profoundly-enveloping  volutions,  with  flattened  nou-costato  sides,  and  very  nar- 


298       GEOLOGICAL  SUKVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

43.  Ammonites  (Placentocerus) placenta,  BeKay;  Fountaiu  Creek,  Colorado  Citj-.   Cret. 

No.  4. 

44.  Ammonites  (Pleuroceras  ?)  scrrato-carinatiis,  Meek  8;  Medicine  Bow  Creek,  2. 

TERTLVKY  SPECIES. 

1.  Unio  imscus,  M.  and  H.";  Limestone  Hill,  Bear  River  City,  and  Parley's  Park, 
Utah,  Gilmore,  Wyoming.     Eocene.  ^  -.    ^,.  ,s    „r    ,    ,       tt         , 

2.  Unio  Waslialceei,  Meek  (new  species,  description  at  end  of  list) ;  Wasliakee,  Henry  s 
Fork,  Green  River,  and  on  the  latter  stream,  Wyoming.    Eocene. 

3.  Unio  Haijdeni,  Meek ;  between  Grand  and  Green  Rivers,  Fort  Bridger. 

4.  ?7jao/e/iu)oirfes,  Hall  (?)(sp.)io;  Barrel  Springs,  Muddy  Creek,  Wyoming. 

5.  Unio  Lecuuis,  Meek  (new  species,  see  end  of  list)  ;  Church  Buttes,  Henry's  Fork, 
Barrel  Spriugs,  and  other  localities  in  Wyoming.    Miocene. 

6.  Unio  (Diplodon?)  lemplicatus,  Meek;  Parley's  Park,  Utah;  Gilmore,  Wyoming. 

7.  Corhicida  (Veloritina)  Durheei,  Meek;  Bear  River.  City,  Parley's  Park,  Utah,  and 

Gilmore,  Wyoming.     Eocene.  .  x-     x    tt  n   -n  i 

8.  Cyrena  {CorUcidaf)  frada,  Meek  (new  species,  see  description);  HaUviUe  coal 

mines.     Eocene.  .     s     -n-  ni   -ii  ^ 

9.  Cijrcna  (CorlicuJa?)  crassaielliformis,  Meek  (new  species);   Hallville  coal  mmcs. 

Eocene.  ,  t-.     -j^         -i        i 

10.  S2)]i(vnum  (undetermined,  perhaps  2  species);  Elktou,  Central  Pacific  railroad, 

beyond  Salt  Lake.    Miocene. 

11.  /^nhayium  (undetermined  species) ;  Barrel  Springs,  Wyoming.    Miocene.  • 

12.  Corbula  (Anisorhynchtts)  piriformis,  Meek;  Parley's  Park,  Limestone  Hill,  and 
Bear  River  City,  Utah  ;  Gilmore,  Wyoming.     Eocene. 

Corbula  (Anisorhynclms)  pyriformis  var.  consentrica,  Meek.  -,  „  i   i        n      i 

13.  Corbula  {Anisorhjnclnis)  Engelmanni,  Meek;  Limestone  Hill  and  Sulphur  Creek, 

Utah.     Eocene.  ,,    ,-,         1^,1     i   t-.    i 

14.  Goniobasis  Simpsoni,  Meek ;  Fort  Bridger,  divide  between  Muddy  and  Black  Forks. 

Miocene. 

15.  GonJo&asisfenera,  Hall?  (sp.)^i;  Barrel  Springs,  W yoming.    Miocene. 

rowly-trnncated  aud  flattened,  or  sliglitly-concavo  periphery,  small  umbilicus,  &c. ;  also  in  the  miich 
more  numerous  lateral  lobes  of  its  septa,  Tvliich  increase  in  size  to  tlie  tliird  one  inclusive,  and  thence  be- 
come eraduaUv  and  re<^ularly  smaller  to  the  umbilicus.  It  probably  includes  several  cretaceous  species. 
In  the  same  way,  Ammonites  lobatus  of  Tuomey  may  be  regarded  as  the  type  of  another  group,  difler- 
injr  from  Placento'cerus  in  ha^-ing  the  periphery  shaiidy  cuneate  all  around,  and  the  sinuses  or  saddles 
between  its  numerous  lateral  lobes  (which  agree  in  number  aud  proportional  size  with  those  in  riacen- 
toccrus),  presenting  very  curious  obtusely-lobed  or  uniform  outlines.  For  this  type  I  would  propose  the 
name  Sphcnodiscus,  in  allusion  to  its  sharplycuneate  periphery. 

8  This  is  not  a  true  Ammonite,  according  to  the  latest  classifications  ot  this  group  ot  Cephalopoda  hwt 
it  i.s  more  nearly  allied  to  some  of  the  forms  included  by  ilr.  Hyatt  in  his  group  Pluroccras.  Indeed,  al- 
thou'Th  unquestionably  a  cretaceous  species,  I  cannot  see  how  it  can  be  properly  placed  in  a  distinct  group 
from'the  middle  liassic  species  A.  spinatus,  Brug.,  which  Mr.  Hyatt  includes  lu  Pluroccras,  since  it 
seems  only  to  differ  specifically  from  that  form  in  having  its  keel  more  promment,  and  another  series  ot 
obscure  nodes  on  the  costaj  at  their  inner  ends,  with  a  few  smaller  intermediate  costoe,  Mnerally  with- 
out nodes,  between  the  larger  nodiferous  ones.  If,  however,  there  is  anything  in  the  development  ot 
these  shells  that  would  place  them  in  different  gi-oup.s,  the  cretaceou.s  group,  including  the  form  under 
consideration,  might  be  appropriately  U-rmtiCi  Prionocyclus,  and  would  include  A.  percarinatus,  i±.  and  M., 
aud  A.  'Woolgari,'oit]io  English  gray  chalk. 

9  I  am  led  to  think,  from  the  comparison  of  more  extensive  coUections  that  have  como  in  since  I  pro- 
posed the  name  Vnio  vetustus  for  one  of  the  Utah  forms,  that  it  is  only  a  more  depressed  variety  ot  U. 

^'m"lt  is  wltii  considerable  doubt  that  I  refer  this  shell  to  TT.  tellinoidcs  {-M^ja  tclUnoides,  Hall,  in  Fre- 
mont's Report,  PI.  in,  figs.  1  and  2),  the  mature  specimens  being  generally  three  or  tour  times  as  largo 
as  that  represented  by  Prof.  HaU's  larger  figure,  and  proportionally  less  '^^P^f  s^''^'; J/^h  the  poaLiior 
margin  more  broadly  rounded  or  subtruncated.  Still,  by  tollowing  the  lines  ot  giowth,  it  ma>  be  seen 
that  when  the  shell'had  only  attained  the  same  size  as  that  figured  by  Proi.  Hall,  it  ^"st  J^a^t  Pie- 
sented  a  very  similar  outline.  None  of  them,  however,  .seem  to  have  the  beaks  so  "^aiV.  c«itral  ot 
quite  so  ele^-ated,  as  represented  by  his  Figure  2,  which  may  have  been  drawn  Irom  a  distinct  species 
from  that  represented  by  Figure  L 

Our  sjiecimens  i 
one  rather  oblique 

eral  teeth  are  long,  IV  iimv.  ui.^ii..v.,  .."" «-^- =       n  1       •*    t     1 

face  only  ehows  lines  of  growth,  and  some  traces  of  a  few  very  small  longitudinal  i„„„^i,  _,•  .,,„ 

mediate  points  of  the  beaks,  which  are  rather  depressed  and  placed  about  oJ^e-thmltlie  length  ol  the 
valves  from  the  anterior  end.  Should  this  form  be  found  to  be  distinct  from  that  named  by  Prot.  Hall, 
it  may  be  called  U.  suhcomprcssus.  ,,     ~  i,       ,    n     ^       „,t  u„  T>../^^•  ttoII  r.n  "Pi 

It  may  be  proper  to  remark  here,  that  nearly  or  quite  all  of  tho  shells  flgm-ed  by  r^of;Hall,  on  P  . 
m  of  Fremont's  Eeport,  although  there  referred  to  marine  genera,  arc  really,  as  suspected  by  him, 
fresh-water  tyiies. 

11  This  is  probably  the  CcritUum  Uneniin,  Hall  (see  Fi-emont's  Kepprt),  aud  is  a  true  Gomohasis.  Ina. 
genus  like  this,  however,  containing  so  many  closely-allied  species,  it  is  scarcely  PO«?'Wt,J,Vet  "neA' 
with  confidence,  a  form  only  known  from  a  three  or  four-hue  description  and  figures  ot  imperfect  speti- 
mens.  At  one  time  I  had  supposed  the  species,  for  which  I  have  here  proposed  ^^^.■^f^^^^rfl^^^l''^ 
to  1>e  the  tmcra.  But  specimens  of  the  form  I  have  above  referred  doubtfully  t"  tli^t  -jPecies^^^ j^v  ng 
been  brought  in  from  that  region  among  the  later  collections  I  find,  on  comparison  that  the j  as;ie«  m"'« 
nearly  in  most  respects  with  the  fi^ires  and  description  ot  the  species  «««<^'-«  ,'•  ^ 'V  n  \?,n!.h  htXr  iwBi' 
they  are  clearly  distinct  from  that  I  had  at  first  supposed  to  be  the  Unera,  aud  hold  a  much  highei  pcBi- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       299 

16.  Goniobasis  nodulifera,  MeeW" ;  Barrel  Springs,  AVyomiug.    Miocene. 

17.  Goniobasis  Cartei-i,  Conrad ;  Barrel  Springs,  Wyoming.    Miocene. 

18.  Goniobasis  clirnsalis,  Moek;  Snlplmr  Creek  and  Bear  River,  Utah.    Eocene. 

19.  Goniobasis  Siiiqisoni,  Meek  ;  Fort  Bridger,  Wyoming. 

20.  Pyrffulifcra  humerosa,  Meek ;  Sulphur  Creek,  Bear  River  City,  and  Parley's  Park, 
Utah,  and  Gilmore,  Wyoming.    Eocene. 

21.  Viviparm  palt(dina]formis,  Hall?  (sp.)'^,  Henry's  Fork,  and  Green  River,  Arctic 
Springs,  &.C.,  Wyoming.     Eocene. 

22.  Fivi2)arus  Conradi,  M.  and  H.;  Suli^hur  Creek,  on  Bear  River,  Utah.    Eocene. 

23.  Viviparns  ?  TViiomingcnis,  Meek,  (now  species,  see  description) ;  Henry's  and  Black's 
Forks,  and  Church  But tes.     Miocene. 

24.  Melantho  (Campcloma)  macrospira,  Meek  (new  species) ;  Sulphur  Creek,  Bear  River 
City,  and  Parley's  Park,  Utah.     Eocene. 

25.  Physa  (one  or  two  undetermined  species) ;  Church  Buttes,  Utah.     Miocene. 

26.  Planorbis  spectabilis,  Meek;  Henry's  Fork.    Miocene. 

27.  P/(n(or6is  (undetermined  species) ;  Church  Buttes.    Miocene. 

2$.  IiJnjtophontsp>riscus,MGok;  Sulphur  Creek,  Utah.    Eocene.  > 

29.  Bi/thincUaf  gregoria,  Meek  (new  species,  see  description);  Pacific  Springs, 
Wyoming.    Miocene. 

30.  C)/j;m,  (undetermined  species);  Fort  Bridger  and  Pacific  Springs.    Miocene. 

DESCRIPTIONS  OF  NEW  SPECIES  AND  GENEEA.* 

Carhoniferaus  species. 

EDMONDIA  ASPEN WALLENSIS,    (MEEK.) 

Shell  ovate,  moderately  coDvex ;  anterior  side  short  and  subtruneated, 
or  more  or  less  rounded ;  i^osterior  margin  rounded ;  iDallial  margin 
forming  a  semiovate  curve,  being  more  abruptly  rounded  up  anteriorly 
than  behind  ;  cardinal  border  rather  short,  and  rounding  into  the  pos- 
terior outline ;  beaks  moderately,  prominent,  oblique,  only  about  one- 
fourth  to  one-fifth  the  length  of  the  valves  from  the  anterior  margin. 
Surface  marked  with  more  or  less  regular  and  distinct  concentric  ridges 
and  strije. 

Length,  1.40  inches ;  height,  1.04  inches;  convexity,  about  0.70  inch. 

It  may  possibly  have  been  a  variety  of  this  species  that  was  figured 
by  Professor  Geinitz  under  the  name  Asturte  gihhosa  (McCoj^),  in  his 
"  Carbonformation  und  Dyas  in  Nebraska  "  (PL  I,  Fig.  23),  as  we  know  it 
to  occur  at  the  same  locality  from  which  his  specimen  was  obtained. 
His  figure,  however,  would  seem  to  represent  a  more  rounded  or  shorter 
and  less  depressed  shell,  with  a  broader  posterior  outline  and  more  gib- 
bous beaks.  At  any  rate,  the  shell  under  consideration  is  very  distinct 
from  that  named  by  Professor  McCoy,  and  is  certainlj-  not  an  Astarte., 
as  its  internal  casts  show  no  indications  of  the  hinge  characters  of  that 
genus,  but  on  the  contrary,  impressions  apparently  like  those  left  by  the 

tiou  iu  tlie  series.  These  specimens  are  also  extremely  abundant,  while  those  of  G.  chrysalis  are  rare, 
and  hence  it  is  more  probable  that  the  former  is  the  species  named  iu  Fremont's  llcport. 

It  is  worthy  of  note,  that  the  very  abundant  shell,  here  referred  doubtfully  to  Piolessor  Hall's  species, 
is  exceedingly  variable  in  its  ornamentation,  some  specimens  having  the  veitieal  costa;  rather  strongly 
developed  oii'all  the  volutions,  while  others  have  them  only  on  the  upper  ones  ;  and  on  still  others  tney 
are  nearly  or  quite  wanting  on  all  the  volutions  so  as  to  leave  only  the  finer  revolving  lines,  and  yet  we 
see  all  gradations  between  these  extremes. 

'^Thi.s  is  the  form  figured  and  described  in  Frgmont's  Eeport  under  the  name  Cerithmm  nodidosr'm. 
As  it  is  a  true  Goniobasis,  however,  and  Doctor  Lea  had  previously  described  a  species  of  that  genua 
under  the  name  nodulosa,  it  is  necessary  to  propose  a  new  name  for  the  Utah  species. 

•'It  is  not  possible,  from  the  published  figure  and  description  of  the  species  called  Turbo  pdhtdincefor- 
mis^in  Fremont's  Report,  to  decide,  with  confidence  which  one  of  several  species  of  YiviXMrus  and 
Mclantho,  now  known  from  the  tertiary  fresh-water  deposits  of  the  Green  Itiver  country,  that  uamo 
was  originally  proposed  for.  From  the  nature  of  the  matrix,  however,  and  its  association  -vrith  the 
species  "described  under  the  name  Ccrithimn  nodulosum,  it  is  much  more  probable  that  the  shell  I  have 
hero  referred  doubtfully  to  Yiviparus  paludinforcemis,  is  really  the  form  originally  described  as  Turbo 
paludinceformis,  than  the  less-abundant  species  of  Melantho,  from  the  Bear  beds,  composed  of  a  diflerent 
material. 

*  Drawings  of  tliese  fossils  are  in  course  of  jpreparation,  to  be  published  along  with 
full  descriptions  in  final  report. 


300  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF    THE    TEREITORIES. 

cartilage  processes,  in  the  casts  of  Udmondia,  tlioiigli  I  am  not  quite 
sure  tbat  it  belongs  properly  to  the  latter  genus.  It  is  a  rather  thin 
shell,  that  leaves  impressions  of  the  concentric  ridges  rather  distinct  ou 
internal  casts,  where  very  faint  traces  of  radiating  lines  are  also  some- 
times seen.  Its  muscular  and  pallial  impressions  are  ohscm^e,  and  not 
well  known. 

Locality  and  position.  This  shell  has  a  very  wide  distribution  in  the 
coal  measures  of  this  country,  through  nearly  the  entire  thickness  of  which 
it  ranges.  The  typical  sijeciraen  was  found  in  the  upper  part  of  the  coal 
measures  at  Aspenwall,on  the  Missouri  River,  in  Southeastern  Nebraska. 
It  also  occurs  at  nearly  all  the  other  outcrops  along  the  Missouri  in  that 
region,  as  well  as  in  the  upper  and  lower  part  of  the  coal  measures  of 
Illinois  ;  likewise  in  the  lower  i^art  of  the  seres  in  West  Virginia,  and 
apparently'  at  Box  Elder  CaQon,  on  the  ^STorth  Platte,  Wyoming.  The 
specimens  from  the  latter  locality,  however,  are  shorter  and  more  gib- 
bous, and  agree  more  nearly  with  Professor  Geinitz's  figure. 

Cretaceous  forms. 

GENUS  CEASSATELLINA,  (meek.) 

Shell  subtrapezoidal,  equivalve,  inequilateral,  with  the  margins  closed 
and  smooth  within.  Hinge  with  two  cardial  teeth  and  one  elongated 
anterior  and  posterior  lateral  tooth  in  each  valve.  Anterior  cardinal 
tooth  of  left  valve  trigonal  and  deeply  emargiuate  below;  i^osterior  very 
oblique,  and  separated  from  the  other  by  an  oblique  pit  divided  longi- 
tudinally by  a  thin  lamina.  Cardinal  teeth  of  right  valve  diverging, 
with  a  triangular  pit  between  for  the  reception  of  the  triangular  cardi- 
nal tooth  of  the  other  valve ;  anterior  one  small,  and  connected  with  the 
anterior  lateral  tooth ;  i)osterior  one  larger,  oblique,  and  divided  longi- 
tudinally by  a  deep  slit  for  the  reception  of  the  lamina  in  the  corres- 
ponding pit  of  the  other  valve.  Ligament  external  (?)  Muscular  im- 
pressions shallow.  Pallial  line  simple  (f)  Surface  without  radiating 
markings. 

The  typical  and  only  known  species  of  this  genus  has  very  much  the 
external  aspect  of  a  CrassatcUa,  from  which,  however,  it  is  widely  re- 
moved, generically,  by  its  hinge  characters,  though  probably  belonging 
to  the  same  family.  Its  muscular  impressions  are  very  faintlj^  marked, 
as  is  also  the  case  Mith  its  pallial  line,  which  I  have  not  been  able  to 
trace  along  its  entire  length,  though  enough  of  it  can  be  seen  to  leave 
little,  if  any,  room  for  doubting  that  it  is  simj^le.  Its  lateral  teeth  are 
elongated  parallel  to  the  cardinal  margin,  the  posterior  being  rather 
remote  from  the  cardinal,  while  the  anterior  one  in  the  right  valve  con- 
nects at  its  posterior  end  with  the  small  anterior  cardinal,  and  in  the 
left  extends  back  to  the  small  pit  for  the  reception  of  this  anterior  cardi- 
nal tooth  of  the  right  valve,  just  in  front  of  the  larger,  trigonal  cardinal 
tooth  of  the  left  valve.  The  anterior  lateral  tooth  of  the  right  valve  seems 
to  fit  under  that  of  the  left,  and  the  posterior  one  of  the  right  over  that 
of  the  left,  though  I  am  not  positively  sure  of  this.  The  cardinal  teeth 
are  very  peculiar,  those  of  the  right  being  rather  widely  diverging,  with 
the  very  oblique  posterior  and  larger  one  so  deeply  divided  longitudi- 
nally by  a  very  narrow  slit,  that  it  may  possibly  sometimes  rather  pre- 
sent the  character  of  two  teeth,  though"  the  posterior  half  seems  scarcely 
prominent  enough  to  be  considered  a  distinct  tooth.  The  principal  or 
anterior  trigonal  cardinal  tooth  of  the  left  valve,  which  fits  between  the 
two  diverging  ones  of  the  right,  is  sometimes  so  deeply  emargiuate  be- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OP  THE  TERRITORIES.       301 

low  tbat  it  might  almost  be  described  as  A-sliaperl,  wliile  the  posterior 
cardiual  of  this  valve  is  directed  very  obliquely  backward  and  down- 
ward, aud  compressed.  The  thin  lamina  dividing  longitudinally  the  pit 
between  this  oblique  tooth  and  the  trigonal,  emarginate  one,  is  another 
peculiar  feature. 

CRASSATELLINA   OBLONGA,  (MEEK.) 

A  B 


A  shows  hinge  aud  iuterior  of  right  valve  ;  B  hinge  and  interior  of  left  valve  ;  both 
2  diam. 

Shell  small,  short  oblong-subtrapezoidal  in  outline,  less  than  twice 
as  long  as  high  ;  valves  rather  distinctly  convex,  with  flattened  sides  ; 
anterior  margin  rounded ;  i^allial  margin  nearly  straight,  or  sometimes 
slightly  sinuous  along  the  middle  ;  posterior  oblquely  truncated  above 
aud  narrowly  rounded  below  ;  dorsal  outline  sloping  rather  abruptl^^  in 
front  of  the  beal^s  and  less  distinctly  so  behind ;  beaks  moderately 
prominent,  and  placed  a  little  in  advance  of  the  middle ;  posterior  um- 
boual  slopes  prominently  rounded  from  the  beaks  to  posterior  basal  ex- 
tremity ;  posterior  dorsal  region  above  the  umbonal  prominences  flat- 
tened :  flanks  sometimes  a  little  concave  toward  the  pallial  margin. 
Surface  with  rather  distinct  lines  of  growth. 

Length,  0.73  inch  ;  height,  0.32  inch  ;  convexity,  0.30  inch. 

Specifically,  this  shell  is  more  nearly  like  the  form  I  have  described 
from  the  cretaceous  near  Caiion  City,  under  the  name  Mactra  f  Caiio- 
nensis,  than  it  is  like  any  other  form  with  which  I  am  acquainted ; 
though  it  differs  too  widely  to  be  confounded  with  that  shell,  even  where 
the  hinge  could  not  be  seen.  They  both  have  so  much  the  appearance  of 
the  genus  Crassatella,  externally,  that  few  would  hesitate  to  refer  them 
to  that  genus  where  their  external  characters  only  could  be  examined. 

Locality  and  position:  Twelve  miles  southwest  of  Salina,  Saline 
County,  Kansas;  Dakota  Group  of  the  Upper  Missouri  cretaceous 
series.    Collected  by  Professor  B.  F.  Mudge. 

PACHYMYA  ?   TRUNCATA.  (MEEK.) 

Shell  small,  longitudinally  oblong,  very  convex ;  posterior  side  long, 
distinctly  and  rectangularly  truncated,  apparently  closed  5  pallial  mar- 
gin nearly  straight,  and  slightly  sinuous  along  its  entire  length ; 
anterior  margin  truncated  a  little  obliquely  forward  from  the  beaks  to 
the  rather  prominent  and  abruptly-rounded,  or  subangularly-anterior 
basal  extremity ;  cardinal  margin  nearly  straight  and  parallel  to  the 
base ;  beaks  depressed  nearly  to  the  horizon  of  the  dorsal  margin,  very 
oblique,  somewhat  compressed,  and  placed  less  than  one-fifth  the  length 
of  the  valves  behind  the  anterior  extremity ;  posterior  umbonal  slopes 
quite  prominent  or  subangular,  and  continued  obliquely  to  the  posterior 
basal  angle,  so  as  to  divide  the  surface  of  each  valve  into  two  nearly 
equal,  elongated,  inequilateral  triangles,  the  lower  of  which  forms  the 
concave  flanks ;  anterior  muscular  scar  small,  but  very  deep  ;  posterior 
ditto,   larger,  shallow,  suboval;   pallial  line  not  distinctly  seen,  but 


302  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

appareutly  with  a  small  sinus.  Surface  with  rather  coarse,  irregular 
marks  of  growth. 

Length,  1.15  inches ;  height,  0.55  inch ;  convexity,  0.58  inch. 

This  shell  is  much  smaller  than  the  typical  species  of  Sowerby's  genus 
Pachymya,  which  it  resembles  in  general  habit  and  in  the  thickness  of 
its  valves.  Its  ligament  seems  to  have  been  short  and  rather  deeply 
inserted  behind  and  between  the  beaks.  I  have  not  seen  the  hinge, 
but  judging  from  internal  casts  it  would  seem  to  be  edentulous.  Its 
j)eculiar  oblong  form  and  squarely-truncated  posterior  margin  give  it 
somewhat  the  aspect  of  a  Saxicava,  or .  a  miniature  Panopcca,  but  it 
differs  from  these  genera,  in  having  thicker  valves,  and  nearly  or  quite 
closed  margins.  I  am  not  sure  that  it  belongs  properly  to  the  genus 
Pachymya,  though  it  must  be  nearly  related  to  that  genus,  which  seems 
rather  to  beloug  to  the  MytiUda;  than  to  be  nearly  allied  to  Pholadomya 
or  Panopcca,  with  which  some  have  associated  it. 

Specifically,  the  shell  under  consideration  will  be  readily  distinguished 
from  all  of  our  other  known  cretaceous  forms  by  its  i^eculiar  oblong, 
truncated  form  and  ijrominent  umbonal  slopes,  concave  flanks,  &c.  The 
only  other  form  known  to  me  that  approaches  it  in  these  characters  is 
Mr.  Gabb's  Eemondia  furcata,  which  is  a  much  larger  shell,  with  more 
regular  undulations,  a  more  prominent  base  in  front  of  the  middle,  a 
less  narrowly-rounded  anterior  basal  extremity,  and  a  more  obliquely- 
truncated  posterior  margin.  Our  shell  also  seems  not  to  have  the  hinge 
characters  of  Eemondia. 

Locality  and  position :  The  specimen  was  given  to  Dr.  Hayden  at  the 
Salt  Lake,  and  was  found  in  that  region,  but  he  could  not  ascertain 
the  precise  locality.    It  is  almost  certainly  a  cretaceous  species. 

INOCERAMUS  ALTUS.  (MEEK.) 

Shell  attaining  a  medium  size,  vertically,  or  a  little  obliquely,  subovate, 
being  in  the  adult  higher  than  long,  and  widening  from  the  hinge  down- 
ward; moderately  convex;  equivalve,  very  inequilateral;  hiuge  very 
short, and  ranging  nearly  at  right  angles  to  the  longer  axis  in  the  adult, 
but  a  little  more  oblique  in  young  shells ;  anterior  side  straight,  long, 
and  truncated  vertically  or  nearly  at  right  augles  to  the  hinge,  iaimedi- 
ately  in  front  of  the  beaks ;  base  regularly  rounded ;  posterior  outline 
forming  a  broad,  somewhat  oblique,  gentle  curve  from  the  posterior 
end  of  the  hinge  into  the  base;  beaks  nearly  or  quite  equal,  rising 
little  above  the  hinge  line,  pointed,  obliquely  incurved,  and  placed 
immediately  over  the  anterior  margin.  Surface  of  cast  showing  more 
or  less  regular,  rather  obscure  concentric  undulations,  and  faint  traces  of 
radiating  markings,  the  latter  probably  not  being  defined  on  the  exterior. 

Height,  about  6.50  inches;  length,  about  4.90  inches;  convexity,  2.70 
inclies;  length  of  hiuge,  about  2.40  inches. 

This  species  belongs  to  the  section  of  the  genus  that  includes  perna- 
like  forms;  that  is,  shells  with  their  vertical  diameter  greater  than  their 
atero-posterior,  and  with  a  short  hinge  ranging  nearly  at  right  angles 
to  the  longer  (vertical)  axis  of  the  valves,  terminal  or  anterior  Ijeaks,  etc. 
It  differs,  however,  decidedly  from  all  of  the  described  species  of  that 
type  with  which  I  am  acquainted,  in  being  almost  exactly  equivalve,  with 
its  beaks  also  very  nearly  if  not  quite  equal.  In  size  and  general 
appearance  it  reminds  one  of  I.  nohilis,  Miinster,  as  figured  in  Goldfnss' 
Petref.  Germ.,  PI.  CIX,  Fig.  4  and  4a ;  but  it  differs  from  that  species, 
not  only  in  its  equal  beaks,  but  in  having  its  truncated  anterior  side 
straight  instead  of  concave  in  outline,  and  its  surface  undulated  instead 
of  merely  striated. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       303 

Locality  and  position:  Near  Medicine  Bow  Station,  Union  Pacific 
Railroad;  Fort  Pierre  Group  of  the  Upper  Missiouri  cretaceous  section. 

UNTO   (BAPHIA?)  NEBRASCENSIS.   (MEEK.) 

Shell  attaining  a  medium  or  larger  size,  cuneate-subovate,  being  in 
the  adult  very  gibbous  anteriorly  and  cuneate  behind ;  anterior  side 
very  short  and  rounded ;  posterior  sloping  above  obliquely  from  the  end 
of  the  hinge  to  the  posterior  basal  extremity,  which  is  narrowly  rounded; 
basal  border  sinuous  behind  the  middle,  and  convex  in  front  of  it ;  car- 
dinal margin  rather  short  and  nearly  straight  or  slightly  arched ;  um- 
bones  very  gibbous,  but  depressed,  oblique,  incurved,  and  ^ilaced  near 
the  anterior  extremity ;  posterior  umbonal  slopes  subaugular  from  the 
beaks  obliquely  backward  and  downward  to  near  the  middle,  beyond 
which  thej'  are  continued  as  broadly-rounded  ridges  to  the  posterior  basal 
extremity ;  below  and  parallel  to  these  ridges  there  are  also,  on  the  Hanks, 
one  or  two  large,  oblique,  irregular,  rounded  plications  or  undulations, 
that  continue  on  to  the  sinuous  posterior  basal  margin,  to  which  they 
sometimes  impart  a  distorted  or  waved  appearance.  Surface  otherwise 
smooth,  excepting  moderately-distinct  lines  of  growth,  which  are  strongly 
undulated  in  places,  as  they  cross  the  oblique  plications  of  the  flanks. 

Length,  4.10  inches ;  height,  2.36  inches  ;  convexity,  2.07  inches. 

Specimens  of  this  large  shell  were  brought  by  Dr.  Hayden  from  Ne- 
braska, some  years  back,  but  I  have  delayed  describing  it,  with  the  hope 
that  other  specimens  would  be  found  that  might  show  the  nature  of  the 
hinge.  It  has  so  much  the  external  aspect  of  the  Unionidcn  as  strongly 
to  impress  one  with  the  belief  that  it  belongs  to  the  genus  Unio^  as  un- 
derstood in  its  wider  signification.  It  certainlj'  has  an  external  ligament 
exactly  as  we  see  in  that  genus;  while  one  of  the  casts  shows  the  im- 
lu'ession  of  a  single  compressed,  oblique  cardinal  tooth  in  the  right 
valve  just  over  the  scar  of  the  anterior  adductor,  and  near  the  margin. 
The  anterior  adductor  scar  is  rather  deep  and  also  near  the  margin.  I 
have  not,  however,  seen  the  small  scar  placed  just  behind  that  of  the 
anterior  adductor  of  Unio^  in  the  internal  casts  of  this  shell.  So  far  as 
can  be  made  out  from  the  casts,  there  would  seem  to  have  been  no  lateral 
teeth,  but  the  specimens  are  not  in  a  condition  to  warrant  a  positive 
opinion  on  this  x)oint ;  nor  do  they  show  the  nature  of  the  pallial  line. 

Locality  and  position:  Dakota  Group,  or  No.  1,  of  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri cretaceous,  opposite  Sioux  City,  on  the  Missouri,  in  Dakota  County, 
Nebraska,  where  it  occurs  associated  with  Cyrena  arenaria. 

ARC  A?  PARALLEL  A.   (JIEEK.) 

Shell  small,  longitudinally  oblong,  being  about  twice  and  a  half  as 
long  as  high,  moderately  convex ;  cardinal  and  pallial  margins  straight 
and  nearly  parallel ;  anterior  side  short  and  rounding  up  regularly  from 
below  and  intersecting  the  cardinal  margin  at  an  obtuse  angle  above ; 
posterior  side  long,  a  little  wider  than  the  other,  with  its  margin  com- 
pressed and  obliquely  truncated  above,  but  rounded  below ;  beaks  de- 
pressed, somewhat  flattened,  incurved,  not  very  remote,  and  placed 
about  one-fifth  the  length  of  the  valves  from  the  anterior  margin  ;  car- 
dinal area  very  narrow,  and  apparently  smooth ;  muscular  and  pallial 
impressions  very  obscure;  hinge  with  denticles  longest  posteriorly,  where 
they  are  directed  upward  and  backward  at  an  angle  of  about  fortyflve 
degrees  to  the  cardinal  margin ;  from  the  posterior  side  they  diminish 
rather  rapidly  in  size  and  length  forward,  so  that^  they  become  very 


304       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

minute  and  crowded  between  the  beaks,  which  is  as  far  forward  as  they 
have  been  traced  in  the  specimens  examined.  Surface  showing  very 
fine,  crowded,  radiating  strice,  with  stronger  marks  of  growth. 

Length,  0.95  inch ;  height,  0.37  inch ;  convexity,  0.27  inch. 

This  is  not  a  typical  Area,  if  we  follow  conchologists  in  viewing  A. 
Now  as  the  type  of  the  genus,  because  it  wants  the  broad,  divaricately- 
furrowed  cardinal  area,  and  is  not  gaping  in  the  anterior  ventral  region. 
Its  hinge  denticles  are  also  more  oblique  and  longer  posteriorly,  more 
like  those  of  Scapliula.  In  form  and  general  appearance  it  is  very  much 
like  some  species  of  Macrodon,  but  'its  hinge  characters  are  widely  dif- 
ferent. I  know  of  no  established  section  of  the  old  genus  Area  into 
which  it  cofild  be  properly  placed,  and  if  it  is  thought  desirable  to  have 
a  section  for  such  forms,  they  might  be  separated  under  the  name 
Areina. 

Loeality  and  jyosition:  Twelve  miles  southwest  of  Salina,  Saline 
County,  Kansas ;  Dakota  Group  of  the  Upper  Missouri  cretaceous  series. 
Professor  B.  F.  Mudge. 

YOLDIA  MICRODONTA,  (MEEK.) 

Shell  small,  longitudinallj'  subovate,  rather  compressed ;  anterior 
margin  more  or  less  narrowly  rounded,  being  generally  more  promi- 
nent above  the  middle ;  pallial  margin  forming  a  semiovate  curve, 
being  more  prominent  before  than  behind  the  middle,  and  curving  uj) 
gradually  and  obliquely  at  both  ends ;  posterior  side  compressed,  and 
with  its  margin  narrowly  rounded,  or  almost  subangular  at  its  con- 
nection with  the  hinge  above ;  cardinal  margin  sloping  gradually  from 
the  beaks,  the  posterior  slope  being  very  slightly  concave  in  outline, 
knd  the  anterior  nearly  straight ;  beaks  rather  depressed  and  placed 
a  little  in  advance  of  the  middle;  hiuge  line  equaling  about  three- 
fourths  the  entire  length,  and  provided  with  verj-  line,  regular,  pointed 
denticles,  of  which  twenty-six  may  be  counted  behind  and  twenty  be- 
fore the  beaks,  in  each  valve.  Muscular  and  pallial  impressions  very 
obscure,  and  not  visible  on  internal  casts.    Surface  not  well  known. 

Length,  0.50  inch ;  height,  0.28  inch  ;  convexity,  0.14  inch. 

In  general  outline,  and  the  nearly  central  positions  of  its  beaks,  this 
shell  bears  some  relation  to  Yoldia  hisulcata,  M.  and  W.,  from  the  Fox 
Hills  Group  of  the  Upper  Missouri  cretaceous,  but  it  is  a  very  decidedly 
more  compressed  species  5  and,  judging  from  impressions  left  in  the  ma- 
trix, it  was  evidently  less  strongly  striated.  Indeed  it  seems  to  have 
been  nearly  smooth,  in  which  character,  as  well  as  in  some  other  re- 
spects, it  is  probably  more  nearly  related  to  T.  JEvansi,  M.  and  W.,  from 
which  it  differs  in  l3eiug  j)roportionally  shorter,  higher,  and  more  com- 
pressed. Among  European  species,  it  is  represented  by  such  forms  as 
Yoldia  scaplia  {Nueiila  scapha,  d'Orbiguy,  Paloeont.,  Francaise,  t.  iii,  PI. 
301,  Fig.  1-3),  from  Avhich  it  also  differs  in  being  more  compressed,  with 
the  posterior  side  wider,  and  the  posterior  dorsal  slope  distinctly  less 
concave  in  outline. 

Loeality  and  position  :  Twelve  miles  southwest  of  Salina,  Kansas,  from 
a  brown  sandstone  of  the  age  of  the  Dakota  Group  of  the  Upper  Mis- 
souri cretaceous.  Discovered  by  Professor  Mudge,  of  the  Kansas  Agri- 
cultural College. 

CORBICULA?  NUCALIS,    (MEEK.) 

Shell  small,  trigonoid-subcircular,  moderately  gibbous,  the  greatest 
convexity  being  above  the  middle;  pallial  margin  forming  a  semi-elliptic 


GEOLOGICAL    SUKVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  305 

curve;  posterior  margin  subtruncatecl  or  rounded;  anterior  margin 
rather  more  narrowly  rounded;  dorsal  outline  sloping  rather  abruptly 
and  nearly  equally,  with  slight  convexity  in  front  and  rear  of  beaks,  the 
anterior  slope  being  somewhat  more  abrupt  than  the  other ;  beaks  nearly 
or  quite  central,  curved  inward  and  slightly  forward ;  posterior  dorsal 
surfaces  a  little  flattened ;  post-unibonal  slopes  somewhat  prominent,  or 
sometimes  almost  subangular  in  internal  casts;  muscular  impressions 
shallow  and  oval ;  pallial  line  with  a  small  obtuse  sinus.  External  sur- 
face unknown  ;  surface  of  internal  casts  smooth. 

Length,  0.47  inch ;  height,  0.42  inch ;  convexity,  0.20  inch. 

Impressions  of  the  hinge  of  this  little  shell,  left  in  the  matrix,  show 
that  it  has  elongated  anterior  and  posterior  lateral  teeth  that  are  striated 
transversely,  as  in  Corhieula.  In  the  left  valve  there  is  one  elongated 
anterior,  and  one  similar  posterior  lateral  tooth,  each  of  which  fits  into 
a  corresponding  furrow  in  the  margin  of  the  other  valve.  Immediately 
above  this  furrow,  in  the  posterior  and  anterior  margin  of  the  right  valve, 
there  is  a  smaller  linear,  striated  lateral  tooth,  while  the  margin  below 
the  furrow  seems  hardly  to  project  enough  to  be  properly  regarded  as  a 
second  anterior  and  posterior  lateral  tooth.  The  specimens  of  the  im- 
pressions of  the  cardinal  teeth  are  not  so  clearly  seen,  being  mainly 
hidden  behind  the  cast  of  the  umbones,  in  the  only  specimen  that  I  have 
seen  with  this  part  of  the  hinge  well  preserved.  So  far  as  they  can  be 
made  out,  they  seem  to  be  much  as  in  the  existing  species  of  Corbicula, 
excepting  that  the  anterior  cardinal  tooth  of  the  left  valve  is  directed 
almost  horizontallj^ forward  instead  of  obliquely  forward  and  downward; 
it  is  also  much  compressed  from  above  and  below,  and  very  prominent, 
and  curved  upward.  The  corresponding  tooth  of  the  other  valve  is 
much  smaller  and  overlaps  that  of  the  right  valve.  Behind  this  promi- 
nent anterior  cardinal  tooth  of  the  left  valve,  I  ihink  I  have  seen  two 
other  diverging  and  emarginate  cardinal  teeth,  with  pits  for  two  corres- 
ponding diverging  teeth  in  the  right  valve.  The  number  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  teethof  the  hinge  would,  therefore,  if  correctly  understood 
in  the  specimen,  seem  to  be  almost  exactly  as  in  Corhieula,  with  the 
exception  of  the  horizontal  direction  of  the  anterior  cardinal  teeth,  and 
the  prominence  of  that  of  the  left  valve. 

It  is  quite  possible,  however,  that  if  we  had  specimens  showing  more 
clearly  the  cardinal  teeth,  we  might  find  differences  enough  to  warrant 
the  establishment  of  a  distinct  section,  allied  to  Corbicula. 

Locality  and  position :  Twelve  miles  southwest  of  Saliua,  Kansas ; 
Dakota  Group  of  the  Upper  Missouri  cretaceous  series.  Professor 
Mudge. 

CORBICULA?   SIIBTRIGONALIS,    (MEEK.) 

Shell  oval-subtrigonal,  about  one-fourth  longer  than  wide,  rather 
gibbous,  the  greatest  convexity  being  above  the  middle;  basal  outline 
forming  a  semi-elliptic  curve;  extremities  rather  narrowly  and  very 
nearly  equally  rounded;  beaks  somewhat  depressed  and  very  nearly 
central ;  dorsal  outline  sloping  before  and  behind  the  beaks,  the  latter 
slope  being  convex  and  the  former  nearly  straight.  Surface  only  show- 
ing five  lines  of  growth.  Pallial  line  with  a  small,  obtusely-subangular 
sinus. 

Length,  1.16  inches;  height,  0.90  inch;  convexity,  about  0.66  inch. 

The  only  cast  of  the  hinge  of  this  species  I  have  seen,  is  that  of  a  left 

valve.    It  shows  the  impressions  of  the  same  elongated  and  striated 

lateral  teeth  seen  in  the  last.     The  cardinal  teeth,  however,  seem  to 

have  unfortunately  been  much  injured  by  maceration  or  erosion,  before 

20  G 


306  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

they  left  their  imprint  in  the  matrix.  It  shows  the  mold  of  a  promi- 
nent triangular  anterior  cardinal  tooth  in  front,  apparently  like  that  of 
the  last,  and  behind  this  there  are  remains  of  two  prominences,  that 
look  like  they  might  be  casts  of  two  somewhat  diverging  cardinal  teeth 
in  the  right  valve,  with  impressions  for  two  other  cardinal  teeth  in  the 
left;  hence,  so  far  as  can  be  made  out,  the  teeth  of  the  hinge  seem  to 
agree  with  those  of  the  last-described  species.  Specifically,  however, 
this  form  differs  from  the  last  in  its  more  depressed  and  transverse  out- 
line, as  well  as  in  having  its  lateral  extremities  more  nearly  equal  and 
more  narrowly  rounded ;  the  posterior  margin  not  being  truncated  as 
in  the  last. 

Locality  and  position  :  Same  as  last.    Collected  by  Professor  Mudge. 

CAEDnJlVI  PAITPERCULUIVI,  (i\IEEK.) 

Shell  small,  very  thin,  rather  compressed,  subovate  or  subcircular ; 
beaks  moderately  i)rominent  and  nearlj-  central;  surface  ornamented 
by  about  thirty  regular,  simple,  distinctly  defined,  radiating  costae, 
which  about  equal  the  intermediate  furrows,  and  (owing  to  the  thinness 
of  the  valves)  are  well-defined  internally,  and  thus  impart  a  plicated  or 
crenated  character  to  the  margins;  crossing  these  are  numerous  very 
regular,  well-defined,  delicate  marks  of  growth,  that  are  usually  less 
distinct  on  the  posterior  third,  but  give  a  neatly  crenulated  appearance 
to  the  costos  farther  forward. 

The  specimens  yet  seen  of  this  little  shell  are  rarely  more  than  about 
€.50  inch  in  diameter,  and  are  all  more  or  less  flattened  or  otherwise 
distorted.  Sometimes  thej'  are  distorted  by  antero-posterior  pressure, 
so  as  to  present  somewhat  the  appearance  and  outline  of  a  Lima,  being 
higher  than  wide,  and  more  or  less  oblique;  while  in  other  examples 
they  are  distorted  by  vertical  i^ressure,  so  as  to  present  little  or  no 
obliquity,  and  to  show  a  greater  antero-posterior  diameter  than  height. 
1  have  not  seen  the  hinge,  but  some  imj^ressions  in  the  matrix  show 
that  it  has  anterior  and  posterior  lateral  teeth  like  those  of  Cardium  ; 
it,  however,  does  not  belong  properlj-  to  the  tyiiical  section  of  that  genus. 

Locality  and  position :  Fort  Benton  Grouj),  or  No.  2  of  the  Upper 
Missouri  cretaceous  series,  at  the  Oil  Springs,  twenty  miles  west  of  Fort 
Bridger,  Wyoming  Territory. 

CARDIIJM  (PEOTOCARDIA)  SALINAENSE,  (MEEK.) 

Shell  small,  orbicular-subtrigonal,  slightly  longer  than  high,  rather 
gibbous ;  pallial  margin  forming  a  semicircular  curve  ;  anterior  margin 
rounded,  most  prominent  at  or  a  little  above  the  middle,  where  it  is 
sometimes  inclined  to  be  rather  narrowly  rounded,  while  below  this  it 
ourves  off  obliquely  into  the  base ;  posterior  margin  broader  than  the 
anterior,  and  faintly  subtruncated,  or  broadly  rounded ;  beaks  moder- 
iitely  prominent,  convex,  and  incurved,  located  slightly  in  advance  of 
the  middle ;  dorsal  outline  sloping  more  abruptly  in  front  than  behind 
the  beak's ;  surface  ornamented  on  the  sides  and  front  by  comparatively 
rather  large,  rounded,  very  regular,  concentric  costae,  separated  by 
smaller  furrows,  and  on  the  jDosterior  side  by  sixteen  to  twenty-two 
smaller  radiating  costae,  that  are  provided  with  very  regularly-disposed, 
little,  vaulted,  scale-like  prominences,  formed  by  undulating  marks  of 
growth. 

Height,  0.66  inch ;  length,  0.68  inch ;  convexity,  about  0.49  inch. 

This  little  shell  is  allied  to  C.  percgrinosum,  d'Orbigny,  and  C.  Hilla- 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  307 

mum,  Sowerby.  It  is  much  smaller  than  tlie  latter,  however,  and  has  a 
different  outline,  not  being  near  so  truncated  behind,  nor  so  regularly 
rounded  in  front.  Its  concentric  costtu  are  likewise  propiwtionally  much 
larger  and  less  numerous,  while  the  radiating  ribs  on  its  posterior  side 
differ  in  being  provided  with  the  numerous  little  projections  mentioued 
in  the  description.  In  the  latter  character  it  agrees  more  nearly  with 
C.  pcrcfjrinosum^  d'Orbigny.  It  also  differs  from  the  latter,  however,  in 
having  its  concentric  costJB  proportionally  much  larger  and  less  numer- 
ous, and  the  radiating  ones  straighter  and  occupying  a  larger  area  of 
the  valves,  while  the  anterior  margin  is  less  broadly  and  regularly 
rounded  in  outline. 

Locality  and  position  :  Twelve  miles  southwest  of  Salina,  Saline 
County,  Kansas;  Dakota  Group  of  cretaceous.  Professor  Mudge,  col- 
lector. 

CARDIUM  KANSASENSE,  (MEEK.) 

Shell  rather  small,  oval-suborbicular,  being  generally  slightly  higher 
than  the  anteroposterior  diameter,  and  rather  gibbons,  with  the  greatest 
convexity  usually  above  the  middle;  j)allial  margin  rounded,  or  sub- 
semicircular  in  outline,  being  in  most  cases  more  prominent  behind  the 
middle ;  anterior  margin  more  or  less  regularly  rounded ;  posterior  out- 
line rounded,  or  very  faintly  subtruncated ;  dorsal  outline  sloping 
abruptlv  from  the  beaks  before  and  behind ;  beaks  elevated,  gibbous, 
incurved,  and  subcentral,  or  a  little  in  advance  of  the  middle,  and  but 
slightly  oblique ;  posterior  dorsal  slopes  somewhat  flattened ;  surface 
marked  by  numerous  regular,  simi:)le,  radiating  stria^,  or  small  costae, 
that  are  sometimes  interrupted  by  marks  of  growth.  Hinge  strong, 
with. cardinal  and  anterior  lateral  teeth  stout;  posterior  lateral  remote 
and  less  i)rominent.  Anterior  muscular  scar  rather  deep;  posterior 
shallow.  Scar  of  pedal  muscle  (?)  small,  very  deep,  and  situated  on  the 
inner  anterior  side,  and  near  the  i^oints  of  the  beaks,  almost  opposite 
the  cardinal  teeth. 

Length,  0.94  inch  ;  height,  1  inch;  convexity,  about  0.63  inch. 

This  and  the  last-described  species  are  the  two  most  common  shells 
found  at  the  locality  where  they  were  obtained,  and  being,  like  the  other 
fossils  with  which  they  are  associated,  found  in  the  condition  of  casts, 
not  always  showing  even  traces  of  the  surface  markings,  it  is  sometimes 
difticult  to  distinguish  them.  Where  any  remains  of  the  surface  mark- 
ings can  be  seen,  however,  they  can  be  at  once  distinguished  by  the  con- 
centric cost?e  on  the  sides  and  front  of  the  former,  and  the  radiating 
costa?  on  the  corresponding  jjarts  of  that  under  consideration.  The 
latter  seems  also  to  have  generally  attained  a  somewhat  larger  size. 
The  inner  margins  of  both  appear,  from  the  casts,  to  be  generally  nearly 
smooth,  though  some  of  the  casts  of  the  form  under  consideration  show 
faint  traces  of  what  seem  to  have  been  crenulatious,  near  the  middle  of 
the  base.  I  at  first  thought  the  peculiar  projecting  point  left  b}'  what 
I  have  supposed  might  be  the  scar  of  the  pedal  mucles,  near  the  point 
of  each  beak  of  internal  casts,  might  distinguish  the  form  under  consid- 
eration ;  but  this  is  also  seen  on  some  of  the  casts  of  the  other  species, 
which,  likewise,  has  the  hinge  teeth  very  similar,  so  that  the  only  sure 
means  of  distinguishing  them  seems  to  be  the  surface  markings.  These 
markings  are  sometimes  distinctly  and  sharply  impressed  in  the  matrix, 
and  by  taking  gutta-percha  impressions  from  these  molds,  the  nature 
of  the  surface  markings  can  be  very  clearly  made  out.  No  traces  of 
nodes,  or  projecting  points  of  any  kind,  exist  on  the  costa;  of  this 
species.     In  some  respects  it  resembles  G.  Cottaldinum,  d'Orbigny  (Pah 


308       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEREITORIES. 

Fr.  Ill,  PI.  1-4),  from  the  Neocomiaii ;  but  it  is  ratber  more  coarsely  stri' 
ated,  and  wants  the  posterior  dorsal  impression  of  that  shell,  from  which 
It  also  differs  in  being  less  evenly  convex. 
Locality  and  'position  :   Same  as  last.  Discovered  by  Professor  Mudge. 

MACTEA*?   CANONENSIS,   (MEEK.) 

Shell  small,  very  thin,  transversely  subovate,  rather  compressed  or 
moderately  convex,  with  length  about  once  and  a  half  the  height; 
anterior  side  rounded;  posterior  side  longer,  narrower,  and  obliquely 
subtruncated  at  the  extremity ;  pallial  margin  forming  nearly  a  semi- 
ovate  curve,  being  most  prominent  anteriorly,  straight  or  very  slightly 
sinuous  behind  the  middle,  and  rounding  up  very  abruptly  to  the  lower 
part  of  the  truncated  posterior  margin;  dorsal  outliue  nearly  straight 
and  sloping  to  the  truncated  posterior,  and  declining  more  abruptly  in 
front;  beaks  small,  moderately  prominent,  and  placed  one-third  the 
length  of  the  valves  from  the  anterior  margin;  posterior  umbonal 
slopes  rather  prominent  to  the  posterior  basal  extremity,  while  the  sides 
in  front  of  this  j)rominence  are  flattened,  or  even  very  slightly  concave 
below.  Surface  with  rather  regular  but  distinct  lines  and  farrows  ot 
growth.  Muscular  impressions  shallow;  posterior  round-oval;  anterior 
narrower,  with  a  slencler  prolongation  above;  pallial  line  with  a  shallow, 
rather  rounded  sinus. 

Leugth,  0.78  inch;  height,  0.53  inch;  convexity,  0.31  inch. 

At  the  same  time  that  I  refer  this  species,  for  the  present,  to  the 
genus  Mactra,  I  really  do  not  believe  that  it  belongs  properly  to  that 
genus,  as  restricted  by  late  authorities  on  conchology.  I  merely  place 
it  there,  however,  because  its  hinge  is  unknown,  and  it  presents  some 
characters  indicating  relations  to  that  group.  In  form  it  is  very  unlike 
Mactra,  and  more  nearly  resembles  Grassatella.  Its  thinness  and  sinu- 
ous pallial  line,  however,  at  once  forbid  its  reference  to  that  group, 
while  the  latter  character,  and  especially  a  triangular  fissure  seen  in  the 
hinge  margin  between  the  beaks,  as  in  Mactra  (ScMzodesma),  indicate 
relations  to  that  genus.  Its  hinge,  however,  will  probably  be  found 
presenting  characters  that  warrant  its  separation  as  a  distinct  genus, 
judging  from  its  general  i^hysiognomy. 

Locality  and  position :  Caiion  City. 

-GENUS  AECOPAGELLA,  (meek.) 

Shell  equivalve,  more  or  less  nearly  equilateral,  longer  than  high, 
with  margins  closed  all  around  and  smooth  within.  Hinge  with  two 
'cardinal,  and  one  anterior  and  one  posterior  lateral  teeth  in  each  valve. 
Left  valve  with  anterior  cardinal  tooth  larger  than  the  posterior  and 
trigonal  in  form,  but  sometimes  rather  deeply  emarginated  below, 
placed  directly  under  the  beak;  posterior  cardinal  tooth  small,  slender, 
and  ranging  obliquely  backward  and  downward  close  to  the  larger  one, 
so  as  to  leave  only  a  slender  pit  between,  corresponding  to  another  on 
the  anterior  sioe  of  the  principal  cardinal  tooth,  which  two  pits  are  for 
the  reception  of  the  cardinal  teeth  of  the  right  valve;  anterior  and 
posterior  lateral  teeth  both  elongated  parallel  to  the  cardinal  margin, 
the  former  approaching  more  nearly  to  the  cardinal  teeth.  Right  a  alve 
with,  under  the  apex,  two  diverging,  slender  cardinal  teeth,  like  the 
posterior  one  of  the  other  valve,  with  a  triangular  pit  between  them  for 
the  reception  of  the  principal  cardinal  tooth  of  the  other  valve;  ante- 
rior one  more  oblique  than  the  other,  and  nearly  or  quite  connecting 


GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOKIES.       309 

with  the  lateral  tooth  on  that  side;  lateral  teeth  like  those  of  the  left 
valve;  the  anterior  one  apparently  fitting  under  that  of  the  other 
valve,  and  the  posterior  above  that  of  the  other.  Muscular  impressions 
shallow;  pallial  impression  with  a  moderate  rounded  sinus,  directed 
obliquely  forward  and  upward.  Ligament  unknown,  but  believed  to  be 
external.     Surface  without  ornamentation. 

After  searching  in  vain  to  find  some  defined  group  under  which  1 
could  range  this  shell,  with  a  reasonabl-e  degree  of  probability  of  its 
properly  belonging  to  the  same,  I  have  concluded  to  propose  a  new 
genus  for  its  reception.  It  seems  to  be  related  to  Arcoijagia,  but  dift'ers 
in  having  anterior  and  posterior  lateral  teeth  in  both  valves,  as  well  as 
in  the  form  of  the  anterior  cardinal  tooth  of  the  left  valve  and  its 
arrangement  with  relation  to  the  other.  At  first  I  was  inclined  to  think 
it  might  find  a  i)lace  in  Mr.  Conrad's  cretaceous  genus  TeUimera,  but  a 
sketch  of  the  hinge  of  his  type  received  fi-om  him  shows  the  latter  to  be 
quite  distinct,  having  a  double  anterior  lateral  tooth  in  the  right  valve, 
and  the  cardinal  teeth  of  the  same. consisting  of  one  bifid  very  oblique 
cardinal  tooth,  and*  immediately  behind  this  a  minnte  vertical  second 
cardinal.  The  hinge  plate  of  his  genus  is  also  distinctly  wider  on  the 
anterior  side  than  in  the  type  under  consideration. 

It  is  somewhat  remarkable  that  the  hinge  structure  of  the  type  of 
this  genus  is,  in  most  respects,  very  similar  to  that  of  the  grou'^j  for 
which  I  have  proposed  the  name  Crassatellina,  while  the  whole  aspect 
of  the  two  shells  is  so  entirely  different  that  I  can  scarcely  doubt  that 
they  really  belong  to  two  distinct  families — CrassateUina  probably 
belonging  to  the  CrassateUedce.,  and  Arcopagclla,  apparently  to  the  Tel- 
linidce.  As  closely  as  their  hiuges  resemble,  however,  a  critical  compari- 
son of  the  accompanying  cuts  will  show  them  to  present  important  dif- 
ferences of  details. 

It  is  probable  this  genus  will  ,be  found  to  include  other  tellinoid 
cretaceous  shells,  the  hinges  of  which  are  yet  unknown. 

ARCOPAGELLA  MACTROIDES,    (IVIEEK.) 

A  B 


A,  hinge  and  interior  of  right  valve. 

B,  hinge  and  interior  of  left  valve  ;  both  nat.  size. 

Shell  longitudinally-subovate,  width  or  height  about  two-thirds  the 
length,  rather  compressed  or  moderately  convex ;  pallial  margin  forming' 
a  regular  semi-elliptic  curve  from  end  to  end ;  anterior  margin  narrowly 
rounded,  with  the  most  prominent  part  near  the  middle ;  posterior  bor- 
der more  narrowly  rounded  than  the  anterior,  particularly  below,  where 
there  seems  to  be  the  faintest  possible  tendency  to  form  a  flexure  or 
fold ;  beaks  moderately  prominent,  located  very  nearly  centrally ;  dor- 
sal outline  sloping  almost  equally  before  and  behind  the  beaks,  but  with 
the  anterior  slope  slightly  concav^e  in  outline  above,  and  the  posterior  a 
little  convex  ;  muscular  impressions  faintly  marked  and  rather  narrow 
subovate ;  pallial  line  with  its  rather  shallow,  broadly-rounded  sinus  di- 
rected very  obliquely  forward  and  upward.  Surface  apparently  with 
only  fine  lives  of  growth. 

Length  of  one  of  the  larger  specimens,  0.78  inch  ;  Tieight,  0.53  inch  ; 
convexity,  about  0.2G  inch. 


310       GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

This  shell  will  be  readily  distinguished  fi?oin  the  Tellinas  of  our  cre- 
taceous rocks  by  its  shorter,  slightly  more  convex,  subtrigoual,  or  sub- 
ovate  nearlj'  equilateral  form,  even  where  its  hinge  cannot  be  seen.  In 
some  respects  it  looks  externally  like  a  compressed  and  depressed  Mac- 
tra.     I  am  unacquainted  with  any  tertiary  species  with  a  similar  hinge. 

Locality  and  iwsition :  Twelve  miles  southwest  of  Saliua,  Saline 
County,  Kansas ;  Dakota  Group  of  Upper  Missouri  cretaceous.  Profes- 
sor B.  F.  Mudge. 

TELLINA  SUBSCITULA,   (MEEK.) 

Shell  small;  elliptic-suboval,  much  compressed;  pallia!  margin  form- 
ing a  regular  semi-elliptic  curve ;  extremities  narrowly  rounded,  the  pos- 
terior being  a  little  shorter,  with  a  very  obscure  flexure,  and  more  ab- 
ruptly or  narrowly  rounded  below ;  dorsal  outline  sloping  gently  in  both 
directions  from  the  beaks,  the  posterior  slope  being  a  little  convex  in 
outline,  and  the  anterior  nearly  straight ;  beaks  depressed,  compressed 
and  placed  a  little  behind  the  middle ;  muscular  impressions  moderately 
distinct,  the  posterior  one  being  broader  than  the  other  ;  pallial  sinus 
very  deep,  nearly  horizontal,  and  rather  broadly  rounded.  Surface  with 
only  fine  lives  of  growth. 

Length,  0.84  inch;  height,  0.47  inch;  convexity,  about  0.15  inch. 

This  shell  is  much  like  Tellina  scitula,  M.  and  H.,  from  the  upper  mem- 
ber of  the  Upper  Missouri  cretaceous  series ;  but  on  comparison  it  is 
found  to  be  proportionally  more  depressed,  while  its  pallial  sinus  is  very 
different,  being  much  broader  and  more  obtusely  rounded  at  the  end. 
Impressions  of  its  surface  in  the  matrix  also  indicate  less  strongly-de- 
fined lines  of  growth.     Casts  show  that  it  has  no  lateral  teeth. 

Locality  and  position :  Same  as  last.    Professor  Mudge. 

TAPES   WYOMINGENSIS,   (MEEK.) 

Shell  elongate-subelliptic  in  outline,  much  compressed;  extremities 
nearly  equally  rounded ;  pallial  margin  straight  and  nearly  parallel  to 
the  dorsal,  but  rounding  up  regularly  at  both  ends  ;  dorsal  side  straight, 
or  very  slightly  convex  in  outline ;  beaks  depressed  nearly  or  quite  to 
the  dorsal  margin,  and  placed  about  one-fourth  the  length  of  the  valves 
from  the  anterior  end ;  anterior  muscular  impression  ovate,  rather  well 
defined,  and  with  its  longer  diameter  ranging  vertically;  pedal  scar 
distinct  near  the  upper  end  of  that  of  the  anterior  adductor ;  posterior 
muscular  impression  very  shallow ;  pallial  line  with  its  sinus  rather 
deep,  horizontal,  and  obtuse  at  the  end.  Surface  with  lines  and  some 
small  ridges  of  growth. 

Length,  1.70  inches ;  height,  0.82  inch ;  convexity,  about  0.28  inch. 

The  only  specimens  of  this  species  yet  obtained  are  mainly  casts  re- 
taining some  portions  of  the  shell.  They  give  very  little  idea  of  the 
nature  of  the  hinge  beyond  the  fact  that  it  seems  to  have  three  diverging 
cardinal  teeth,  the  exact  form  and  arrangement  of  which  cannot  be 
made  oat.  The  general  expression  of  the  shell,  however,  is  very  nearly 
that  of  some  European  cretaceous  forms  that  seem  to  have  essentially 
the  hinge  characters  of  Tapes,  though  they  may  not  be  exact!}'  congeneric 
with  the  recent  species  of  that  genus.  Among  the  foreign  species  our 
shell  seems  to  be  most  nearly  represented  by  Venus  fragilis,  d'Orbigny 
(from  the  cretaceous  of  France),  which  is  not  a  true  Venus,  but  has  been 
referred  by  Mr.  Zittel  to  the  genus  Tapes.  (See  Bivalven  der  Gosaug., 
I^ord  Alpen.) 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       oil 

Compared  with  d'Orbiguy's  figure  and  description  of  his  V.  fragilis, 
given  in  the  Pala3ont.  Francaise,  our  shell  differs  in  being  regularly 
rounded  instead  of  truncated  posteriorly.  It  is  also  straighter  on  the 
basal  margin,  and  more  broadly  rounded  in  front.  In  some  of  these 
characters  it  agrees  more  nearly  with  Professor  Zittel's  figures,  which  I 
suspect  may  represent  a  distinct  species  from  that  figured  by  d'Orbigny. 
Still  it  differs  from  Professor  Zittell's  figures,  in  having  its  anterior 
margin  more  broadly  rounded,  and  its  pallial  margin' straighter  in  out- 
line. 

Locality  and  position:  Mouth  of  Deer  Creeh,  on  North  Platte,  in 
Wyoming  Territory  ;  Fox  Hills  Group  of  the  Upper  Missouri  cretaceous 
series. 

LEPTOSOLEN  CONRADI,    (MEEK.) 

Shell  elongate-oblong,  nearly  three  times  as  long  as  high,  moderately 
convex ;  dorsal  margin  straight,  pallial  margin  more  or  less  nearly 
straight,  and  subparallel  to  the  dorsal,  being  a  little  convex  in  outline  in 
front  of  the  middle,  thence  ascending  obliquely  forward  to  the  narrowly- 
rounded  anterior  end ;  posterior  margin  truncated  vertically,  but 
rounding  abruptly  into  the  dorsal  and  ventral  borders  above  and  below; 
beaks  not  raised  above  the  dorsal  margin,  and  very  inconspicuous,  their 
position  only  being  indicated  externally  by  the  curves  of  the  marks  of 
growth,  located  about  one-third  the  length  of  the  valves  from  the  ante- 
rior end  ;  surface  only  showing  fine  lines  of  growth. 

Length,  1.04  inches ;  height,  0.36  inch ;  convexity,  0.28  inch. 

Internal  casts  of  this  species  show  the  impression  of  the  strong 
internal  ridge,  extending  directly  downward  from  the  beaks,  and  grad- 
ually dying  out  below  the  middle  of  the  valves.  These  casts  also  show 
the  imi^ression  of  a  single  small  tooth  in  the  right  valve,  just  in  front  of 
the  upper  termination  of  the  deep  furrow  left  by  the  strong  internal 
ridge.  From  these  characters  it  is  evident  that  this  genus  is  allied  to 
Siliqna,  Miililfeldt  {Lcguminaria,  Schum.),  but  differs,  as  pointed  out 
by  Mr.  Conrad,  in  having  but  a  single  hinge  tooth  in  the  right  valve, 
instead  of  three  in  each  valve.  It  almost  certainly  includes  Lcgumi- 
naria Moreana^  d'Orbigny  (Pal.  France  Ter.  Cret.,  Ill,  PI.  350,  Figs. 
8,  9,  10),  and  L.  Petersi,  Reuss  {Siliqna  Pctcrsi,  Zittel,  Bivalven  der 
Cos.,  JSTordiistlien  Alpen,  taf.  1,  Fig.  3),  both  of  which,  like  Mr.  Conrad's 
tj'pe,  are  cretaceous  species. 

Compared  with  Mr.  Conrad's  typical  species,  L.  hiplicata  {Siliguaria 
hipUcata^  Con.,  Jour.  Acad.  N.  Sci.,  Ill,  PI.  34,  Fig.  17),  our  shell  is  seen 
not  only  to  be  much  smaller  and  proportionally  shorter,  but  to  differ  in 
not  having  the  two  broad  prominences  radiating  forward  and  downward 
from  the  beak  of  each  valve,  as  in  that  species,  though  it  shows  a  single 
very  obscure,  broad  ijrominence  extending  directly  downward  under  the 
beaks,  and  widening  as  it  descends.  In  front  and  behind  this  there  is  also, 
in  each  valve,  a  scarcely  perceptible  concavity.  This  broad  prominence 
also  imparts  a  slight  convexity  to  the  outline  of  the  base,  just  at  the 
point  where  the  base  in  Mr.  Conrad's  species  is  sinuous. 

It  is  probably  more  nearly  allied  to  Leptosolen  Moreana,  d'Orbigny 
(sp.),  already  cited,  but  differs  from  d'Orbigny's  figure  in  being  decidedly 
straighter  on  the  dorsal  margin,  and  wider,  as  well  as  more  distinctly 
truncated  posteriorly.  Compared  with  Lept.  Petersi,  Eeuss  (sp.),  as 
figured  by  Professor  Zittel,  our  species  will  be  readil}^  distinguished  by 
having  its  internal  ridge  at  right  angles  to  the  dorsal  margin,  instead  of 
extending  obliquely  backward  and  downward ;  also  in  having  its  dorsal 


/ 

312        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

margin  straight  from  end  to  end,  instead  of  declining  forward  from  the 
beaks. 

Locality  and  position:  Twelve  miles  southwest  of  Saliua,  Kansas; 
Dakota  Group  of  the  cretaceous  series  of  the  Upper  Missouri.  Pro- 
fessor Mudge. 

ANISOMYON  CENTRALE,   (MEEK.) 

Shell  depressed,  conical,  somewhat  wider  than  high,  apex  central,  or 
very  nearly  so  ;  slopes  nearly  equal  all  around,  or  with  sometimes  the  an- 
terior and  sometimes  the  posterior  sides  a  little  convex,  and  the  others 
more  nearly  straight;  aperture  circular;  surface  apparently  smooth, ex- 
cepting obscure  lines  of  growth,  crossed  by  several  irregular,  diverging, 
obscure,  radiating  ridges  and  more  strongly  defined  furrows  ;  the  former 
being  mainly  on  the  posterior  and  the  latter  on  the  interior  and  lateral 
slopes. 

Breadth  of  largest  specimen  seen,  1.16  inches  ;  height  about  0.95  inch. 

I  have  seen  only  two  specimens  of  this  species,  and  these  are  internal 
casts,  with  merely  some  fragments  of  the  very  thin  shell  remaining,  while 
the  extreme  apex  of  both  is  broken  away.  The  radiating  furrows  are  rather 
distinctly  defined  on  the  anterior  slope  of  the  internal  cast,  while  one 
(apparently  not  exactl;^  the  middle  one)  is  narrower  and  distinctly  deeper 
than  the  others  on  each  side  of  it,  which  latter  are  about  twice  as  wide, 
shallow,  and  often  somewhat  divided  by  a  small  ridge  down  the  center  of 
each.  On  the  posterior  slope  one  of  the  ridges  is  more  strongly  defined 
than  the  others,  especially  near  the  apex,  and  seems  to  correspond  to 
the  deeper  furrows  of  the  anterior  slope,  though  not  exactly  opposite 
to  it.  The  broken  apex  in  one  of  the  specimens  looks  as  if  it  might  have 
curved  a  little  backward,  though  in  the  other  it  evidently  curved  for- 
ward at  the  point,  if  I  have  rightly  determined  the  relative  sides. 

One  of  the  specimens  shows  obscure  traces  of  the  oval  muscular  scar 
on  each  side,  and  these  are  connected  across  the  side  I  regard  as  the 
anterior,  by  a  slender  line,  but  the  specimen  being  a  little  worn  on  the 
opposite  or  posterior  side,  I  have  been  unable  to  make  out  the  broader 
interrupted  band  that  ought  to  pass  around  the  posterior  side,  if  the 
species  really  belongs  to  this  genus. 

This  species  will  be  readily  distinguished  from  all  of  the  others  yet 
known  from  the  far  western  cretaceous  rocks  by  its  conical  form  and 
elevated  apex. 

Locality  and  position  :  Box  Elder  and  Colorado  City,  Colorado ;  Fox 
Hills  Group  of  the  Upper  Missouri  cretaceous  series. 

TUERITELLA  KANSASENSIS,   (MEEK.) 

Shell  elongate  conical,  or  gradually  and  regularly  tapering  from  below 
to  the  apex,  with  the  lateral  slopes  of  the  spire  straight ;  volutions  eight 
to  ten,  increasing  regularly  in  size,  flattened,  or  only  very  slightly  convex ; 
last  one  rounded  below  ;  suture  nearly  linear ;  aperture  ovate.  Surface 
with  small,  thread-like,  revolving  lines,  varying  much  in  their  arrange- 
ment and  distinctness,  but  usually  more  strongly  defined  on  the  lower 
half  of  the  last  turn  ;  lines  of  growth  very  fine,  obscure,  and  strongly 
arched  or  sigmoid,  so  as  to  indicate  a  rather  deep  sinuosity  in  the  outer 
lip  above  the  middle. 

Length  of  large  specimen,  1.10  inch  ;  breadth,  0.31  inch  ;  divergence 
of  slopes  of  the  spire,  about  22°. 

This  shell  varies  much  in  its  surface  marking,  some  of  the  specimens 
appearing  almost  smooth,  or  only  showing  faint  indications  of  a  few 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       313 

revolving  lines,  while  others  show  a  few  distantly-separated,  very  slen- 
der, raised  lines.  In  still  others  five  or  six  well-defined  slender  lines 
may  be  seen  on  some  of  the  volutions,  and  a  smaller  number  of  less 
distinctly-defined  ones  on  the  other  turns.  The  arrangement  of  these 
lines  and  their  comparative  size  on  different  individuals,  as  well  as  on 
different  parts  of  the  same  specimen,  vary  much.  Usually  the  upper 
turns  near  the  apex  of  the  spire  appear  to  be  smooth,  though  this  may 
be  partly  due  to  accidental  erosion  before  the  shells  Avere  imbedded  in 
the  matrix. 

Locality  and  iwsition :  Twelve  miles  sonthwest  of  Salina,  Kansas ; 
Dakota  Groui?  of  cretaceous.    Professor  B.  F.  Mudge,  collector. 

TURBO  MUDGE  ANUS,  (MEEK.) 

Shell  small,  turbinate,  about  as  high  as  wide  ;  spire  moderately  prom- 
inent ;  volutions,  four  and  a-half  to  five,  increasing  rather  rapidly  in 
size,  convex  ;  last  one  somewhat  obliquely  flattened  below,  and  laterally 
compressed  or  flattened  around  the  middle  of  the  outer  side ;  suture 
more  or  less  channeled  ;  aperture  circular  ;  outer  lip  thin  and  oblique  ; 
columella  arched  and  flattened  below  j  axis  imperforate.  Surface  orna- 
mented by  strong,  raised,  oblique  lines  of  growth,  which  are  crossed  by 
four  equidistant,  rather  sharp,  revolving  cariuae,  only  three  of  which  are 
seen  on  the  volutions  of  the  spire. 

Height,  0.66  inch  ;  breadth,  about  0.64  inch ;  divergence  of  slopes  of 
the  spire  about  75°. 

This  shell  is  evidently  related  to  Turho  tricostatus,  d'Orbigny  (Palse- 
ont.  Fr.  Ter.  Cret.,  t.  II,  PI.  186  bis,  fig.  5,  6),  but  clearly  differs  in  hav- 
ing its  spire  decidedly  more  depressed,  and  in  having  four  revolving 
carinse  on  its  body  volution,  instead  of  only  three.  Its  body  whorl  is  also 
more  rounded,  in  consequence  of  its  greater  convexity  on  the  upper 
side,  which  also  imparts  a  more  rounded  outline  to  its  aperture.  It  like- 
wise wants  the  small  umbilicus  said  to  exist  in  d'Orbigny's  species,  and 
does  not  show  the  lower  carina  of  the  body  turn  above  the  suture  on 
those  of  the  spire. 

The  specific  name  is  given  in  honor  of  Professor  Mudge,  of  the  Kan- 
sas State  Agricultural  College,  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  the  typical 
specimens  of  this,  as  well  as  of  the  other  species  here  described  from  the 
same  locality. 

Locality  and  position  :  Same  as  last.    Professor  B.  F.  Mudge. 

Tertiary  species. 

UNIO  LEANUS,   (MEEK.) 

Shell  attaining  a  medium  size  or  larger,  rather  thin  ;  longitudinally 
ovate,  being  somewhat  less  than  twice  as  long  as  high,  with  the  widest 
(highest)  point  in  advance  of  the  middle,  rather  distinctly  convex  ;  an- 
terior side  wider  than  the  other,  and  regularly  rounded  ;  posterior  margin 
more  narrowly  rounded,  or  sometimes  obliquely  subtruncate  above;  basal 
outline  forming  a  broad,  semiovate  curve,  with  the  most  prominent  part  in 
advance  of  the  middle  ;  beaks  moderately  depressed  and  placed  between 
one-third  and  one-fourth  the  length  of  the  valves  from  the  anterior 
margin ;  surface  smooth  or  only  showing  marks  of  growth  ;  hinge 
strong,  cardinal  teeth  prominent,  and  leaving  in  internal  casts  a  very 
profound  impression,  ranging  vertically  just  behind  the  anterior  musculai 
scar ;  lateral  teeth  long  and  straight ;  two  in  the  left  and  one  in  the  right 
valve. 


314       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Length,  3.80  inches ;  height,  2.20  inches  ;  convexity,  1.40  inches. 

This  will  be  readily  distinguished  from  that  I  have  provisionailly 
referred  to  JJ.  tellhioldes,  H.,  by  its  proportionally  longer  and  more  con- 
vex valves,  stouter  hinge,  and  particularly  by  having  larger,  thicker,  and 
more  prominent  cardinal  teeth,  ranging  vertically,  instead  of  very 
obliquely  forward  and  downward.  The  specific  name  is  given  in  honor 
of  Dr.  Isaac  Lea,  of  Philadelphia. 

Locality  and  ijosition  :  Church  Buttes,  Wyoming  Territory ;  miocene 
tertiary,  in  a  rather  coarse,  greenish  grit. 

UNIO   WASHAKIENSIS,  (JIEEK.) 

Shell  scarcely  attaining  a  medium  size ;  thin,  depressed,  rather  com- 
pressed, longitudinally  subovate ;  anterior  side  short,  rounded ;  posterior 
side  long,  with  a  narrowly-rounded  or  sometimes  taintly  subtruncated 
extremity,  the  most  x>rominent  point  being  below  the  middle,  while 
above  this  there  is  usually  an  oblique  slope  from  the  posterior  extremity 
of  the  hinge  5  basal  margin,  forming  a  broad,  semi-elliptic  or  semi-ovate 
curve,  in  the  latter  case  the  most  iirominent  part  being  a  little  in  ad- 
vance of  the  middle  ;  dorsal  or  hinge  margin  straight  from  the  beaks  to 
the  upper  slope  of  the  posterior  margin ;  beaks  depressed  nearly  to  the 
dorsal  margin,  rather  regularly  convex,  but  not  ventricose,  and  placed 
about  one-fourth  the  length  of  the  valves  from  the  anterior  extremity ; 
umbonal  slopes  moderately  and  evenly  convex  ;  surface  smooth,  or  only 
showing  more  or  less  distinct  marks  of  growth,  excepting  near  the  im- 
mediate points  of  the  beaks,  where  well-preserved  specimens  show 
traces  of  minute,  regular,  longitudinal  w^rinkles,  which  terminate  pos- 
teriorly at  two  faint,  oblique,  obsolescent,  linear  ridges ;  hinge,  slender ; 
cardinal  teeth  small,  oblique,  and  apparently  consisting  of  one  in  the 
right  and  two  in  the  left  valve;  lateral  teeth  straight,  rather  long,  two 
in  the  left,  and  one  or  two  in  the  right  valve. 

Length  of  a  large  specimen,  2.37  inches;  height,  1.26  inches;  convex- 
ity, 0.72  inch. 

This  species  is  related  to  TJ.  priscus^  M.  &  H.,  with  which  it  agrees 
nearly  in  form  and  surface  characters.  It  is  constantly  smaller,  how- 
ever, and  distinctly  thinner,  while  its  hinge  is  weaker  and  its  cardinal 
teeth  smaller  and  much  more  oblique.  The  wrinkles  on  its  beaks,  and 
the  two  oblique  linear  ridges  on  their  posterior  dorsal  sides,  are  similar 
to  those  on  JJ.  priscus,  excepting  that  they  are  less  distinctly  defined 
and  occupy  a  nuich  smaller  space  only  near  the  points,  instead  of  the 
whole  surface  of  the  umbones,  being  in  fact  so  obscure  and  so  near  the 
points  of  the  beaks  as  to  be  readily  overlooked  and  entirely  obsolete  in 
most  cases. 

It  will  be  distinguished  from  U.  Raydeni  mainly  by  its  constantly  more 
depressed  and  more  elongated  form.  Its  stratigraphical  position  is  also, 
according  to  Dr.  Hayden's  observations,  one  thousand  to  two  thousand 
feet  lower  in  the  series  than  that  of  JJ.  Haydeni. 

Locality  and.  position  :  Washakie,  Wyoming ;  also  on  Henry's  Fork 
and  on  Green  itiver,  Wyoming  Territory,  at  all  of  which  i^laces  it  is  as- 
sociated with  Viviporus  paludinceformis  (=Tm'l)o  paludinceformis  Hall) 
and  Goniobasis  nodulifera  f=Cerithiuni  nodulosuniy  Hall,  not  G.  nodu 
losa,  Lea.) 

CORBICULA?  FRACTA,  (MEEK.) 

Shell  attaining  a  rather  large  size,  longitudinally  ovate,  wider 
(higher)  anteriorly,  compressed,  very  thin  and  fragile ;  anterior  margin 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       315 

rounded ;  pallia!  margin  semiovate  in  outline ;  posterior  margin  nar- 
rowcT  than  the  other,  and  snbtruncate ;  dorsal  outline  sloping  gradually, 
with  slight  convexity  behind  the  beaks,  and  more  abruptly  in  front ; 
beaks  rather  depressed,  oblique,  and  placed  about  one-third  the  length 
of  the  valves  from  the  anterior  extremity ;  surface  only  showing  very 
obscure  lines  and  somewhat  stronger  ridges  of  growth. 

Length,  2.24  inches;  height  at  the  beaks,  1.48  inches;  convexity,  ap- 
parently about  0.40  inch. 

The  specimens  of  this  species  are  all  more  or  less  flattened  by  acci- 
dental compression,  but  show  the  outline  and  surface  characters  per- 
fectly, even  to  remains  of  the  thin  epidermis.  With  considerable  diffi- 
culty I  have  succeeded  in  cleaning  away  the  matrix  so  far  as  to  see  that 
the  hinge  margin  is  comparatively  strong  for  so  thin  a  shell.  It  shows 
apparently  three  diverging  cardinal  teeth  in  each  valve,  and  a  linear 
anterior  lateral  tooth  extending  parallel  to  the  anterior  margin,  while 
the  posterior  lateral  teeth  are  somewhat  remote  from  the  cardinal,  and 
rather  elongated.  On  these  posterior  lateral  teeth  I  have  seen  fine  trans- 
verse striae,  which  doubtless  also  exist  on  the  anterior  lateral,  though  I 
have  not  seen  a  specimen  in  a  condition  to  show  them. 

Internal  casts  show  the  anterior  muscular  impression  to  be  ovate,  and 
the  posterior  broader,  or  more  nearly  circular,  while  the  pallial  line 
shows  a  shallow,  rounded  sinus,  forming  less  than  a  semicircle. 

Locality  and  imsition  :  Hallville  coal  mines,  just  above  a  bed  of  coal, 
in  a  black,  argillaceous,  rather  hard  rock,  that  may  be  shaly  at  some 
places. 

CORBICULA?   CRASSATBLLIFORMIS,    (MEEK.) 

Shell  attaining  about  a  medium  size,  longitudinally  ovate-subtrigonal- 
compressed,  very  thin  and  fragile;  anterior  side  rounded ;  pallial  mar, 
gin  forming  a  semiovate  curve,  being  more  prominent  anteriorly  than  be- 
hind ;  posterior  side  longer  than  the  other,  but  much  narrower,  being 
very  narrowly  truncated  at  the  immediate  extremity ;  dorsal  margin 
forming  along  straight  slope  behind  the  beaks,  and  sloping  more  abrupt- 
ly in  front;  beaks  rather  depressed,  oblique,  and  located  rather  more 
than  one-third  the  length  of  the  valves  from  the  anterior  margin ; 
posterior  umbonal  slopes  showing  some  tendency  to  form  a  verj*  slight 
prominence  from  the  beaks  toward  the  posterior  basal  extremity.  Sur- 
face marked  with  fine  lines,  and  a  few  irregular,  stronger  ridges  and 
furrows  of  gTowth.     Hinge  not  well  made  out. 

Length,  0.95  inch ;  height,  0.60  inch  ;  convexity,  about  0.20  inch. 

This  form  will  be  distinguished  from  the  last,  not  only  by  its  much 
smaller  size,  but  by  its  more  trigonal  outline  (caused  mainly  by  the 
greater  obliquity  and  straightness  of  its  posterior  dorsal  slope),  the 
greater  prominence  of  its  post-umbonal  slopes,  and  its  proportionally 
stronger  ridges  of  growth.  I  have  not  seen  its  pallial  line  and  know  lit- 
tle of  its  hinge,  though  some  of  the  specimens  seem  to  show  iudicatious 
of  three  diverging  cardinal  teeth,  as  in  the  last.  Like  that  species,  it 
is  a  very  thin,  fragile  shell. 

In  form  and  general  appearance,  this  shell  is  much  like  Cyrena  {Cor- 
dicnla)  anfjiistata,  Deshayes  (An.  Saus.  Yert.  Bassin  de  Paris,  1,  p.  508, 
PI.  XXXVII,  Figs.  9,  10, 11  et  12),  but  it  not  only  attains  a  larger  size, 
but  differs  in  being  more  attenuated  posteriorly,  and  more  distinctly 
truncated  at  the  immediate  extremitj^  of  the  narrowed  posterior  end. 

Both  this  and  the  last-described  species  very  nearly  resemble  some  of 
the  depressed,  elongated  species  of  Gmssatella,  in  outline,  and  .belong 


316       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

to  Deshayes'  section  "  oblongues  transverses "  of  Cyre?ia,  which  in- 
cludes some  very  thin  species  from  the  Paris  Basin. 

It  is  a  curious  fact,  that  at  the  same  time  these  forms  differ  so  very 
materially  in  form  from  the  existing  typical  species  of  CorMcula,  they 
have  the  lateral  teeth  of  the  hinge,  in  most  cases,  like  those  of  that 
group,  often  even  to  the  fine  transverse  striae,  instead  of  like  those  of 
the  true  Cyrenas.  As  Deshayes  has  remarked,  the  fossil  species  show 
gradations  in  form  and  hiuge  characters,  that  seem  to  indicate  that 
those  groups  can  scarcely  be  regarded  as  forming  distinct  genera,  al- 
though it  may  be  convenient  to  distinguish  them  subgeuerically.  There 
would  still,  however,  ai^parently  be  as  good  reasons  for  forming  for 
these  longitudinally-ovate  or  subtrigonal,  very  thin  shells,  with  hinge 
teeth  more  like  those  of  Corbicula,  a  third  subgeneric  section.  If  so,  I 
would  propose  for  this  group  the  name  Leptesthes,  with  the  first  of  the 
foregoing  species  as  its  type. 

Locality  and  position  :  Same  as  last. 

GONIOBASIS   CHYSALLIS,   (MEEK.) 

Shell  generally  almost  cylindrical  below  the  middle,  but  more  abruptly 
tapering  above;  volutions  six  or  seven,  flattened,  with  the  upper  margin 
thickened,  last  one  not  angular,  and  scarcely  larger  than  the  next  above 
it;  suture  well  defined.  Surface  ornamented  by  distinct  vertical  costse, 
often  ranging  nearly  in  the  same  line  all  the  way  up  the  spire ;  these  are 
partly  interrupted  by  an  effort  to  form  three,  or  rarely  four,  obscure  re- 
volving lines  or  ridges,  the  upper  of  which  is  larger  and  more  prominent 
than  the  others,  which  character,  with  the  slightly  enlarged  upper  ends 
of  the  vertical  costce,  causes  the  thickened  appearance  of  the  ujjper  mar- 
gins of  the  volutions ;  several  other  slender  and  more  distinct  revolving 
lines  also  occur  on  the  under  side  of  the  last  turn.  Aj)erture  somewhat 
rhombic-ovate. 

Length,  about  .60  inch ;  breadth,  .18  inch. 

I  have  seen  no  well-preserved  specimens  of  this  shell,  but  its  peculiar 
form  and  the  thickened  character  of  the  upper  margins  of  its  volutions 
distinguish  it  readily,  even  in  very  imperfect  examples,  from  all  of  the 
other  known  species  of  this  region.  I  had  long  back  referred  it,  with 
much  doubt,  to  Goniobasis tenera,  Hall,  ^sp.,)  (not  Anthony;)  but  as  the 
later  collections  brought  from  Utah  and  Wyoming  contain  a  great 
number  of  another,  but  clearly  distinct  species,  that  agrees  more  nearly 
with  Professor  Hall's  figure,  both  in  form  and  the  number  of  revolving 
lines  on  each  volution,  I  am  led  to  think  that  he  must  have  had  the 
latter  species  before  him  when  he  described  his  G.  tenera.  The  fact,  too, 
that  it  occurs  in  vastly  greater  numbers  than  the  form  under  consid- 
eration, seems  to  sustain  this  conclusion. 

Locality  and  positien :  Bear  Eiver,  near  Sulphur  Creek,  Utah ;  Lower 
tertiary. 

GONIOBASIS  NODULIFERA,  (MEEK.) 

Ceritlimm  nodulosum,  Hall,  1845.  Fr6niont'8  Roport  Explorations,  p.  309,  PL  III,  Figs. 
11  and  12.     (Not  Goniobasis  nodiilosa,  Lea,  1841.) 

Shell  attaining  a  rather  large  size,  elongate-conical ;  spire  much  pro- 
duced ;  volutions  seven  or  eight,  convex,  and  increasing  gradually  and 
regularly  in  size ;  last  one  not  larger  in  iiroj)ortiou  than  the  others,  and 
rounded ;  suture  well  defined  and  sometimes  presenting  a  slightly  banded 
appearance  ;  aperture  ovate ;  outer  lip  very  strongly  sinuous  above  the 
middle,  and  prominent  below  it.    Surface  ornamented  with  rather  dis- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       317 

tinct  lines  of  growth,  that  arch  strongly  parallel  to  the  margins  of  the 
lip,  and  are  crossed  on  the  lower  part  of  the  last  turn  by  from  three  or 
four  to  about  six  distinct,  raised  revolving  lines,  and  near  the  middle, 
especially  on  those  of  the  spire,  by  a  stoall  nodular  carina  or  ridge. 

Length  of  a  large  specimen,  about  1.40  inches ;  breadth  of  same,  0.46 
inch.     Angle  of  spire  regular,  with  a  divergence  of  18  to  20  degrees. 

The  surface  markings  of  this  shell,  excepting  sometimes  the  lines  on 
the  lower  part  of  the  last  turn,  are  not  seen  on  internal  casts ;  while  on 
the  exterior,  the  revolving,  slightly-nodular  ridge  is  often  obsolete  on  the 
last  turn,  and  apparently  sometimes  nearly  or  quite  so  on  some  of  those 
above.  The  revolving  lines  of  the  under  side  of  the  last  volution  are 
strongly  defined,  and  it  seems  to  be  the  upper  one  of  these,  continued 
upon  those  of  the  spire,  just  above  the  suture,  that  gives  it  the  banded 
appearance.  In  some  instances  a  few  smaller  revolving  lines  are  seen 
farther  up  on  the  last  turn,  and  even  continued  upon  the  lower  half  of 
the  exposed  part  of  some  of  those  of  the  spire.  Where  the  nodular  ridge 
is  most  distinctly  developed,  the  surface  of  the  volutions  above  it  is 
sometimes  slightly  concave. 

Professor  Hall's  figures,  especially  his  Fig.  12  of  GeritMum  nodu- 
losum,  represent  the  suture  as  being  more  oblique  than  in  our  specimens, 
but  this  is  probably  due  to  lateral  compression.  None  of  his  figures 
show  the  strongly-arched  lines  of  growth,  nor  more  than  one  of  the 
revolving  lines  on  the  lower  part  of  the  last  turn.  Both  are  mentioned, 
however,  in  his  description.  The  arching  character  of  the  lines  of  growth 
is  a  distinctly-marked  feature  in  this  shell. 

As  the  name  nodulosa  had  been  used  by  Dr.  Lea  for  a  species  now  in- 
cluded in  the  genus  Goniohasis,  it  becomes  necessary  to  find  a  new  name 
for  the  shell  under  consideration,  in  placing  it  in  that  genus,  consequently 
1  have  called  it  G.  noduUfera. 

Locality  and  position :  Colonel  Fremont's  specimens  of  this  species, 
according  to  his  observations,  came  from  latitude  41030' ;  longitude  111^ 
where  they  were  found  in  a  yellowish-gray  oolitic  limestone.  Dr.  Hay- 
den's  collections  of  it  came  from  a  locality  a  short  distance  farther  to  the 
southeast.  They  are  in  a  yellowish-gray  limestone,  that  sometimes 
shows  a  few  oolitic  grains.  Dr.  E.  Palmer  brought  specimens  of  it  from 
White  Eiver,  still  farther  southeast  in  Colorado,  in  a  yellowish,  distinctly 
oolitic  matrix.     Lower  tertiary. 

BYTHINELLA    GREGAEIA,  IVIEEK. 

Shell  small,  conoid-subovate,  spire  rather  elevated ;  volutions  five, 
rounded,  or  very  convex ;  suture  strongly  impressed ;  aperture  ovate, 
or  slightly  longer  than  wide,  with  the  upper  extremity  subangular,  and 
the  lower  rounded ;  inner  lip  not  reflected,  and  leaving  by  its  side  a  very 
small  umbilical  impression  that  seems  not  to  perforate  the  axis.  Sur- 
face smooth,  or  only  showing,  under  a  strong  magnifier,  very  minute 
lines  of  growth. 

Length,  0.15  inch ;  breadth,  0.08  inch  ;  length  of  aperture,  0.06  inch ; 
breadth  of  aperture,  scarcely  0.04  inch. 

This  little  shell  so  nearly  resembles,  in  form  and  proportions,  the 
figures  of  Bythinella  tenuipes,  of  Couper,  that  it  is  with  some  hesitation 
I  have  concluded  to  regard  it  as  a  distinct  species.  As  that  shell,  how- 
ever, is  described  as  having  its  suture  "  slightly  impressed,"  and  as  being 
'' sub-umbilicated,"  while  that  under  consideration  has  its  suture  very 
deep,  and  could  not  be  properly  described  as  even  ,s<<&-umbilicated,  I  do 
not  feel  warranted  in  referring  our  tertiary  form  to  the  existing  species. 


318       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Of  course  we  have  no  certain  means  of  determining  whether  we  ought 
not  to  call  this  shell  Amnicola  gregaria,  or  Pomatiopsis  gregaria,  instead 
of  referring- it  to  Bythinella,t\ie  distinctions  between  these  groups  being 
mainly  based  on  characters  not  apparent  in  the  shell.  The  fact,  how- 
ever, that  it  is  found  in  vast  numbers  associated  with  a  small  Planorhis, 
and  millions  of  the  carapace-valves  of  a  minute  Ci/pris,  would  seem  to 
indicate  that  it  was  aquatic  in  its  habits,  like  BytMnella  and  Amnicola. 
It  is  true,  terrestrial  shells  are  often  swept  by  streams  into  lakes,  and 
deposited  along  with  those  of  aquatic  species;  but  it  is  exceedingly  im- 
probable that  millions  of  so  small  a  terrestrial  shell  as  this  would  havf 
been  deposited  all  together,  so  as  almost  to  form  an  entire  bed  of  limf  > 
stone,  especially  without  some  other  terrestrial  types. 

Locality  and  position: :  Pacific  Springs.    Tertiary. 


11.— ON  THE  TERTIARY  COALS  OF  THE  WEST. 


By  Jas.  T.  Hodge,  Geologist. 


The  occurrence  of  coal  in  the  Eocky  Mountains  was  observed  and  re- 
ported on  by  most  of  the  early  explorers  on  the  different  routes  they 
traversed  across  the  continent.  Little  importance,  howerver,  was  at- 
tached to  these  discoveries,  and,  as  the  coal-beds  were  seen  only  in 
their  outcrop,  little  knowledge  was  acquired  of  their  real  character.  It 
was  understood  that  they  belonged,  not  to  the  true  coal  formation,  but 
either  to  the  lower  tertiary  or  iipi^er  cretaceous,  and  the  coal  was  conse- 
quently classed  among  the  lignites  or  brown  coals,  and  generally  con- 
sidered to  be  far  inferior  in  quality  to  the  genuine  coals  of  the  Eastern 
and  Middle  States.  As  the  country  began  to  be  settled,  the  scarcity  ol 
timber  soon  caused  these  deposits  of  fuel  to  be  looked  up,  and  mines  oi 
coal  to  be  opened  and  worked  in  Utah  and  in  Colorado.  The  construc- 
tion of  the  Union  Pacific  and  Central  Pacific  Railroads  created  a  still 
greater  demand  for  fuel  for  the  supply  of  their  locomotives,  and  new 
mines  were  opened  along  the  line  of  the  former  road  in  Wyoming  Terri- 
tory, which,  with  those  worked  on  the  eastern  border  of  Utah,  near  the 
same  road,  supply  both  these  long  lines  of  road  with  all  the  coal  they 
require.  No  mines  have  been  found  near  the  Central  Pacific  Eailroad, 
either  in  Utah,  Nevada,  or  California,  so  that  this  road  is  wholly  depend- 
ent for  fuel  upon  the  coals  brought  to  it  from  the  Union  Pacific.  Though 
it  is  scarcely  three  years  since  these  coal-mines  began  to  be  developed, 
they  have  already  jiroduced  large  quantities  of  coal,  and  several  among 
them  have  tlie  appearance  of  thriving  collieries,  well  furnished  with 
powerful  machinery  for  pumping  and  hoisting,  and  all  the  appliances 
of  first-class  establishments. 

In  Colorado,  mines  were  opened  along  the  eastern  base  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains  about  eight  years  since,  and  a  number  of  them  have  been 
worked  to  a  moderate  extent  from  that  time,  supplying  Denver  and  the 
settlements  below  the  mountains.  The  coal  was  found  very  serviceable 
for  domestic  purposes,  but  was  deficient  in  caloric  quantities,  such  as 
are  required  for  founderies  and  otiier  metallurgical  works.  The  writer 
in  18G3  found  the  blacksmiths  for  the  most  part  unable  to  produce  a 
welding  heat  with  the  coal  in  their  forges,  and  coke  was  brought  from 
Kansas  for  a  foundery  at  Black  Hawk  at  an  expense  of  $100  per  ton. 
The  coal-mines  were  then  esteemed  of  very  little  value.     The  opening  oi 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       319 

the  Kansas  Pacific  Railroad  to  Denver,  of  the  Denver  Pacific  to  Cheyenne, 
and  of  the  Colorado  Central  from  Denver  to  Golden  City,  with  the  pros- 
pect of  its  extension  in  another  year  to  the  mining  towns  in  the  mount- 
ains, has  greatly  added  to  the  importance  of  these  mines,  and  led  to 
arrangements  for  working  them  upon  a  large  scale.  In  September  and 
October  last  the  writer  again  examined  them,  and  also  visited  all  the 
coal-mines  of  importance  in  Wyoming  and  in  Utah  near  the  Union 
Pacific  road,  and  the  following  are  some  of  the  results  of  his  investi- 
gations and  of  the  analyses  he  has  made  of  the  coals  he  has  collected : 

All  these  coal-mines  are  found  in  a  series  of  sandstones  and  tire-clay, 
probably  of  lower  tertiary  age.  No  limestones  occur  with  these  strata, 
and  black  slate  is  met  with  in  small  quantity  only.  The  sandstones  are 
generally  somewhat  friable  in  texture,  and  are  often  exposed  in  bold 
cliffs,  the  faces  of  which  have  weathered  in  very  irregular  shapes,  and 
frequently  present  deep  holes  and  cavernous  depressions.  Its  color  is 
from  a  light-yellowish  to  reddish  brown,  and  sometimes  gray.  In  j)laces 
it  is  sufficiently  sound  and  firm  to  make  a  good  building  stone.  The 
fossils  it  contains  are  chiefly  leaves  of  deciduous  trees.  No  ferns  and 
other  fossil  plants  are  found  in  the  formation  like  those  common  to  the 
true  coal-measures.  The  black  slates  forming  the  roof  of  a  coal-bed  at 
one  locality  in  Wyoming  Territory  are  found  filled  with  fossil  Unios, 
which,  as  the  writer  is  informed  by  Dr.  J.  S.  Newberry,  are  probably  an 
undescribed  species.  Fire-clay  is  perhaps  the  predominant  material  of 
the  formation.  It  occurs  in  beds  of  great  thickness,  especially  in  Col- 
orado, and  at  Golden  City  it  is  manufactured  into  fire-bricks  of  excellent 
quality.  Clay  iron-stone  is  occasionally  interstratifled  with  the  clays 
and  black  shales,  and  in  Boulder  County,  Colorado,  the  summits  and 
sides  of  some  of  the  hills  near  the  coal-mines  are  partially  covered  with 
masses  of  brown  iron  ore,  that  have  the  appearance  of  solid  ledges,  bnt 
which  were  no  doubt  collections  of  clay  iron-stone,  left  behind  when  the 
lighter  materials  of  the  strata  containing  them  were  removed,  and  con- 
verted subsequently  by  atmospheric  agency  into  those  brown  hydrates. 

The  coal-beds  are  often  of  great  size,  the  largest  now  worked  being 
twenty-six  or  twenty-seven  feet  thick.  This  is  on  Bear  Eiver,  on  the 
eastern  border  of  Utah.  For  the  most  jjart  they  are  remarkably  free 
from  impurities,  it  being  not  rare  to  see  a  face  of  eight  or  even  ten  feet 
of  clean  coal  of  brilliant  luster,  perfectly  sound  and  solid  in  the  mine, 
without  a  particle  of  slate  or  any  visible  foreign  matter  that  would  injure 
it.  Iron  pyrites,  however,  may  generally  be  detected  in  small  flakes  and 
thin  disks,  but  very  rarely  in  sufficient  quantit}^  to  be  injurious.  Mineral 
resin  is  a  common  ingredient  of  the  Colorado  coals,  and  was  met  with 
at  one  of  the  mines  only  on  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  that  at  Carbon. 
The  beds  lie  at  an  angle  with  the  horizon ;  some  are  vertical,  none  were 
observed  level. 

All  the  coals  tend  to  crumble  soon  after  being  exposed  to  the  weather; 
but  when  protected  they  remain  a  long  time  unchanged,  as  is  shown  by 
a  large  lump  in  the  possession  of  the  writer,  which  he  obtained  at  a 
mine  in  Boulder  County,  Colorado,  in  18G3,  and  which  is  still  sound. 
This  tendency  to  crumble  is  the  cause  of  great  waste  at  the  mines — all 
the  greater  that  these  tertiary  coals  can  scarcely  ever  be  made  to  melt 
and  agglutinate  into  a  firm  coke.  With  rare  exceptions,  when  submitted 
to  the  coking  process,  they  retain  their  form  or  crumble  into  a  dry  pow- 
der. As  seem  by  their  analysis  they  all  contain  water  in  their  composi- 
tion, and  this  is  very  slowly  given  up  even  at  the  boiling  temperature. 
Its  pressure  necessarily  detracts  from  the  calorific  power  of  the  coals, 
not  merely  by  reason  of  the  water  takiug  the  place  of  so  much  carbon, 


320       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

but  by  the  cousumption  of  more  to  produce  the  heat  required  to  expel 
this  water.  Heuce  it  is  difficult  to  obtain  a  strong-,  concentrated  heat, 
such  as  is  needed  for  welding  iron  in  the  forge-fire,  and  it  is  only  by 
I)articular  care  and  skill  that  the  blacksmiths  have  generally  succeeded 
in  making  it  answer  their  purposes.  At  the  machine  shops  of  the  Union 
Pacific  Railroad  it  is  not  yet  admitted  as  a  substitute  for  eastern  bitu- 
minous coals,  though  some  of  these  are  brought  from  Pennsylvania 
mines,  about  two  thousand  miles  distant,  and  the  very  best  of  the  Rocky 
Mountain  coals  are  obtained  directly  on  the  line  of  the  railroad.  As  a 
fuel  for  locomotives  and  for  domestic  puri^oses,  including  cooking  as 
well  as  warming,  the  coal  in  general  answers  very  well.  It  kindles  and 
burns  freely,  making  a  bright  tire,  with  a  yellow  blaze  and  comparatively 
little  smoke ;  the  odor  of  this  is  not  so  strong  or  disagreeable  as  that  of 
the  bituminous  coals,  and  somewhat  resembles  the  smell  of  burning  peat. 
The  smoke  is  not  always  dark  and  thick,  but  is  sometimes  of  a  light  gray 
color.  The  ashes  are  remarkably  light  and  bulky.  The  engineers  of  the 
locomotives  find  that  some  A^arieties  crumble  more  than  others  in  the  fire, 
and  sift  through  the  gro.te  bars;  these  require  closer  screens  at  the  top 
of  the  smoke-stacks.  They  endeavor  to  obtain  t\iQ  coal  as  freshly  mined 
as  possible  on  account  of  its  sounder  condition.  Clinker's  sometimes 
form  sufficiently  to  be  troublesome  when  the  coals  are  obtained  from 
those  mines  that  contain  seams  of  slate.  There  have  been  a  few  cases 
of  combustion  of  refuse  heaps  of  coal,  supposed  to  have  occurred  spon- 
taneously. The  presence  of  iron  pyrites  in  coals  so  easy  to  crumble  and 
ignite  as  these  cannot  fail  to  suggest  this  danger,  mid  the  importance  of 
guarding  all  heaps  of  it  from  becoming  wet.  It  is  not  unusual  in  the 
Eiockj'  Mountain  region  to  meet  among  the  strata  of  sandstones  beds  of 
ashes,  which  are  evidently  the  ruins  of  coal-beds,  some  of  which  are  of 
large  size.  The  writer  has  seen  many  such  in  the  banks  of  the  upper 
part  of  the  Missouri  River. 

The  geological  position  of  these  coals,  together  with  the  considerable 
proportion  of  water  in  their  composition,  places  them  in  the  class  of 
brown  coals  or  lignites,  which  are  for  the  most  part  distinguished  by 
their  fibrous  structure  and  close  resemblance  to  the  wood  from  which 
they  are  derived.  The  braunlcohle  of  the  tertiary  formations  of  Saxony 
and  Brandenburg,  when  dug  and  stacked  in  the  fields,  looks  more  like 
brown  logs  of  wood  than  like  mineral  coal.  Other  varieties  are  met  with 
in  various  conditions  of  change,  and  among  them  some  that  closely  resem- 
ble the  ordinary  bituminous  coals  in  their  compact  texture,  brilliant 
luster,  and  black  color,  both  of  the  coal  anxl  of  its  powder,  thus  differing 
entirely  in  appearance  from  the  brown  coals  or  lignites  that  give  a  name 
to  the  class.  This  is  the  general  character  of  the  coals  of  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  and  their  composition  shows  they  are  far  superior  in  quality 
to  what  the  name  of  the  class  would  indicate.  Indeed  they  appear 
to  be  better  than  the  best  of  the  foreign  coals  of  their  own  variety,  and, 
as  they  present  a  wonderful  degree  of  uniformity  over  extensive  terri- 
tories, it  seems  they  are  really  entitled  to  an  appropriate  name,  that 
should  distinguish  them,  not  merely  from  the  common  bituminous  coals, 
but  from  the  other  lignites  also,  to  which  they  bear  still  less  resemblance. 

The  European  lignite  deposits  are  of  very  limited  area,  scattered  here 
and  there  through  Prussia,  France,  Great  Britain,  «&c.,  and  in  these 
small  basins  the  composition  of  the  fuel  is  very  variable.  In  the  Prus- 
sian provinces  above  named  its  value  is  rated  at  only  one-third  that  of 
the  genuine  coals ;  while  in  the  north  of  Ireland  it  is  considered  to  be 
worth  two-thirds  as  much  as  the  bituminous  coals.  The  weight  of  the 
ash  in  the  published  analyses  for  the  most  part  exceeds  four  per  cent., 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEREITORIES. 


321 


oil  bath  below  the  ten,,erature  of  boiHn^  o  Hn^  W  S  o?  bo  i^" 
water,  contuunno-  the  drying  for  several  hours  till  the  coal  ceattS 
lo.e  weight.  The  fixed  carbon  in  all  these  analyses  is  i.ceitaiu  in 
(juantity,  as  its  amount  varies  through  a  few  per  ccMit  accoi  bn'  J'  ti  ^ 
greater  or  less  heat  employed  in  expSling  the\^lati!e  Sels^ 

ANALYSES   OF   COALS  FROM   THE   KOOKY  MOIT^^TATXS. 


Locality. 


•-0 


Golileu    City.  C.   T,  56  feet     110  S 

Ix'lnw  snitaoc. 
GoMen  City,  C.  T..  north  end 

of  I (.0  feet  level. 

Do- 

Golden  City.  C.  T.,  .soutli  end 

<>i  100  feet  level. 
iIuipIiy\s,KalstouCreek,C.  T.l  105  S 

no 

Do ..'.'..' 

Marshall's,  Boulder  Co.,  C.  f  OG  S 

JjiJSffts'.s,  Boulder  Co.,  C.  T  84  S 

Uakers,  Boulder  Co.,  C.  T  .  8C  S 


Carbon,  W.  T. 


HallviUe,  W.  T.,  ujiper  bed  .. 

HaUville,  W.  T..  lower  bed 

Van  Dvko,  W.  T 

Eock  Springs,  W.  i'  ...]!' ' 

Evanston,  tj.  T [[ 

Crissman's,  Coalville  TJ  T 
Monte  Diablo,  Cal ...'...'..  _ 


0  to  10   1.3: 
'i  to  10   1.  354 


fi  to  lo! 
C  to  lOl. 


1-1  to  16;  1.  345 


13.  43 
13.67 


13. 10 
12.  70 


140  W. 


313  W 
315  W. 
44i2  W. 
480  W. 


10 
13 
4i 

7 

6 

3 

4J- 
Oh- 

26'| 

12 


13.83 
13.70 
13.  CO 
1.  33H  12.  00 


1.27 
1.32 

1.33 

1.32 

1.32 

1.27 
1.2D 
1.30 
1.32 


14.80 
15.00 

6.80 

12.12 

13. 20 

8.12 
7.00 
8.  .58 
10.  GO 
3.28 


3.  £5     37. 15 
4.00 


3.70 
4.10 

5.85 
5.80 
4.  3) 
.5.20 
3.  40 
3.85 

8.00 

3.76 

4.87 
2.00 
1.73 
6.  .30 
3.11 
4.71 


Description. 


45.57i  Gray  ash. 

47.  58' 


35.  88)  44.  44  Orange-oolored  ash. 


33.08 
34.50 
30.50 

35.48 

29.75 

29.46 
3G.  65 
3G.  81 
3, 
38.23 
47.05 


49.72 

47.  30' 
50.  65' 


4D.  72' 


Gray  ash  -.  light,  bulky. 
Onmgc-colored  ash. 
Olive-browu   ash ;   coal 
_  hard  and  tongh; 
Light-gray  ash;  nearly 
I      vrhite. 
54.  37  Gray  ash  ;  smoke  -whit- 


Tellowish-gray  ash. 
?  Light-gri'y  ash:  these 
i     coals  make  coke. 


52. 41  i 

53.  23' 

54.  46 
49.  90l 
48.  00 
44.  90 


By  W.  P.  BlSike,  Jann. 
ary,  1867. 

ln^f-  «PP,.i  f^  K  1     "^''^' ^^  ^  moderate  elevation  of  temperature.     These 


Locality. 


rtweOer,  right  bank  of  the  Ehine 

Germany  

Edon,  Charente 

St.  Lon,  LoTTer  P^Teneeg 

Lilian  t  Dort,  mouths  of  tile  Rhone 

Mmerve  L'Aude 

Dauphin,  Lower  Alps 


Description. 


u 


0.  9     31.  8 


4.  G 

11.0 

5.0 
3.9 
10.0 


52.5 

50.0 

46.0 
46.8 
57.4 


21  G 


67.3 

42.9 

39.0 

48.4 
49.3 
32.6 

43.6 


^^ih/n"^^.^t"ri^''','^°"*^'°^  ^■«-^^;  compact,  with 
tliui,.iet-hko  laver.s. 

Dull  black  ;  fractuie,  smooth  and  dull. 

Llack.  with  irregular,  shining  fiartnrc 

Compact;  briUiant  black  color  :  iiiv-ular  frac- 

turc  ;  powder,  brownish  bhu'k  :  vu' Ids  ooke. 
Compact;  black,  gre.isy  luster ;  powder,  clear 

brown  ;  useid  by  blacksmiths. 


322  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TEERITORIES. 

DESCRIPTION   OF  LOCALITIES. 

Colorado. — Coal  has  been  found  in  Colorado  both  on  the  east  and  west 
sides  of  the  Platte  Eiver;  but  the  only  mines  of  importance  are  near 
tlie  eastern  foot  of  the  easternmost  or  Blue  Hills  range  of  the  mount- 
ains. Ihe  formation  to  which  they  belong  is  a  series  of  sandstones  and 
lire-clay,  probably  of  lower  tertiary  age,  which  ranges  north  and  south, 
and  along  its  western  margin  is  found  uptilted  in  a  vertical  position, 
and  sometimes  dipping  toward  the  metamorphic  rocks  that  make  up 
the  steep  mountain  slope  not  half  a  mile  distant.  Farther  away  from 
tlie  mountains  the  inclination  is  eastward,  and  so  gentle  that  the  coal 
strata  overspread  large  tracts  of  country.  The  formation  follows  the 
range  of  the  mountains  north  and  south  to  an  undetermined  extent, 
and  coal  is  met  with  in  it  for  more  than  a  hundred  miles  from  Denver 
in  each  direction;  but  the  only  mines  of  value,  excepting  a  lew  to  the 
south,  are  at  Golden  City,  fifteen  miles  west  from  Denver,  and  thence 
north  for  ten  to  fifteen  miles  into  Boulder  County,  along  the  banks  of 
the  creeks  that  descend  from  the  mouutains  eastward  toward  the  Platte. 

Golden  City. — The  first  discoveries  of  coal  at  this  j^lace  Mere  several 
small  and  nearly  vertical  beds  near  together  in  the  steep  bank  of  Clear 
Creek,  about  half  a  mile  below  where  it  passes  out  from  the  mountains. 
These  were  followed  but  a  short  distance  under  the  bank  toward  the 
south,  when  the  extension  of  one  of  the  beds  in  this  direction  was 
opened  at  the  sumuiit  of  the  ridge,  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  creek. 
The  bed  was  here  found  so  large — from  ten  to  fourteen  feet  thick — that 
the  lower  workings  were  abandoned,  and  a  vertical  shaft  was  sunk  on 
the  hill,  one  hundred  feet  ,deep  in  the  coal  bed,  and  levels  have  been 
driven  north  and  south  from  the  bottom,  and  also  fifty-six  feet  below  the 
surface.  The  bed  proved  to  be  very  irregular  in  thickness,  sometimes 
pinching  in  to  a,  few  inches  and  then  expanding  to  eight  or  ten  feet. 
Its  average  thickness  is  not  probably  more  than  five  feet.  A  small 
steam-engine  is  used  for  pumi)ing  and  hoisting.  Little  water,  however, 
is  encountered.  A  cross  cut  from  the  bottom,  driven  seventy  feet  east, 
penetrated  the  following  strata:  clay,  4  feet  thick  ;  sandstone,  4;  coal,  2; 
sandstone,  12;  clay,  3;  sandstone,  7;  clay,  8;  black  slate,  3;  clay,  4; 
sandstone,  3 ;  clay,  2 ;  coal,  2  ;  clay,  8 ;  coal,  2 ;  sandstone,  0.  The  last 
stratum  is  probably  the  extension  below  of  a  heavy  ledge  of  sand- 
stone that  forms  the  crest  of  the  ridge.  The  clay  is  all  tire-clay,  of 
pretty  uniform  and  excellent  quality,  very  similar  in  api>earance  to  that 
of  the  true  coal-measures.  It  seems  to  be  the  prevailing  material  of 
the  formation,  and  is  used  for  the  manufacture  of  fire-brick  in  an  exten- 
sive manufactory  at  the  base  of  the  hill.  The  coal  mine  has  been  worked 
only  to  the  moderate  extent  of  about  ten  tons  a  day,  for  the  supply 
chiefly  of  the  local  demand.  The  appearance  of  the  coal  itself — of  a 
dull  black  without  the  bright  luster  common  to  the  coals  from  the  other 
mines — has  dperattnl  unfavorably  to  its  reputation  in  the  Denver  mar- 
ket, though  no  inferiority  of  quality  is  indicated  by  the  analyses.  It  is 
obtained,  too,  in  pieces  of  very  irregular  shape,  quite  unlike  the  hand- 
some rectangular  blocks  of  the  other  coals.  Like  them,  however,  it  is 
almost  entirely  free  from  slate  and  iron  pyrites.  Eesiu  occurs  in  it  in 
scattered  particles  and  bunches  more  abundantly  than  in  the  coals  of 
the  other  mines.  It  may,  perhaps,  prove  a  better  coal  for  gas  than  the 
other  mines *af[;brd,  which  will  soon  be  ascertained,  if  it  has  not  been 
already,  at  the  new  gas  works  at  Denver.  The  locality  is  very  favorably 
situated  for  supplying  the  mining  towns  in  the  mountains  with  fi;el,  so 
soon  as  the  railroad  now  in  progress  up  the  gorge  of  Clear  Creek  readies 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVFA'    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  323 

tliem.  Tlie  ])iue  woods  there  available  have  already  been  greatly  thinned, 
and  the  question  of  the  future  supply  of  fuel  would  be  a  serious  one  but 
for  the  supplies  promised  by  these  mines  below  the  mountains. 

The  rauge  of  the  coal-belt  to  the  nortli  side  of  Clear  Creek  was  traced 
by  the  writer,  in  October  last,  and  a  point  selected  for  trial  shafts  on  the 
hills  half  a  mile  from  the  creek.  The  line  of  these  vertical  beds  is  but 
]>oorIy  indicated  on  the  surface,  and  may  be  easily  missed.  Faint 
streaks  of  coal-smut  or  blossom  were  in  this  instance  followed  to  the 
depth  of  seventy  feet  in  tire-clay  before  they  led  to  solid  coal.  The  bed 
was  here  found  about  ten  feet  thick.  From  this  side  of  the  creek  the 
railroad  will  be  most  conveniently  supplied. 

The  outcrop  of  coal  has  been  detected  at  intervals  between  Golden 
City  and  Ralston  Creek,  live  miles  to  the  north,  and  the  formation  ev^i- 
dently  continues  through,  but  no  mines  are  worked  in  the  intervening 
tracts. 

Ii((hfo}t  Creel: — Two  large  coal  beds  are  opened  in  the  banks  of  this 
stream,  live  miles  north  from  Golden  City,  and  about  two  miles  below 
the  foot  of  the  mountain  range.  They  lie  in  a  vertical  i^osition,  about 
twenty-live  feet  apart.  The  upper  or  western  one  has  been  followed 
under  fhe  south  bank  some  thirty  feet,  and  was  found  to  be  abt)ut  nine 
feet  thick  of  good  coal.  But  the  other  bed,  proving  to  be  quite  as  good 
as  to  quality  of  the  coal,  and  aftbrding  in  actual  working  full  fourteen 
feet  li-ee  from  slate  and  all  foreign  matters,  it  has  been  worked  in  i)ref- 
erence.  Other  small  beds  have  been  met  with  farther  up  the  stream  ; 
but  these  two  are  probably  all  of  importance.  The  large  bed  is  worked 
on  both  sides  of  the  creek,  and  on  the  north  side  a  large  shaft  was  sunk 
the  last  season  sixty  feet  deep  in  the  coal,  from  the  bottom  of  Avhich 
levels  are  to  be  run  north  and  south.  The  price  paid  for  mining  was 
$1  50  per  ton — the  coal  run  out  by  the  miners,  who  found  their  own 
tools,  powder,  and  lights.  The  timber  required  for  stulls,  &c.,  was  pro- 
vided by  the  owner  from  the  mountains.  IS^ot  so  much  of  this  is  re- 
quired in  working  a  vertical  bed  as  is  needed  in  one  inclined.  But,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  trouble,  danger,  and  expense  of  working  the  former 
are  essentially  greater,  and  the  amount  of  coal  available  over  large 
areas  materially  less.  In  this  case,  estimating  with  allowance  for  waste, 
that  the  production  should  average  twelve  feet  of  coal,  and  tliat  a  cubic 
yard  of  this  weighs  two  thousand  pounds,  the  mine  should  aiford,  if 
v.orked  to  the  depth  of  two  hundred  yards  and  a  mile  in  length,  about 
one  million  and  lifty  thousand  tons.  The  quantity  obtained,  however, 
will  depend  verj^  much  upon  the  skill  with  which  the  work  is  conducted, 
and  tlie  freedom  from  accidents,  especially  fire,  the  danger  of  which 
has  already  been  experienced.  The  coal  appears  very  well,  being  of 
deep-black  color  with  brilliant  luster.  It  soon  crumbles,  however,  on 
exposure,  and  the  waste  from  fine  coal  in  the  mine  has  been  so  great 
that,  if  continued,  a  larger  deduction  would  have  to  be  maile  than  that 
allowed  in  the  above  estimate.  The  coal  has  met  with  a  ready  sale  at 
the  mine  at  81  per  ton,  and  $10  at  Denver,  fourteen  miles  distant.  The 
construction  of  the  railroad  to  Golden  City  must  so  reduce  the  cost  of 
transportation  that  Denver  will  hereafter  be  supplied  at  lower  rates. 

Half  a  mile  south  from  Ralston  Creek,  towards  Golden,  coal  was  dis- 
covered sometime  ago  directly  on  the  range  of  the  bed  worked,  of  which 
it  is  no  doubt  the  continuation.  The  exploration  thus  made  developed 
a  large  bed  with  a  gentle  dip  toward  the  mountains.  Whenever  this 
is  opened  again  it  will  be  a  matter  of  interest  to  trace  out  the  extent  of 
this  change  of  dip.    ^ 

Leidcu'S. — The  next  opening  in  the  coal-bed  to  the  north  is  in  a  gap 


324       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

thronali  the  sandstone  ricljje  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Ralstou  Greek, 

and  is  known  as  Leiden's  mine,  from  the  name  of  the  late  owner,  who 
with  two  other  men  lost  their  lives  by  entering  the  mine  last  September, 
when  the  air  was  foul  in  consequence  of  its  having  been  left  unworked. 
It  continued  for  some  time  inaccessible,  and  smoke  was  issuing  from 
the  entrance,  when  the  writer  visited  the  i)lace  five  days  after  the  occur- 
rence mentioned  above.  The  locality  is  of  interest  as  showing  the  con- 
tinuity of  the  coal.  The  formation  is  easily  traced  northward  from  this 
point  over  a  broad  and  highly-elevated  o[)en  plateau,  by  the  strata  of 
sandstone  projecting  in  vertical  layers  above  the  surface;  and  the  coal 
can,  without  doubt,  be  found  anywhere  against  the  western  edge  of  the 
strata,  or  in  the  depressions  below  the  general  level  now  occupied  by 
ponds.  The  lands,  however,  are  not  likely  to  be  soon  occupied,  the  soil 
being  tilled  and  covered  with  small  boulders  from  the  mountains;  still, 
by  irrigation,  a  considerable  }>ortion  of  them  may  be  made  productive; 
and  the  fact  that  several  ditches  are  already  made  across  these  tracts  to 
the  lower  and  better  lands  to  the  east  shows  that  water  is  available 
even  at  their  high  levels.  But  the  coal  is  more  ]n'ofitably  obtained  in 
the  valleys  of  the  creeks  than  in  the  elevated  divides. 

In  the  next  valley  crossed  by  the  belt,  that  of  Coal  Creek,  some  seven 
miles  from  Ealston  Creek,  another  opening  is  met  with  under  the  western 
edge  of  the  same  sandstone  ridge.  The  mine,  however,  is  not  now 
worked,  the  owners  finding  it  more  convenient  to  develop  their  other 
property  near  South  Boidder  Creek,  two  or  three  miles  over  the  next 
divide  to  the  north. 

2Iarshairs. — The  mines  in  the  valley  of  South  Boulder  Creek,  known 
as  Marshall's,  are  among  the  earliest  worked  in  Colorado.  They  were 
in  operation  in  1SG3,  and  have  continued  without  interruption  to  fur- 
nish coal  to  Denver  twenty-two  miles  distant,  and  to  the  neighboring 
settlements.  The  locality  is  a  little  to  the  south  of  the  creek,  iu  the 
hills  bordering  a  small  branch  about  two  miles  below  the  foot  of  the 
mountains.  As  uiauy  as  four  beds  of  coal  have  here  been  opened,  two 
of  which  may,  however,  prove  to  be  the  same.  One  of  them — the 
highest  in  the  series — is  found  Just  iinder  the  summit  of  the  divide,  dip- 
ping gently  toward  the  southeast.  It  is  known  as  the  Dabney  bed — is 
said  to  be  nine  feet  thick,  and  '«;hen  worked,  furnished  coal  of  a  superior 
quality,  especially  for  blacksmiths"  use.  At  a  lower  level,  and  also 
lower  in  the  formation,  is  found  the  main  bed,  which  is  worked  to  the 
thickness  of  ten  feet,  through  the  whole  of  which  the  coal  is  remarkably 
clean  and  free  from  slate  and  other  impurities.  It  contains  very  little 
pyrites  in  their  disks  and  some  resin  in  small  particles.  In  the  mine 
the  freshly-exposed  face  presents  a  beautifully  brilliant  appearance,  and 
the  coal  is  so  found  that  a  cubic  block  of  it,  said  to  weigh  over  three 
tons,  was  taken  out  for  exhibition  at  the  fair  in  Denver.  It  i.msed  very 
generally  by  the  blacksmiths,  who  have  overcome  the  difficidty  they 
formerly  experienced  in  not  being  able  to  get  up  a  welding  heat  with  it. 
The  mine  is  worked  by  two  parallel  headings,  or  levels,  driven  in  from  the 
north  side  of  the  hill,  and  rising  a  little  up  the  slope  of  the  bed.  These 
extend  about  six  hundred  feet  in,  and  rooms  are  worked  on  each  side, 
but  chiefly  up  the  slope.  In  the  other  direction  the  bed  passes  under 
a  meadow,  when  the  coal  will  have  to  be  worked  and  drained  by  means 
of  vertical  shafts.  It  is  now  mined  for  81  --">  per  ton  beside  cost  of 
l^rops  and  keeping  the  track,  &c.,  in  good  condition. 

A  third  bed  of  coal  three  feet  thick  is  found  across  the  meadow  just 
spoken  of,  in  the  hill  to  the  east,  not  half  a  mile  from  the  main  bed.  It 
dips  eastwardly  into  the  hill,  and  has  been  followed  down  the  slope  sixty 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  325 

or  seventy  feet,  under  a  roof  of  fire-claj.  This  appears  to  lie  between 
the  Dabney  and  the  main  bed. 

The  fourth  bed  is  not  far  Ironi  tlie  small  bed  just  described,  bein^"  a 
little  to  the  north  of  a  line  connecting  it  with  the  mine  now  worked.  It 
differs  from  the  others  in  lying  in  a  vertical  i)osition  ;  and  it  is  not  clear 
where  its  position  is  in  the  series.  A  shaft  was  sunk  ui)on  the  bed  some 
years  ago  to  the  depth  of  fifty  feet,  and  the  coal  was  raised  by  a  horse- 
whim.     The  bed  was  seven  feet  thick. 

A  small  blast  furnace  was  built  at  this  place  in  ISO."}  for  the  purpose 
of  working  tlie  brown  hematite  iron  ores  found  scattered  about  the  hills 
in  the  vicinity.  It  ran  but  a  short  time,  when  the  enter[)rise  was  aban- 
doned. Though  the  coal  mines  were  so  conveniently  near,  no  attem)»ts 
were  made  to  use  the  coal ;  but  pine-wood  charcoal  from  the  mountains 
"was  employed  as  fuel.  The  iron  made  was  of  superior<iuality,  and  it  is 
evident  from  the  ap]iearance  of  the  cinder  heap  that  the  furnace,  not- 
withstanding its  diminutive  size,  must  have  worked  well. 

Wilson-s. — From  IMarslialfs  north  it  is  less  than  a  mile  over  the  pla- 
teau into  the  next  depression,  where  the  large  coal-bed,  easily  traced 
by  the  outcrop  of  the  sandstone  ledge  that  overlies  it,  is  again  opened 
and  worked.  This  place  is  known  as  Wilson's  mine.  The  bed  has  been 
followed  down  the  slope  toward  the  south  southeast  about  two  hundred 
feet,  and  the  height  of  the  excavation  in  the  coal  is  from  six  to  seven 
feet.  Probably  the  whole  is  not  taken  out.  The  coal  itself  is  the  same 
in  appearance  as  that  obtained  at  Marshall's. 

Tbe  continuation  of  the  coal-bearing  belt  toward  the  north  here  ap- 
pears to  be  interrupted,  as  no  more  mines  are  opened  in  this  direction. 
The  dip  of  the  strata  is  with  the  slope  of  the  surface  toward  the  east,  but 
somewhat  steeper,  so  that  the  coal  beds  are  carried  under  and. disap- 
pear. It  seems,  however,  that  the  dip  must  change  and  a  sharp  uprise 
to  the  east  take  place,  followed  again  by  a  long  gentle  slope  in  the  same 
direction  ;  for  the  surface  of  the  country  appears  to  indicate  this  in  the 
steepness  of  its  short  western  slopes,  and  also  the  reappearance  of  large 
coal  beds  some  thirteen  miles  northeast  of  the  last  mine  described. 
These  are  found  in  the  side  of  a  steep  hill  that  ranges  along  the  east 
side  of  Coal  Creek,  the  same  stream  noticed  before  as  being  crossed  by 
the  coal-bearing  belt  near  the  mountain  range;  and  which  below  turns 
from  an  eastern  to  a  northerly  course. 

Briggn^s. — The  most  northern  opening  in  these  beds  is  that  of  the 
Messrs.  Briggs.  It  is  on  the  side  of  the  hill  facing  the  creek  and  fol- 
lows the  slope  of  the  bed  into  the  hill  east-northeast,  the  inclination  not 
being  so  steep  but  one  can  walk  easily  down.  The  length  of  the  head- 
ing is  about  live  hundred  feet,  and  rooms  have  been  worked  to  the  right 
and  left.  No  water  has  yet  been  encoutitered  in  quantity  to  be  trouble- 
some. The  coal  bed  is  about  thirteen  feet  thick,  including  in  this  a  seam 
of  slate  a  foot  and  three  inches  thick  at  three  to  three  and  a  half  feet 
above  the  floor.  The  coal  presents  a  handsome  appearance,  being  of  a 
bright  glistening  black,  and  coming  out  in  sound  blocks  of  rectangular 
fracture.  It  has  been  mined  for  the  Denver  market,  twenty-three  miles 
distant ;  and  arrangements  are  now  in  progress  for  extending  a  branch 
of  the  Denver  Pacific  liailroad  to  the  mine. 

•  Balcr\s. — The  Baker  or  Douglass  coal-bed  is  three  and  a  half  miles 
farther  up  the  creek,  toward  the  south,  and  on  the  same  side  of  it  with 
the  Briggs  bed.  It  lies  about  two  hundred  feet  lower  down  than  this 
in  the  formation,  as  the  extension  of  the  latter  is  found  at  this  greater 
elevation  near  by.  The  mine  was  -originally  opened  in  the  bank  of  the 
creek,  and  this  being  an  inconvenient  place  to  work  it,  an  inclined  shaft 


326        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

was  started  on  tlie  beucli  above  and  carried  down  through  the  over- 
lying tire-clays  and  sandstone  to  the  coal,  when  it  followed  the  regular 
slope  of  the  bed.  A  steam-engine  is  employed  to  hoist  the  coal  and  the 
water.  The  bed  is  four  and  a  half  to  live  feet  thick,  dips  east  into  the 
hill,  and  produces  a  coal  very  different  in  appearance  from  that  of 
the  other  mines.  A  part  of  it  is  a  dull  jet-black,  hard  and  ll)rittle,  break- 
ing in  cuboidal  fragments ;  and  streaks  of  this  caunel-like  character  are 
seen  in  the  more  brilliant  varieties  that  are  also  found.  Iron  pyrites  in. 
extremely  thin  disks  and  resin  also  are  noticed  in  the  coal. 

Two  or  three  other  small  beds  of  coal  appear  in  the  bank  of  the  creek, 
and  in  the  slates  or  shales  over  them  are  courses  of  kidney  iron  ore  that 
may  possibly  prove  sufficient  for  the  support  of  a  blast  furnace. 

Other  coal-beds  will  doubtless  be  opened  in  this  region,  and  also  far- 
ther back  toward  the  other  mines.  The  only  one  discovered  the  last 
season  was  by  Mr.  Davidson,  in  exi)loring  the  strata  near  the  highest 
elevation  of  the  country,  probably  far  above  the  great  coal-bed.  It  proved 
to  be  a  bed  about  three  and  a  half  feet  thick. 

Wyomimj  Territory. — Although  the  coal-belt  of  Colorado  extends  north, 
into  Wyoming  Territory,  and  indications  of  coal  have  been  found  near 
the  liue  of  the  Union  Pacific  Kailroad,  it  has  nowhere  been  found  \)V0- 
ductive  of  good  coal  to  the  east  o£the  Black  Hills.  Beyond  this  range 
of  mountains,  in  the  Laramie  Valley,  the  same  formation  is  again  met 
with,  and  valuable  mines  of  coal  are  worked  at  intervals  near  the  road 
even  to  Salt  Lake  Valley. 

Carbon. — The  first  of  these  is  at  Carbon,  a  station  one  hundred  and 
forty  miles  by  the  road  from  Cheyenne,  which  is  at  the  east  foot  of  the 
Black  Hills.  Here,  by  the  side  of  the  track,  a  large  shaft  has  been  sunk 
seventy  feet  deep  down  to  a  coal  bed  sev(?n  feet  thick;  a  steam-engine 
for  pumping  and  hoisting  is  in  operation,  and  all  the  appliances  are  pro- 
vided in  the  way  of  good  machinery  and  buildings  of  a  first-class  col- 
liery. A  considerable  proportion  of  the  coal  used  on  the  railroad  is  here 
obtained;  and  it  is  transported  for  sale  to  Omaha,  five  hundred  and 
fifty-six  miles  b3^  railroad,  and  to  Denver,  tw^o  hundred  and  fifty  miles. 
The  coal  is  iu  fair  repute,  though  it  makes  some  clinker,  and  the  analysis 
shows  it  has  more  mineral  impurity  than  the  other  coals.  This  comes 
in  part  from  small  seams  of  slate  in  the  bed,  and  also  from  a  coating  of 
a  white  powder  observed  in  the  seams  of  the  coal,  which  proves  to  be 
carbonate  with  a  little  sulphate  of  lime.  If  it  contains  more  ash,  it  is, 
on  the  other  hand,  comparatively  free  from  water,  sliowing  the  least 
percentage  of  this  of  any  coal  analyzed.  The  smoke  of  this  coal  is  black, 
like  that  of  the  bituminous  coals. 

Halh'iUe. — The  next  mining  establishment  is  at  Hallville,  one  hundred 
and  forty-two  miles  farther  west.  Several  coal-beds  (probably  four)  are 
here  found  in  a  hill  about  three  hundred  jards  south  from  the  railroad, 
and  a  side  track  leads  from  this  to  the  mine.  The  main  bed  of  coal  is 
from  five  and  a  half  to  six  feet  thick;  and  below  it  is  another  bed  three 
feet  thick,  which  in  one  place  comes  within  a  foot  of  it,  and  in  others  is 
separated  froui  it  by  several  feet  of  slates.  Other  irregularities  of 
stratification  are  noticed  in  the  main  coal-bed  itself,  which  near  the 
entrance  of  the  mine  has  iu  the  lower  half  some  small  seams  of  slate, 
and  near  the  roof  a  layer  of  "  bony,"  inferior  coal,  eight  inches  thick,' 
none  of  which  are  found  in  the  inner  or  extreme  i)art  of  the  workings. 
The  coal  itself  is  hard  and  solid,  and  burns  with  a  white  smoke  and  little 
odor.  The  mine  is  worked  without  trouble  from  water,  and  the  coal  is 
drawn  out  on  an  iron  track  by  mules'. 

The  black  slate  roof  of  the  main  bed  abounds  in  fossil  remains  of  fresh- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       327 

water  shells — iinios  of  umlescribecl  species.  lu  the  inner  part  of  tlie 
mine,  when  the  roof  lias  been  allowed  to  come  down,  many  tons  of  these 
slates  might  be  collected  charged  Avilh  the  shells,  still  white,  and  often 
both  valves  preserved  side  by  side.  The  brown  sandstones  interstratified 
with  the  coal-beds  contain  stems  of  trees  C(mverted  into  the  same  rock, 
and  im])ressions  of  the  leaves — all,  however,  very  obscnre. 

Van  JJiilxC. — The  next  coal  mine  along  the  road  is  known  as  the  Van  Dyke, 
-thirty  miles  farther  west.  This  is  in  a  bill  on  tbe  north  side  of  the  rail- 
road track,  and  so  conveniently  near  to  it  that  the  coal  is  discharged  by 
a  chute  from  the  mine  directly  into  the  cars.  The  bed  is  four  and  a 
half  feet  thick,  entirely  free  from  any  admixture  of  foreign  substance, 
except  a  trifling  amount  of  iron  pyrites  in  thin  flakes  in  the  seams,  and 
dips  gently  to  the  northwest  into  the  dry,  barren  hill  in  which  it  is 
found.  The  roof  over  it  is  remarkably  smooth  and  sound,  so  that  all 
the  coal  can  be  taken  out  clean,  and  comparatively  few  props  are  required 
for  supi)orting  it.  This  is  an  important  consideration  in  a  country  so 
barren  of  trees  as  this  Bitter  Creek  region.  No  water  is  met  v.ith  in  the 
mine,  and  the  bed  can  apparently  be  followed  over  an  extensive  range 
northeast  and  west  without  encountering  any.  The  mine  fronts  upon 
the  valley  of  Bitter  Creek  toward  the  south;  and  in  the  hills  opposite 
it  seems  as  if  the  same  bed  must  again  strike  in. 

The  Van  Dyke  coal  and  that  of  Bock  Springs,  two  miles  beyond,  have 
the  best  rei)utatiou  of  any  of  the  Bocky  Mountain  coals,  and  this  by 
their  analysis  seems  to  be  well  deserved.  These  were  the  only  coals 
that  afforded  anything  like  coke  by  distillation  ;  and  they  should  give 
a  more  concentrated  heat  than  any  of  the  others,  showing  the  best 
adaptation  for  metallurgical  purposes. 

Rode  Springs. — The  mines  known  by  this  name  are  two  miles  west 
from  the  Van  Dyke  bed,  and  one  mile  east  from  the  station  of  the  same 
name.  The  coal  of  this  locality  has  been  obtained  chiefly  from  a  dry, 
barren  knoll  of  cavernous  sandstone,  about  sixty  feet  high,  situated  about 
fifty  rods  southeast  from  the  railroad,  Avith  Avhich  it  is  connected  by  a 
branch  track.  On  the  south  side — away  from  the  railroad — the  knoll 
ends  abruptly  in  vertical  cliffs;  and  in  these  near  the  summit  is  the  out- 
crop of  the  coal-bed,  and  the  entrance  to  the  mine.  The  slope  of  the 
strata  is  north-northwest,  which  carries  the  coal-bed  under  the  main 
track  of  the  railroad  ;  and  as  the  knoll  is  now  almost  exhausted  of  coal, 
arrangements  have  been  made  for  Avorking  the  bed  close  to  the  main 
road,  Avhere  also  is  the  village  of  miners'  houses.  The  bed  is  about  nine 
and  one-half  feet  thick,  but  only  about  seven  feet  are  Avorked ;  for  within 
two  feet  of  the  top  is  a  thin  seam  of  slate,  that,  Avith  the  coal  above  it, 
makes  a  better  roof  than  the  dry  and  crumbling  slates  and  sandstones 
above  would  make.  The  coal,  like  t!)e  Van  Dyke,  is  A^ery  sound  and 
clean,  igniting  readily  and  burning  away  entirely  without  crumbling  in 
the  fire.  The  smoke  is  black,  like  that  of  the  bituminous  coals.  The 
mine  is  Avorked  by  contract — the  miners  riddling  the  coal  in  the  mine, 
and  deliA'ering  the  lump  coal  only  outside  tor  $1  25  per  ton.  The  work- 
men have  evidently  been  left  to  th.eir  own  discretion,  without  any  regard 
to  obtaining  the  greatest  amount  of  coal  the  mine  should  afford. 

The  opening  hy  the  railroad  track  is  a  slope  passing  under  Bitter 
Creek.  This  had  not  in  October  passed  quite  through  the  "  rusty"  coal 
into  the  sounder  part  of  the  bed.  The  mine  has  to  be  proA'ided  with  a 
steam-engine  for  pumping  and  hoisting,  and  will  no  doubt  be  productive 
in  large  quantities  of  excellent  coal. 

This  vicinity,  like  most  of  the  Bitter  Creek  Valley,  is  deficient  in  good 
water ;  so  that,  for  about  sixty  miles  east  from  Green  Kiver,  this  has  to 


328  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  I 

be  brought  for  the  supply  of  the  inhabitants  and  for  the  locomotives  in 
cars  speciallj"  provided  for  the  purpose,  and  making  what  is  called  the 
water  train.  The  cars,  nine  in  number,  have  each  two  tanks  about  nine 
feet  high  and  seven  and  one-half  feet  average  diameter,  all  of  which  are 
connected  by  a  large  hose.  Following  the  water-cars  is  a  box  car,  in 
which  is  a  locomotive-boiler  and  a  large  steam-pump.  Bj^  means  of  this 
the  water  is  pumped  into  the  stationary  tanks  at  the  stations,  and  into 
the  barrels,  casks,  tubs,  and  even  kettles  and  cooking  stove  boilers,  with 
which  the  inhabitants  near  the  stations  run,  on  the  arrival  of  the  train 
three  times  a  week,  to  receive  their  supi^lies  of  water,  paying  for  it  at 
the  rate  of  twenty-five  cents  a  barrel. 

Utah — Evanston. — The  station  of  this  name  on  the  Union  Pacific  Rail- 
road is  four  hundred  and  forty-one  miles  from  Cheyenne,  or  one  hundred 
and  twenty-six  from  Rock  Springs.  The  mines  are  two  miles  northwest 
from  the  station  across  Bear  River,  in  a  hill  on  the  north  side  of  the  line, 
wide  valley  of  this  stream.  Seen  from  the  mines  this  valley  presents 
the  appcnrance  of  a  beautiful  plain  stretching  out  about  four  miles  to 
the  hills  on  the  opposite  side.  Were  the  regions  less  elevated  and  the 
winters  less  severe,  this  would  be  a  most  attra(!tive  site  for  a  large  set- 
tlement. Bear  River  is  a  swift  stream  of  good  water,  well  stocked  with 
large  brook  trout.  The  Wahsatch  Mountains,  in  view  to  the  west,  fur- 
nish i)ine  timber  from  their  extensive  forests.  Bnilding  stone  of  superior 
quality  is  quarried  from  the  sandstone  beds  near  the  coal-mines,  and 
clay- beds  are  worked  for  the  manufacture  of  bricks  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill. 

A  branch  railroad  has  been  constructed  to  the  mines,  and  is  used  for 
the  benefit  of  both  the  Union  Pacific  and  the  Central  Pacific  Railroads, 
the  former  being  supplied  with  coal  by  the  Wyoming  Coal  Company, 
and  the  latter  by  the  Rocky  Mountain  Coal  Company,  whose  mines 
adjoin  each  other  in  the  same  coal  bed.  This  bed,  whit;h  is  nowhere 
exi)osed  of  its  full  thickness,  is  said  to  measure  twenty-six  or  twenty- 
seven  feet  from  the  floor  to  the  roof.  It  is  evidently  a  bed  of  extraordi- 
nary size;  but  the  workings  are  limited  to  the  lower  portion  of  it  only, 
not  more  than  eight  or  ten  feet  being  taken  out.  This  is  for  the  sake 
of  greater  convenience  in  getting  the  coal  now^  required  and  of  economy 
in  timber  for  props.  It  must  be,  however,  at  the  probable  sacrifice  of 
all  that  is  left,  which  is  hardly  likely  ever  to  be  recovered  in  good  con- 
dition. The  bed  dips  into  the  hill  at  an  angle  of  about  fifteen  degrees 
with  the  horizon,  becoming  suddeuly  steeper  at  the  lower  end  of  the 
slope,  which  is  already  down  over  one  thousand  feet  in  the  mine  of  the 
Wyoming  Company.  Horizontal  levels  as  long  as  the  slope  are  driven 
each  way  from  it,  and  many  rooms  worked.  Many  small  seams  of  slate 
are  seen  in  the  bed,  which,  not  being  easily  separated  from  the  coal, 
must  considerably  impair  its  value.  This  damage  would  be  overlooked 
in  analyzing  specimens  of  the  coal,  which  would  always  be  selected  free 
from  the  slate.  Iron  pyrites  are  more  abundant  than  in  the  coals  of  other 
mines ;  and  it  is  stated  that  spontaneous  combustion  of  a  waste  heap 
has  occurred,  attributable,  no  doubt,  to  decomposition  of  the  pyrites. 
The  locomotive  engineers  complain  that  the  coal  does  not  burn  up  clean 
and  clinkers ;  still  it  is  used  by  blacksmiths,  who  manage  to  get  up  a 
welding  heat  with  it.  The  arrangements  for  working  the  mines  with 
powerful  engines  and  machinery  are  those  of  extensive  collieries,  and 
the  business  is  evidently  bound  to  be  large.  The  coal  must  be  obtained 
in  any  desired  quantity,  and  at  the  minimum  of  cost.  The  formation 
containing  the  coal  beds  is  obviously  of  the  same  period  with  that  to 
which  the  Colorado  coals  belong. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        329 

Coalville. — The  Mornions  liave  worked  several  coal  mines  :it  tliis  vil- 
laf^e  ami  in  the  neighborhood,  sendinj;-  the  coal  to  Salt  Lake  City,  al)out 
fit'ty  miles  distant  by  the  old  stajic  road,  and  more  recently  to  Corinne, 
on  the  Central  Pacitic  railroad,  (yoalville  is  live  mih's  south  from  the 
Uni(m  Pacitic  Railroad  at  Echo  Station,  and  this  is  thirty-four  miles 
Avest  from  Evanston.  At  the  villaj^e  is  Spraij;uc's  mine,  which  was  not 
in  operation  last  October;  and  two  unles  up  a  narrow  valley  to  the 
northeast  is  liobinson's  mine,  and  immediately  above  this  Crissman's 
mine.  All  these  are  apparently  on  the  same  bed  of  (H)al.  Jligher  up  in 
the  hills  are  two  other  small  beds,  not  Vvorked.  Pobinson's  and  Criss- 
man's mines  are  both  oi)ened  in  the  bottom  of  a  ravine,  and  the  former 
is  supplied  with  a  small  steam-engine  for  hoisting  the  coal  up  the  s!()})i'. 
The  latter  mine  is  entered  by  an  adit  level;  and  again  farther  ui»  by  a, 
slope.  The  dip  is  to  the  northwest,  and  so  gentle  tluit  a  mule  can  liaul 
a  ton  weight  up  the  iron-covered  track.  The  bed  is  Iroin  eleven  and  a 
lialf  to  thirteen  feet  thick,  nil  solid  coal.  Tlie  roof  is  sandstone,  and 
not  very  secure;  so  that  nearly  the  upper  half  of  the  coal  bed  is  left  for 
safety,  with  the  idea  of  some  time  taking  it  out.  Tliis  makes  a  secure 
covering.  Though  tlie  coal  is  very  sound  in  the  mine,  and  presents  a 
handsome  appearance  after  it  is  extracted,  it  soon  crumbles  on  exposure 
to  the  air,  and  the  railroad  men  do  not  speak  well  of  it  for  locomotive 
use.  It  crumbles  in  the  tire,  and  makes  clinkers,  that  melt  and  stick 
to  the  bars.  Blacksmiths,  however,  use  it  satisfactorily.  It  is  mined 
for  81-  -5  per  ton,  and  sells  for  $2  50  on  fhe  ground.  The  bed  must 
extend  under  large  areas,  whi(;li  have  not  yet  been  explored  for  it.  Its 
dip,  if  continued,  would  carry  it  under  the  sandstone  cliffs  of  Echo  Canon. 


Ill— THE  ANCIENT  LAKES  OF  WESTERN  AMERICA: 

THEIR  DEPOSITS  AND  DRAINAGE. 

By  J.  S.  Newberry,  LL.  D. 

The  wonderful  collections  of  fossil  plants  and  animal  remains  brought 
by  Dr.  Hayden  from  the  country  bordering  the  Upper  Missouri  have 
been  shown,  by  his  observations  and  the  researches  of  Mr.  Meek,  to 
have  been  derived  from  deposits  made  in  extensive  fresh-water  lakes — 
lakes  which  once  occupied  much  of  the  region  lying  iaunediately  east  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  but  which  have  now  totally  disappeared.  The 
sediments  that  accumulated  in  the  bottoms  of  these  old  lakes  show  that 
in  the  earliest  periods  of  their  history  they  contained  salt  water,  at  least 
that  the  sea  had  access  to  them,  and  their  waters  were  more  or  less  im- 
l^regnated  with  salt,  so  as  to  be  inhabited  by  oyster  and  other  nmriue  or 
estuary  mollusks.  In  due  time  the  continental  elevation  which  brought 
all  the  country  west  of  the  Mississippi  u])  out  of  the  widespread  cre- 
taceous sea,  raised  these  lake  basins  altogether  above  the  sea  level,  and 
surrounded  them  with  a  broad  expanse  of  dry  laud.  Then  ensued  one 
of  the  most  interesting  chapters  in  the  geological  history  of  our  conti- 
nent, and  one  that,  if  lairly  written  out,  could  not  fail  to  be  read  with 
pleasure  by  all  intelligent  persons.  The  details  of  this  history  are,  how- 
ever, in  a  great  measure  yet  to  be  supplied,  inasmuch  as  the  great  area 
of  our  western  ijossessious  is  still  but  very  partially  explored,  and  it  is 


330  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITOEIES. 

certain  that  it  forms  a  great  treasure-house  of  geological  knowledge, 
from  wbicli  many  genei'atious  will  draw  fresh  and  interesting  material 
before  its  riches  shall  be  exhausted. 

The  enlightened  measures  adopted  by  our  Government  for  the  ex- 
ploration of  the  i^ublic  domain,  the  organization  and  thorough  equip- 
ment of  the  numerous  surveying  parties  that  have  traversed  the  region 
west  of  the  Mississippi  within  the  last  twenty  years,  together  witli  the 
still  more  extensive  exjdorations  by  private  enterprise  of  our  great 
mining  districts,  have  resulted  in  giving  us  materials  from  which  an  out- 
line sketch  can  now  be  made  that  may  be  accepted  in  all  its  essential 
particulars  as  accurate  and  worthy  of  confidence. 

It  has  happened  to  me  to  be  connected  with  three  of  the  Government 
surveys  to  which  I  have  referred,  and  to  speud  several  years  iu  travers- 
ing the  great  area  lying  between  the  Columbia  Eiver  and  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico.  The  observations  which  I  have  made  on  the  geological  structure 
of  our  Western  Territories  su])ijlement  in  a  somewhat  remarkable  way 
those  made  by  Dr.  Hay  den,  so  that,  taken  together,  our  reports  embody 
the  results  of  a  reconnoissance  stretching  over  nearly  the  whole  of  our 
vast  possessions  west  of  the  Mississippi. 

Our  knowledge  of  the  geology  of  this  region  has  also  been  largely 
increased  by  the  no  less  important  contributions  of  other  exi^lorers. 
Among  those  who  deserve  most  honorable  mention  in  this  connection 
are  Mr.  George  Gibbs,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  most  that  we  know 
of  the  geology  of  Washington  Territorj-;  to  Professors  W.  P.  Blake  and 
Thomas  Antisell;  to  Professor  W^hitney  and  the  other  members  of  the 
California  geological  survey ;  to  Baron Eichthofeu,  the  lameutedEemoud, 
Drs.  Shiel,  Wislizeuus,  and  others. 

The  results  obtained  by  the  last,  largest,  and  best-organized  party 
which  has  been  engaged  in  western  explorations — that  of  Mr.  Clarence 
King — have  not  yet  been  given  to  the  public ;  but,  from  an  examination 
of  some  of  the  materials  which  are  to  compose  the  reports  of  this  expe- 
dition, I  feel  justified  in  saying  that  it  will  prove  to  be  among  the  most 
important  of  all  the  series  of  explorations  of  which  it  forms  partj  and 
that  the  published  results  of  this  expedition  will  be  not  only  an  import- 
ant contribution  to  science  and  our  knowledge  of  our  own  country,  but 
a  high  honor  to  those  by  whom  the  work  has  been  performed,  and  to  the 
Government,  by  which  it  was  organized. 

Without  going  into  details  or  citing  the  facts  or  authorities  on  which 
our  conclusions  rest,  I  will  in  a  few  words  give  the  generalities  of  the 
geological  and  topographical  structure  of  that  portion  of  our  continent 
which  includes  the  peculiar  features  that  are  to  be  more  specially  the 
subject  of  this  paper. 

It  is  known  to  most  persons  that  the  general  character  of  the  topog- 
raphy of  the  region  west  of  the  Mississippi  has  been  given  by  three  great 
lines  of  elevation  which  traverse  our  territory  from  north  to  south:  the 
Eocky  Mountain  Belt,  the  Sierra  Xevada,  and  tiie  Coast  Eauges.  Of 
these  the  last  is  the  most  modern,  and  is  composed,  for  the  most  part, 
of  mioceue  tertiary  rocks.  It  forms  a  raised  margin  along  the  western 
edge  of  the  continent,  and  has  produced  that  "iron-bound  coast"  de- 
scribed by  all  those  who  have  navigated  that  portion  of  the  Pacific  which 
washes  our  shores. 

Parallel  with  the  Coast  Mountains  lies  a  narrow  trough,  which,  in 
California,  is  traversed  by  the  Sacramento  and  San  Joachin  Eivers,  and 
portions  of  it  have  received  their  names.  Farther  north  this  trough  is 
l)artially  filled,  and  for  some  distance  nearly  obliterated  by  the  encroach- 
ment of  the  neighboring-  mountain  ranges,  but  iu  Oregon  and  Washing- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       331 

ton  it  reappears  essentially  the  same  in  structure  as  farther  south,  and 
is  here  traversed  by  the  Willamette  and  ('owlitz  IJivers. 

These  two  seetioiis  of  this  ^reat  valley  have  now  Iree  draiiiai^e  to  the 
Pacific,  throuiih  the  Golden  Gate  and  the  tronj^h  ot  the  Columbia,  both 
of  Avhich  are  channels  cut  by  the  draimige  water  through  mountain  bar- 
riers that  formerly  obstructed  its  tlow,'aml  produced  an  accumulation 
behind  them  that  made  these  valleys inhuul  lakes;  the  first  of  the  series 
I  am  to  describe  of  extensive  fresh-water  basins  that  formerly  gave  char- 
acter to  the  surface  of  onr  Western  Territory,  and  that  have  now  almost 
all  been  drained  away  and  disappeared. 

East  of  the  California  Valley  the  Sierra  Nevada  lies,  like  a  lofty 
mountain  chain,  reaching  all  the  way  from  our  northern  to  our  southern 
boundary.  The  crest  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  is  so  high  and  continuous 
that  for  one  thousand  miles  it  shows  no  passes  less  than  five  thousand 
feet  above  the  sea,  and  yet  at  three  points  there  arc  g'ateways  o]Kmed 
in  this  wall,  by  which  it  may  be  passed  but  little  above  the  sea  level. 
These  are  the  canons  of  the  Sacramento,  (Pit  Eiver,)  the  Klamath,  and 
the  Columbia.  All  these  are  gorges  cut  through  this  great  dam  by  the 
drainage  of  the  interior  of  the  continent.  In  the  lapse  of  ages  the  cut- 
ting" down  of  this  barrier  has  progressed  to  such  an  extent  as  almost 
comi)letely  to  empty  the  great  water  basins  that  once  existed  behind  it, 
and  leave  the  interior  the  arid  waste  that  it  is — the  only  real  desert  on 
the  North  American  continent. 

The  Sierrh  Nevada  is  older  than  the  Coast  Mountains,  and  projected 
above  the  ocean,  though  not  to  its  present  altitude,  previous  to  the  ter- 
tiary and  even  cretaceous  ages.  This  we  learn  from  the  fact  that  strata 
belonging  to  these  formations  cover  its  base,  but  reach  only  a  few  hun- 
dred feet  up  its  flanks.  The  mass  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  is  composed  of 
granitic  rocks,  associated  with  which  are  metamorphic  slates,  proved  by 
the  California  survey  to  be  of  triassic  and  Jurassic  age.  These  slates 
are  traversed  in  many  localities  by  veins  of  quartz,  which  are  the  reposi- ' 
tories  of  the  gold  that  has  made  California  so  famous  among  the  mining 
districts  of  the  world. 

East  of  the  Sierra  Nevada  we  find  a  high  and  broad  plateau,  five  hun- 
dred miles  in  width,  and  from  four  thousand  to  eight  thousand  feet  in 
altitude,  which  stretches  eastward  to  the  base  of  the  Rocky  Mountains, 
and  reaches  southward  far  into  Mexico.  Of  this  interior  elevated  area 
the  Sierra  Nevada  forms  the  western  margin,  on  which  it  rises  like  a 
wall.  It  is  evident  that  this  mountain  belt  once  formed  the  Pacific 
coast ;  and  it  would  seem  that  then  this  lofty  wall  was  raised  upon  the 
edge  of  the  continent  to  defend  it  from  the  action  of  the  ocean  waves. 
In  tracing  the  sinuous  outline  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  it  will  be  seen  that 
its  crest  is  crowned  by  a  series  of  lofty  volcanic  cones,  and  that  one  of 
these  is  placed  at  each  conspicuous  angle  in  its  line  of  bearing,  so  that  it 
has  the  appearance  of  a  gigantic  fortification,  of  which  each  salient  and 
reentering  angle  is  defended  by  a  massive  and  lofty  tower. 

The  central  i)ortion  of  the  high  table-lands  to  which  I  have  referred 
was  called  bj'  Fremont  the  "  Great  Basin,"  from  the  fact  that  it  is  a 
hydrographic  basin,  its  waters  having  no  outlet  to  the  ocean.  The 
northern  part  of  this  area  is  drained  by  the  Columbia;  the  southern  by 
the  Colorado.  Of  these  the  Columbia  makes  its  way  into  the  ocean  by 
the  gorge  it  has  cut  in  the  Cascade  Mountains,  through  which  it  flows 
nearly  at  the  sea  level ;  while  the  Colorado  flows  to  the  Gulf  of  Cali- 
fornia through  a  series  of  canons,  of  which  the  most  important  is  nearly 
one  thonsand  miles  in  length,  and  from  three  thousand  to  six  thousand 
feet  in  depth.    In  volume  0  of  the  Pacific  Eailroad  Eeports  I  have 


332       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEREITORIES. 

described  a  j)ortion  of  the  country  drained  by  the  Columbia,  and  hare 
given  the  facts  that  lead  me  to  assert  that  the  goroe  through  T\hich  it 
passes  the  Cascade  Mountains  has  been  excavated  by  its  waters;  and 
that  previous  to  the  cutting  down  of  this  barrier  these  waters  accumu- 
lated to  form  great  fresh-water  lakes,  which  left  deposits  at  an  elevation 
of  more  than  two  thousand  feet  above  the  present  bed  of  the  Columbia. 
Similar  facts  were  observed  in  the  country  drained  by  the  Klamath  and 
Pit  Elvers,  and  all  pointed  to  the  same  conclusion. 

In  all  this  region  1  observed  certain  peculiarities  of  geological  struc- 
ture that  have  been  remarked  by  most  of  those  who  have  traversed  the 
interval  between  the  Sierra  Xevada  and  the  Rocky  ]\Iountains.  In  the 
northern  and  middle  portions  of  the  great  table-lauds  the  general  surface 
is  somewhat  thickly  set  by  short  and  isolated  mountain  ranges,  which 
have  been  denominated  the  "  Lost  Mountains."  These  rise  like  islands 
above  the  level  of  the  plain,  and  are  generally  composed  of  volcanic  or 
metamorphic  rocks.  The  spaces  between  these  mountains  are  nearly 
level,  desert  surfaces,  of  which  the  underlying  geological  structure  is 
often  not  easilj-  observed.  Toward  the  north  and  west,  however,  wher- 
ever we  come  upon  the  tributaries  of  the  Columbia,  the  Klamath,  or 
Pit  Elvers,  we  find  the  plateaus  more  or  less  cut  b}"  these  streams  and 
their  substructure  revealed. 

Here  the  underlying  rocks  are  nearly  horizontal,  and  consist  of  a 
variety  of  deposits,  varying  much  in  color  and  consistence.  Some  are 
coarse  volcanic  ash,  with  fragments  of  pumice  and  scoria.  Others  I 
have  in  my  notes  denominated  "  concrete,"  as  they  precisely  resemble 
the  old  Eoman  cement  and  are  composed  of  the  same  materials.  In  many 
localities  these  strata  are  as  fine  and  white  as  chalk,  and,  though  con- 
taining little  or  no  carbonate  of  lime,  they  have  been  referred  to  as  "  chalk- 
beds"  by  most  travelers  who  have  visited  this  region.  Specimens  of  this 
chalk-like  material  gave  me  my  first  hint  of  the  true  history  of  these 
deposits.  These,  collected  on  the  head- waters  of  Pit  Eiver,  the  Klamath, 
the  Des  Chutes,  Columbia,  and  elsewhere,  were  transmitted  to  Professor 
Bailey,  then  our  most  skilled  microscopist,  for  examination.  Almost  the 
last  work  he  did  before  his  untimely  death  was  to  report  to  me  the  results 
of  his  observation  on  them.  This  report  was  as  harmonious  as  it  was 
unexpected.  In  every  one  of  the  chalk-like  deposits  to  which  I  have 
referred  he  found  fresh-icater  diatomacece. 

From  the  stratification  and  horizontality  of  these  deposits,  I  had  been 
fully  assured  that  they  were  thrown  down  from  great  bodies  of  water 
that  filled  the  spaces  separating  the  more  elevated  portions  of  the  interior 
basin,  and  here  I  had  evidence  that  this  water  was  fresh.  Since  that 
time  a  vast  amount  of  evidence  has  accumulated  to  confirm  the  general 
view  then  taken  of  the  changes  through  which  the  surface  of  this  por- 
tion of  our  continent  has  passed.  From  Southwestern  Idaho  and  East- 
ern Oregon  I  have  now  received  large  collections  of  animal  and  vege- 
table fossils  of  great  variety  and  interest.  Of  these  the  plants  have 
been,  for  the  most  part,  collected  by  Eev.  Thomas  Condon,  of  Tlie  Dalles, 
Oregon,  who  has  exposed  himself  to  great  hardship  and  danger  in  his 
several  expeditions  to  the  localities  in  Eastern  Oregon  where  these  fos- 
sils are  found.  The  plants  obtained  by  Mr.  Condon  are  apparentlj^  of 
miocene  age,  forming  twenty  to  thirty  species,  nearly  all  new,  and  such 
as  represent  a  forest  growth  as  varied  and  luxuriant  as  can  be  now  found 
on  any  portion  of  our  continent. 

The  animal  remains  contained  in  these  fresh-water  deposits  have  come 
mostly  from  the  banks  of  Castle  Creek,  in  the  Owyhee  district,  Idaho. 
The  specimens  I  have  received  were  sent  me  by  Mr.  J.  31.  Adams,  of 


GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       333 

Euby  City.  Tliey  consist  of  bones  of  tlic  mastodon,  rhinoceros,  horse, 
elk,  and  other  large  nianiuials,  of  which  the  species  are  probably  in  some 
cases  new,  in  others  identical  with  those  obtained  from  the  fresh-Avater 
tertiaries  of  the  "bad  lands"  by  Dr.  Ilayden.  With  these  mammalian 
remains  are  a  few  bones  of  birds  and  p-eat  nnmbers  of  the  bones  and 
teeth  of  lishes.  These  last  are  cyprinoids  allied  to  Mijlophayodon^  Milo- 
clicilus,  &c.,  and  some  of  the  species  attained  a  length  of  three  feet  or 
more.  There  are  also  in  this  collection  large  nnmbers  of  fiesh-water 
shells  of  the  genera  Unio,  CorbicuJa,  Jllclania,  and  PJanorhis.  All  these 
fossils  show  that  at  one  period  in  the  history  of  onr  continent,  and  that, 
geologically  speaking',  qnite  recent,  the  region  nnder  consideration  Avas 
thickly  set  with  lakes,  some  of  which  were  of  larger  size  and  greater 
depth  than  the  great  fresh-water  lakes  which  now  lie  npon  our  northern 
frontier.  Between  these  lakes  were  areas  of  dry  land  covered  with  a 
luxuriant  and  beautiful  vegetation,  and  inhabited  by  herds  of  elephants 
and  other  great  jnammals,  such  as  could  only  inhabit  a  well-watered 
and  fertile  country.  In  the  streams  flowing-  into  these  lakes,  and  in  the 
lakes  themselves,  were  great  inimbers  of  fishes  and  moUusks  of  species 
which,  like  the  others  I  have  enumerated,  have  now  disappeared.  At 
that  time,  as  now,  the  great  lakes  formed  evaporating  surfaces,  which. 
l)rodnced  showers  that  vivified  all  their  shores.  Everj^  year,  however, 
saw  something  removed  from  the  barriers  over  which  their  surplus  water 
flowed  to  the  sea,  and,  in  the  lapse  of  time,  they  were  drained  to  the 
dregs.  In  the  Klamath  Lakes,  and  in  San  Francisco,  San  Pablo,  and 
Suisnn  Bays,  Ave  have  the  last  remnants  of  these  great  bodies  of  water; 
while  the  drainage  of  the  Columbia  lakes  has-been  so  comi)lete  that  in 
some  instances  the  streams  which  traA^erse  their  old  basins  have  cut  two 
thousand  feet  into  the  sediments  Avhich  accumulated  beneath  their 
waters. 

The  history  of  this  old  lake  country,  as  it  is  recorded  in  the  alterna- 
tions of  strata  which  accumulated  at  the  bottoms  of  its  water  basins,  will 
be  found  to  be  full  of  interest.  For  Avhile  these  strata  furnish  evidence 
that  there  were  long  iuterA\als  when  peace  and  quiet  prevailed  over  this 
region,  and  animal  and  A'egetable  life  flourished  as  they  now  do  nowhere 
on  the  continent,  they  also  prove  that  this  quiet  was  at  times  disturbed 
by  the  most  violent  volcanic  eru])tions,  from  a  number  of  distinct  centers 
of  action,  but  especiallj' from  the  great  craters  Avhich  crowned  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Sierra  Nevada.  From  these  came  showers  of  ashes  which 
must  have  covered  the  laud  and  tilled  the  water  so  as  to  destroy  immense 
numbers  of  the  inhabitants  of  both.  These  ashes  formed  strata  which 
were,  in  some  instances,  ten  or  twenty  feet  in  thickness.  At  other  times 
the  Aolcanic  action  was  still  more  intense,  and  floods  of  lava  Avere  poured 
out,  which  formed  continuous  sheets  hundreds  of  miles  in  extent,  pene- 
trating far  into  the  lake  basins,  and  giving  to  their  bottoms  floors  of 
solid  basalt.  When  these  cataclysms  had  passed,  quiet  Avas  again  re- 
stored, forests  again  covered  the  land,  herds  dotted  its  pastures,  fishes 
peopled  the  waters,  and  fine  sediments  abounding  in  forms  of  life  accu- 
mulated in  new  sheets  above  the  strata  of  cooled  laA^a.  The  banks  of 
the  Des  Chutes  Biver  and  Columbia  afford  splendid  sections  of  these 
lake  deposits,  where  the  history  I  have  so  hastily  sketched  may  be  read 
as  from  an  open  book. 

But  it  will  be  said  that  there  are  portions  of  the  great  central  plateau 
Avhich  haA'e  not  been  drained  in  the  manner  I  haA^e  described.  For  here 
are  basins  Avhich  hav€  no  outlets,  and  which  still  hold  sheets  of  water  of 
greater  or  less  area,  such  as  those  of  Pyramid  Lake,  Salt  Lake,  &c.  The 
history  of  these  basins  is  very  different  from  that  of  those  already 


334       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

mentioned,  and  not  less  interesting"  or  easily  read.  By  the  complete 
drainage  of  the  nortliern  and  soutliern  thirds  of  tbe  plateau  through 
the  channels  of  the  Columbia  and  Colorado,  the  water  surlace  of  this 
great  area  was  reduced  to  the  tenth  or  liundredth  part  of  the  si)ace  it 
previously  occupied.  Hence  the  moisture  susjieuded  in  tlie  atmosphere 
was  diminished  in  like  degree,  and  the  dry  hot  air,  sweeping  over  the 
plains,  licked  up  the  water  from  the  undrained  lakes  until  they  were  re- 
duced to  their  present  dimensions.  Now,  as  formerly,  they  receive  the 
constant  flow  of  the  streams  that  drain  into  them  from  the  mountains 
on  the  east  and  west.  But  the  evaporation  is  so  rapid  that  their  di- 
mensions are  not  only  not  increased  thereby^  but  are  steadily  diminish- 
ing- from  year  to  year.  Around  many  of  these  lakes,  as  Salt  Lake,  for 
example,  just  as  around  the  margins  of  the  old  drained  lakes,  we  can 
trace  former  shore  lines  and  measure  the  depression  of  the  water  level. 
Many  of  these  lakes  of  the  Great  Basin  have  been  completely  dried  up 
by  evaporation,  and  now  their  places  are  marked  by  alkaline  plains  or 
"salt  flats."  Others  exist  as  lakes  only  during  a  portion  of  the  year, 
and  in  the  dry  season  are  represented  by  sheets  of  glittering  salt.  Even 
those  that  remain  as  lakes  are  necessarily  salt,  as  they  are  but  grejtt 
evaporating  pans  where  the  drainage  froui  the  mountains — which  al- 
ways contains  a  portion  of  saline  matter — is  concentrated  l>y  the  vsun  and 
wind  until  it  becomes  a  saturated  solution  and  deposits  its  surplus  salts 
upon  the  bottom. 

The  southern  portion  of  the  great  central  table-land — that  which  has 
been  denominated  the  Colorado  plateau — is  almost  without  mountain 
barriers  or  local  basins,  and  we  therefore  find  upon  it  fewer  traces  of 
ancient  lakes,  though  they  are  not  entirely  wanting.  It  is  a])i)arent,  how- 
ever, that  thishigh  plateau,  which  stretchesaway  for  several  hundred  miles 
west  of  the  Bocky  Mountains,  was  once  a  beautiful  and  fertile  district. 
The  (Colorado  draining  then,  as  now,  the  Avestern  ranges  of  the  Eocky 
Mountains,  spread  over  the  surface  of  this  plateau,  enriching  and  vivi- 
fying all  parts  of  it.  When  it  reached  the  western  margin  of  the  table- 
land, however,  it  poured  over  a  precipice  or  slope  five  thousand  feet  in 
height,  into  the  Gulf  of  California,  which  then  reached  several  hundred 
miles  farther  north  than  now.  In  process  of  time  the  power  developed 
by  this  stupendous  tall  cut  away  the  rock  beneath  the  flowing  water,  and 
formed  that  remarkable  gorge  to  which  I  have  already  referred.  This 
gorge  is  nearly  one  thousand  miles  in  length  and  from  tliree  thousand 
to  six  thousand  feet  in  depth,  and  is  cut  through  all  the  series  of  sedi- 
mentary rocks  from  the  tertiary  to  the  granite,  and  has  worn  out  the 
granite  to  a  depth  of  from  six  hundred  to  eight  hundred  feet.  Just  in 
proportion  as  the  Colorado  dee])ened  its  channel,  the  region  bordering 
it  became  more  dry,  until  ultimately  the  drainage  from  the  mountains 
I)assed  through  it,  in  what  may  be  even  termed  underground  channels, 
and  contributed  almost  nothing  to  the  moisture  of  the  surrounding* 
country.  The  reason  why  the  walls  of  this  cahon  stand  up  in  such 
awful  precipices  of  thousands  of  feet  is,  that  the  perennial  flow  of  the 
stream  is  derived  in  far  distant  mountains ;  almost  no  rain  falls  upon 
its  banks,  and  when  any  portion  of  the  bordering  cliff  has  passed  be- 
yond the  reach  of  the  stream,  it  stands  almost  unaffected  by  atmospheric 
influences. 

On  the  east  of  the  Eocky  Mountains  lies  the  country  of  the  "Plains," 
a  region  not  unlike  in  its  topography  to  the  great  plateau  of  the  West, 
but  diftering  in  this,  that  it  is  not  bordered  on  the  east  by  a  continuous 
mountain  chain  ;  that  it  slopes  gently  downward  to  the  Mississippi,  and 
that  its  eastern  half  has  been  so  well  watered  that  its  valleys  have  been 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       335 

made  broad  and  all  its  topographical  features  softened  down.  In  former 
times,  however,  the  topographical  unity  now  consi)icuous  on  the  Plains 
did  not  exist,  and  the  surface  was  marked  by  a  series  of,  great  basins 
which  received  the  How  of  water  from  the  Eocl^y  Mountains  and  formed 
lakes,  less  numerous,  it  is  true,  but  of  greater  extent  than  those  of  the  tar 
West.  The  northern  i)ortion  of  the  eastern  plateau  has  been  Dr.  iJayden's 
chosen  field  of  exi)loration  for  many  years;  a  tield  he  has  well  tilled,  and 
from  which  he  has  obtained  a  harvest  of  scientitic  truth  v,  hich  will  form 
for  him  an  enduring  and  enviable  monument. 

Among  the  most  interesting  researches  ot  Dr.  Ilayden  in  this  region 
are  the  studies  he  has  made  of  the  deposits  which  have  accunudated  in 
these  great  fresh-water  basins.  The  story  he  has  written  of  his  explora- 
tions of  this  district  has  been  so  well  and  I'ully  told  that  I  shall  not 
attempt  to  review  it.  Suffice  it  to  say,  that  the  series  of  fresh-water 
basins  discovered  by  Dr.  Hayden  in  the  country  bordering  the  U])per 
Missouri  have  proved  to  be  as  rich  in  new  and  interesting  forms  of  animal 
and  vegetable  life  as  any  that  have  been  found  upon  the  earth's  surface. 
The  vertebrate  remains  collected  by  Dr.  Hayden  have  been  carefully 
studied,  fully  described  and  illustrated  by  Dr.  Leidy,  and  the  splendid 
monograph  which  he  has  published  of  these  fossils  forms  a  contribu- 
tion to  paleontology  not  second  in  value  or  interest  to  that  made  by 
Cuvier  in  his  iliUvStrations  of  the  fossils  from  the  Paris  basin  ;  nor  to 
that  of  Falconer  and  Cautley,  descrijitive  of  the  fossils  of  the  Sewalik 
Hills  of  India. 

The  scarcely  less  voluminous  and  interesting'  collections  of  fossil 
plants  made  by  Dr.  Hayden  have  been  placed  in  my  hands  for  examin- 
ation. Of  these,  the  first  installments  were  described  and  drawn  some 
years  since  as  a  contribution  to  the  report  of  Colonel  W.  F.  Eaynolds, 
United  States  Army,  a  report  not  yet  published  by  the  Government. 
The  descriptions,  however,  were  printed  in  the  annals  of  the  Lyceum  of 
Xatural  History  of  New  York,  vol.  9,  1868. 

The  general  conclusions  drav/n  from  a  study  of  this  portion  of  Dr. 
Hayden's  collections  as  regards  the  floras  of  the  tertiary  and  cretaceous 
periods,  the  topography  and  climate  of  the  interior  of  the  continent — and 
which  form  a  x)artof  my  contribution  to  Colonel  Eaynolds's  re{>ort — will 
be  found  quoted  on  another  page.  Since  that  report  was  written  very 
large  additions  have  been  made  to  our  knowledge  of  our  late  extinct 
tloras,  by  collections  of  fossil  plants  made  in  different  portions  of  the 
western  part  of  our  continent  by  Dr.  Hayden,  Mr.  Condon,  Dr.  Le  Conte, 
and  myself;  and  also  by  the  collections  made  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Dall  and 
Captain  Howard  in  Alaska,  and  by  several  explorers  on  the  continent 
of  Greenland. 

Deferring  for  the  present  a  comparison  of  the  plants  derived  from 
strata  of  similar  age  in  these  widely  separated  localities,  and  the  infer- 
ences deducible  from  them  as  regards  the  physical  geography  of  our 
continent,  I  should  say  that  the  flora  and  fauna  of  the  lake  deposits  on 
both  sides  of  the  Rocky  i'ilountains  apparently  belong  to  one  and  the 
same  geological  age,  and  tell  the  same  story  in  regard  to  the  topography, 
cli-uate,  conditions,  and  development  of  animal  and  vegetable  life.  There 
is  this  striking  diflerence,  however,  perceptible  at  the  first  glance  be- 
tween the  fresh-water  tertiaries  of  the  East  and  West.  In  Oregon,  Idaho, 
and  Nevada,  volcanic  materials  have  accumulated  in  the  lake  basins  to 
a  nuich  greater  extent  than  east  of  the  Eocky  Mountains ;  and  we  have 
abundant  evidence  that  during  the  tertiary  period  the  western  margin 
of  the  continent  was  the  scene  of  far  greater  volcanic  activity  than  we 
have  any  record  of  in  the  Eocky  Mountain  belt. 


336  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

The  deposits  formed  by  the  lake  basins  of  the  Upper  Missouri  region 
are  shales,  marls,  and  earthy  limestones,  with  immense  quantities  of  lig- 
nite, but  with  almost  no  traces  of  volcanic  products.  The  number  of  fossil 
plants  and  animals  is  much  greater  there  than  farther  west;  and  we  have 
in  these  deposits  proof  thatduring  unnumbered  ages  this  portion  of  the 
continent  exhibited  a  diversified  and  beautiful  surface,  which  sustained 
a  luxuriant  growth  of  vegetation  and  an  amount  of  animal  life  far  in 
excess  of  what  it  has  done  in  modern  times.  This  condition  of  things  ex- 
isted long  enough  for  hundreds  and  even  thousands  of  feet  of  sediments 
to  accumulate  in  the  bottoms  of  extensive  fresh-water  lakes.  These 
lakes  were  gradually  and  slowly  diminished  in  area  by  the  filling  up  of 
their  basins  and  by  the  wearing  away  of  the  barriers  over  which  passed 
their  gently  flowing,  draining"  streams.  Since  the  deposition  of  the 
fresh-water  tertiaries  which  occupy  the  places  of  the  old  lakes,  great 
changes  have  taken  place  in  the  topography  of  this  region  by  the  up- 
heaval of  portions  of  the  Eocky  Mountain  ranges.  In  some  localities 
these  lake  deposits  are  found  'turned  up  on  edge  and  resting  on  the 
flanks  of  the  mountains  which  border  the  plains  on  the  west.  It  is  cer- 
tain, however,  that  much  of  the  Eocky  Mountain  belt  existed  anterior 
to  this  date.  We  have  in  these,  aiul  many  other  facts  that  might  be 
cited,  proofs  of  the  truth  of  the  assertion  I  have  elsewhere  made  that 
these  great  mountain  chains,  though  existing  at  least  in  embryo  from 
the  earliest  paleozoic  ages,  have  since  then  been  subject  to  many  and 
varied  modifications;  that  they  have  been,  in  fact,  hinges  upon  which 
the  great  plates  of  the  continent  have  turned  ;  lines  of  weakness  where 
the  changes  of  level  experienced  by  the  continent  have  been  most  sen- 
sibly felt. 

It  is  a  somewhat  remarkable  fact  that  the  collections  of  fossil  plants 
made  by  Dr.  Hayden  from  different  localities  differ  so  much  among 
themselves.  In  every  newly,  discovered  plant-bed  he  has  obtained  more 
or  less  species  of  which  we  before  had  no  knowledge,  and  it  is  even  true 
that  between  some  of  his  collections  there  are  no  connecting  links.  It  is 
also  true  that  much  of  the  material  he  has  collected  has  not  yet  received 
the  study  it  needs.  From  these  fticts  it  will  be  seen  that  much  yet  re- 
mains to  be  done  before  the  great  interval  of  time  during  which  this  series 
of  fresh- water  tertiaries  accumulated  can  be  divided  into  definite  periods, 
and  before  we  can  venture  to  affirm  that  such  an  epoch  had  a  flora  of 
such  or  such  a  botanical  character,  and,  therefore,  this  or  that  average 
annual  temperature.  Some  interesting  facts  came  out,  however,  at  once 
in  the  examination  of  these  materials ;  to  these  I  will  briefly  refer. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  cretaceous  age,  North  America,  as  we  learn, 
presented  a  broad  land  surface,  having  a  climate  similar  to  the  present, 
and  covered  with  forests  consisting,  for  the  most  part,  of  trees  belonging 
to  the  same  genera  with  those  that  now  flourish  ui)on  it.  In  the  progress 
of  the  cretaceous  age,  the  greater  part  of  the  continent  west  of  the  Mis- 
sissippi sank  beneath  the  ocean,  and  the  deposits  made  during  the  later 
portions  of  the  cretaceous  age  contain  a  vegetation  more  tropical  in 
character  than  that  which  had  preceded  it.  it  seems  probable  that  at 
this  time  the  lauds  which  existed  as  such  west  of  the  Mississippi  were 
islands  of  limited  extent,  washed  by  the  Gulf  Stream,  which  apparently 
had  then  a  course  north  and  west  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Arctic 
Sea. 

The  earlier  tertiary  epochs  were,  however,  marked  by  an  emergence  of 
the  continent  and  a  gradual  approach  to  previous  and  present  conditions. 
This  is  indicated  by  the  fact  that  the  oldest  tertiary  deposits  (eocene"?) 
contain  a  flora  less  like  the  present  than  is  that  ofthemiocene  or  middle 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       337 

tertiary.  'In  this  category  of  older  deposits,  with  a  more  tropical  flora,  I 
would  place  the  Green  Eiver  tertiary  beds,  those  of  Mississippi,  studied 
by  Lesquereux,  and  those  of  Braudon,  Vermont. 

In  the  miocene  age  the  continental  surface  was  broader,  the  lake 
basins  of  the  West  contained  only  fresh  water,  and  the  land  surface 
was  covered  with  vegetation  very  much  like  that  of  the  present  day,  a 
number  of  miocene  species  still  existiug.  The  climate  of  the  continent 
in  the  miocene  age  was  much  milder  than  now.  Fan-palms  then  grew 
as  far  north  as  the  Yellowstone  Elver,  and  a  flora  flourished  in  Alaska 
and  on  Greenland  as  varied  and  as  luxuriant  as  now  grows  along  the 
fortieth  parallel.  At  this  time  there  must  have  been  some  sort  of  land 
connection  between  our  continent  and  Europe  on  the  one  hand  and  Asia 
on  the  other.  The  flora  of  all  these  regions  was  essentially  the  same, 
and  a  large  number  of  plants  were  common  to  the  three  continents.  In 
this  age  tlie  mammalian  fauna  of  our  continent  exliibited  the  same  re- 
markable development  that  it  did  in  Europe  and  Asia ;  and  over  our 
western  plains  roved  herds  of  great  quadrupeds,  rivaling  in  number 
and  variety  those  that  have  struck  with  wonder  and  surprise  every 
traveler  in  South  Africa. 

This  state  of  things  seems  to  have  continued  through  the  pliocene 
age  and  up  to  the  time  when  the  climate  of  the  continent  was  completely 
revolutionized  by  the  advent  of  the  "  ice  period."  The  chauge  vrhicli 
took  place  at  that  time  was  such  as  taxes  the  imagination  to  conceive 
of  as  much  as  it  taxes  the  reasoning  powers  to  account  for. 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  nwddle  tertiary  age  the  climate  of  Alaska 
and  Greenland  was  that  of  New  York  and  St.  Louis  at  present.  In  the 
next  succeeding  period,  the  glacial  epoch,  the  present  climate  of  Green- 
laud  v.as  brought  down  to  New  York,  and  all  the  northern  portion  of 
the  continent  wrapped  in  ice  and  snow.  This  change  was  imdoubtedly 
gradual,  (for  nature  does  not  often  "  turn  a  corner,")  but  it  is  plain  that 
it  must  have  resulted  in  the  gradual  driving  southward  of  all  the  varied 
forms  of  animal  and  vegetable  life  that  were  spread  over  the  continent  to 
the  Arctic  Sea.  When  glaciers  reached  as  far  south  as  the  fortieth  parallel 
it  is  evident  that  a  cold,  temperate  climate  prevailed  in  Mexico,  and  that 
only  in  the  south  of  Mexico  would  the  average  annual  temperature  have 
been  what  it  was  previously  in  the  latitude  of  New  York.  \Te  must  con- 
clude, therefore,  that  the  herds  of  mammals  which  once  covered  the  plains 
of  the  interior  of  North  America  were  forced  by  the  advancing  cold  into 
such  narrow  limits  in  Southern  Mexico  that  nearly  all  were  exterminated. 
Plants  bore  their  expatriation  better ;  inasmuch  as  a  tree,  even  of  the 
most  gigantic  size,  will  live  upon  the  space  occupied  by  its  roots,  pro- 
vided the  climatic  conditions  are  favorable  ,•  while  one  of  the  larger 
mammals  would  require  at  least  a  thousand  times  this  space  for  its  sup- 
port. As  a  consequence,  we  find  the  present  flora  of  our  continent  much 
more  like  that  of  the  miocene  than  is  our  fauna,  though  the  change  to 
which  I  have  referred  seems  to  have  been  fatal  to  quite  a  number  of  the 
most  abundant  and  iuterestiug  of  our  miocene  forest  trees.  Of  these, 
the  Glyptostrohus  may  be  taken  as  an  example.  This  was  a  beautiful 
conifer  which,  in  miocene  times,  grew  all  over  our  continent  and  over 
Northern  Europe.  In  the  change  to  the  glacial  period,  however,  it  wa^ 
exterminated,  both  there  and  here,  yet  continued  to  exist  in  Chinix — 
where  a  miocene  colony  from  America  had  taken  root — and  it  is  grovring 
there  at  the  present  time.  This  great  ice- wedge  which  came  down  from 
the  north  separated  very  widely  many  elements  in  our  miocene  flora 
which  have  never  since  been  reunited,  so  that  when  the  storm  had 
passed  and  better  days  had  come,  and  the  Mississippi  Yalley  and  Atlan- 
22  G 


338       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

tic  States  were  repossessed  by  tlie  descendants  of  the  tertiai'y  plants, 
they  were  still  separated,  hy  many  thousand  miles,  from  their  brethren 
which  had  formerly  crossed  the  now  submerged  bridge  of  Behring's 
Straits  ;  and  thus  the  two  kindreds  have  been  growing,  and  flowering, 
and  seeding,  and  dying  in  each  colony  far  beyond  the  reach  of  the  other 
and  developing  their  peculiarities  each  in  its  own  way  from  generation 
to  generation.  When  now  we  come  to  ^compare  the  present  flora  of 
China  and  Japan  with  that  of  the  eastern  half  of  our  continent,  we  find 
the  strongest  proofs  of  their  intimate  relationship.  Many  of  the  species 
are  identical,  while  others  are  but  slightly  changed,  and,  on  the  whole, 
the  diflerences  are  less  than  such  as  have  grown  out  of  separation  in 
human  kindred  colonies  in  an  infinitely  shorter  period. 

Among  the  great  mammals  that  formerly  inhabited  our  contiuent, 
but  such  as  are  now  extinct,  there  were  some  which  seem  to  have  bid 
defiance  to  the  changes  I  have  detailed.  These  were  particularly  the 
mastodon  and  elephant,  both  of  which  were  probably  capable  of  endur- 
ing great  severity  of  climate.  The  mammoth,  we  know,  was  vrell  de- 
fended from  the  cold  by  a  thick  coat  of  hair  and  wool,  and  was  probably 
capable  of  enduring  a  degree  of  cold  as  severe  as  that  in  vrhich  the 
musk-ox  now  lives.  We  know  that  both  these  great  monsters — the 
elephant  and  mastodon — continued  to  inhabit  the  interior  of  our  con- 
tinent long  after  the  glaciers  had  retreated  beyond  the  upper  lakes, 
and  when  the  minutest  details  of  surface  topography  were  the  same 
as  now.  This  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  we  not  unfrequently  find  them 
embedded  in  peat  in  marshes  which  are  still  marshes,  where  they  have 
been  mired  and  sufibcated.  It  is  even  claimed  that  here,  as  on  the 
European  continent,  man  was  a  cotemporary  of  the  mammoth,  and  that 
here,  as  there,  he  contributed  largely  to  its  final  extinction.  On  this 
point,  however,  more  and  better  evidence  than  any  yet  obtained  is 
necessarj^,  before  we  can  consider  the  cotemporaneity  of  man  and  the 
elephant  in  America  as  proven.  The  wanting  proof  may  be  obtained 
to-morrow,  but  to-day  we  are  without  it. 

The  pictures  w^hich  geology  holds  up  to  our  view  of  North  America 
during  the  tertiary  ages  are  in  all  respects,  but  one,  more  attractive 
and  interesting  than  could  be  drawn  from  its  present  aspects.  Then  a 
warm  and  genial  climate  prevailed  from  the  Gulf  to  the  Arctic  Sea ;  the 
Canadian  highlands  were  higher,  but  the  Eocky  Mountains  lower  and 
less  broad.  Most  of  the  continent  exhibited  an  undulating  surface, 
rounded  hills  and  broad  valleys  covered  with  forests  grander  than  any  of 
the  present  day,  or  wide  expanses  of  rich  savannah,  over  which  roamed 
countless  herds  of  animals,  many  of  gigantic  size,  of  which  our  present 
meager  fauna  retains  but  a  few  dwarfed  representatives.  Noble  rivers 
flowed  through  plains  and  valleys,  and  sea-like  lakes,  broader  and  more 
numerous  than  those  the  continent  now  bears,  diversified  the  scenery. 
Through  unnumbered  ages  the  seasons  ran  their  ceaseless  course,  the  sun 
rose  and  set,  moons  waxed  and  waned  over  this  fair  land,  but  no  human 
eye  was  there  to  mark  its  beauty,  nor  human  intellect  to  control  and  use  its 
exuberimt  fertility.  Flowers  opened  their  many-colored  petals  on  mea- 
dow and  hill-side,  and  filled  the  air  with  their  perfumes,  but  only  for  the 
delectation  of  the  wandering  bee.  Fruits  ripened  in  the  sun,  but  there 
was  no  hand  there  to  i)luck,  nor  any  speaking  tongue  to  taste.  Birds 
sang  in  the  trees,  but  for  no  ears  but  their  own.  The  surface  of  lake  or 
river  was  whitened  by  no  sail,  nor  furrowed  by  any  prow  but  the  breast 
of  the  water-fowl ;  and  the  far-reaching  shores  echoed  no  sound  but  the 
dash  of  the  waves  and  the  lowing  of  the  herds  that  slaked  their  thirst  in 
the  crystal  waters. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       339 

Life  aud  beauty  were  everywhere,  and  man,  tbe  great  destroyer,  bad 
not  yet  come;  but  not  all  was  peace  and  barmony  in  tbis  Arcadia.  The 
forces  of  nature  are  always  at  war,  and  redundant  life  compels  abundant 
deatb.  Tbe  innumerable  species  of  animals  and  plants  bad  eacb  its 
hereditary  enemy,  and  tbe  struggle  of  life  was  so  sharp  and  bitter  that 
in  tbe  lapse  of  ages  many  genera  and  species  were  blotted  out  forever. 

The  herds  of  herbivores — which  included  all  the  genera  now  living  on 
tbe  earth's  surface,  with  many  strange  forms  long  since  extinct — formed 
the  prey  of  carnivores  commensurate  to  these  in  power  and  numbers. 
The  coo  of  the  dove  and  tbe  whistle  of  the  quail  were  answered  by  the 
scream  of  the  eagle,  and  tbe  lowing  of  herds  and  the  bleating  of  flocks 
come  to  the  ear  of  the  imagination  mingled  with  the  roar  of  the  lion,  the 
bowl  of  the  wolf,  and  the  despairing  cry  of  tbe  victim.  Yielding  to  the 
slow-acting  but  irresistible  forces  of  nature,  eacb  in  succession  of  these 
various  animal  forms  has  disappeared  till  all  have  passed  away  or  been 
changed  to  their  modern  representatives,  while  tbe  country  they  inhab- 
ited, by  the  upheaval  of  its  mountains,  the  deepening  of  its  valleys,  tbe 
filling  and  draining  of  its  great  lakes  has  become  what  it  is. 

These  changes  which  I  Iiave  reviewed  in  an  hour  seem  like  the  swiftly- 
consecutive  pictures  of  the  phantasmagoria  or  the  shifting  scenes  of  the 
drama,  but  the  ajons  of  time  in  which  they  were  effected  are  simply  infinite 
and  incomprehensible  to  us.  We  have  no  reason  to  suppose  that  terra 
firma  was  less  firm,  or  that  the  order  of  nature  in  which  no  change  is 
recorded  within  the  historic  period,  was  less  constant  then  than  now\ 
At  the  present  rate  of  change — throwing  out  man's  influence — a  period 
infinite  to  us  would  be  required  to  revolutionize  the  climate,  flora,  and 
fauna,  but  there  is  no  evidence  that  changes  were  more  rapid  during  tbe 
tertiary  ages. 

Every  day  sees  something  taken  from  tbe  rocky  barrier  of  Niagara  ; 
and,  geologically  speaking,  at  no  remote  time  our  great  lakes  will  have 
shared  the  fate  of  those  that  once  existed  at  tbeftir  West.  •  Already  they 
have  been  reduced  to  less  than  half  their  former  area,  and  the  water  level 
has  been  depressed  three  hundred  feet  or  more.  This  process  is  i^retty 
sure  to  go  until  they  are  completely  emptied. 

The  cities  that  now  stand  upon  their  banks  will,  ere  that  time,  have 
gTown  colossal  in  size,  then  gray  with  age,  then  have  fallen  into  decadence 
and  their  sites  be  long  forgotten,  but  in  tbe  sediments  that  are  now 
accumulating  in  these  lake  basins  will  lie  many  a  wreck  and  skeleton, 
tree  trunk  and  floated  leaf.  Near  tbe  city  sites  and  old  river  mouths 
these  sediments  will  be  full  of  relics  that  will  illustrate  and  explain  the 
mingled  comedy  and  tragedy  of  human  life.  These  relics  the  geologist 
of  the  future  will  doubtless  gather  and  study  and  moralize  over,  as  we 
do  the  records  of  the  tertiary  ages.  Doubtless  be  will  be  taught  the 
same  lesson  we  are,  that  human  life  is  infinitely  short,  and  human  achieve- 
ment utterly  insignificant.  Let  us  hope  that  this  future  man,  purer  in 
morals  and  clearer  in  intellect  than  we,  may  find  as  much  to  admire  in 
the  records  of  this  first  epoch  of  the  reign  of  man  as  we  do  in  those  or 
the  reign  of  mammals. 


340       GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TEERITORIES. 

IV.— REPORT  ON  THE  VERTEBRATE  FOSSILS  OF 
THE  TERTIARY  FORMATIONS  OF  THE  WEST. 

By  Peof.  Joseph  Leidy. 

In  tbe  present  report  the  Avriter  has  simply  given  a  brief  notice  of 
the  various  vertebrated  animals  whose  fossil  remains  hfive  been  collected 
in  the  tertiary  deposits  of  the  West.  For  a  full  account  of  most  of  the 
extinct  mammals  which  are  subjects  of  notice,  the  reader  is  referred  to 
the  work  entitled  "  The  Extinct  Mammalian  Fauna  of  Dakota  and  Ne- 
braska," published  in  the  seventh  volume  of  the  Journal  of  the  Academy 
of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia.  More  or  less  full  accounts  of  the 
other  animals,  also  the  subjects  of  notice,  are  published  in  Owen's  Geo- 
logical Survey,  the  fifth  volume  of  the  Pacific  Railroad  Eeports,  the  con- 
tributions of  the  Smithsonian  Institution,  and  the  Proceedings  of  the 
Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  Philadelphia. 

The  vertebrate  fossils  collected  in  Professor  Hayden's  last  two  expe- 
ditions, though  forming  part  of  the  material  of  the  report,  will  be  more 
fully  described  and  illustrated  in  an  extended  treatise  in  future. 

The  short  time  allowed  for  the  preparation  of  the  report  amid  the 
many  duties  of  the  writer,  must  serve  as  his  apology  for  its  imperfect 
character. 

The. tertiary  formations  of  the  North  AmeHcan  continent  west  of  the 
Mississippi,  so  far  as  they  have  been  explored,  in  the  States  and  Terri- 
tories of  Kansas,  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Wyoming,  Colorado,  Idaho,  Cali- 
fornia, and  Oregon,  have  yielded  a  great  quantity  of  remains  of  verte- 
brated animals,  indicating  ditfereut  races  whicli  existed  in  earlier  a^^es, 
and  which  have  entirely  passed  away.  The  principal  deposits  from 
which  tbe  greater  number  of  fossil  remains  have  been  obtained  are 
those  of  the  mauvaises  terres  of  White  Eiver,  Dakota,  those  of  the 
valley  of  the  Niobrara  River,  Nebraska,  and  the  Bridger  Group  of  rocks, 
near  Fort  Bridger,  Wyoming.  The  deposits  especially  referred  to  ap- 
pear to  be  all  of  fresh-water  origin,  and  to  have  belonged  to  the  middle 
and  later  tertiary  epochs. 

Most  of  the  vertebrated  remains  submitted  to  the  examination  of  the 
author  are  part  of  the  valuable  fruits  of  the  geological  explorations  of 
Professor  Hayden,  either  engaged  in  expeditions  of  others,  or  under  his 
own  control.  Many  have  been  obtained  in  the  explorations  of  Dr. 
David  Dale  Owen,  i)r.  John  Evans,  Mr.  F.  B.  Meek,  Mr.  Clarence  King, 
and  others. 

By  far  the  greater  number  of  vertebrated  remains  are  those  of 
mammals,  though  some  of  the  same  or  cotemporaneous  formations  are 
rich  in  the  evidences  of  reptilian  life,  and  likewise  those  of  fishes. 

MAMMALIA. 

The  mammalian  remains  of  the  western  tertiary  formations  appear 
mainly  to  belong  to  the  miocene  period,  though  many  evidently  isertain 
to  a  later  age  than  tbe  others,  and  most  likely  belong  to  the  pliocene 
period.  Perhaps  also  a  few  of  the  remains  belong  at  least  to  the  later 
part  of  the  eocene  period,  especially  those  found  in  the  lowest  strata  of 
the  mauvaises  terres  of  White  River,  Dakota,  and  those  found  in  the 
Bridger  Group  of  tertiary  rocks  of  Wyoming. 

The  fossil   remains  of  mammals  thus  far  collected   in  the  western 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       341 

tertiary  formations  indicate  upwards  of  one  hundred  species,  mostly  of 
extinct  genera,  and  many  of  tliose  peculiar  to  tbe  Xortli  American  con- 
tinent. Notwitbstandinj^-  the  large  number  mentioned,  it  is  but  a 
meager  representation  of  tbe  extensive  faunne  to  which  they  belonged. 
Probably,  also,  it  is  but  a  small  proportion  of  the  nuiuber  which  will  be 
discovered  in  future  explorations.  Tbe  fossils  represent  nearly  all  the 
orders,  especially  tbose  of  Carnivora^  Buminantia,  Artiodactyla,  Ferris- 
sodactyla,  and  Solkhmgida.  Tbe  Rodenfia  and  Insectivora  are  also  fairly 
represented.  No  remains  of  Quadrumana,  Cheirojytera,  and,  singularly 
enough,  of  IlarsupiaUa,  have  been  discovered. 

CARNIYOEA. 

The  carnivorous  order  of  mammals  is  well  represented  by  remains  in 
the  tertiary  deposits  of  our  Western  Territories.  The  number  and 
variety  of  the  fossils  indicate  a  development  proportionate  to  the  teeming 
population  of  cotemporaneous  herbivora  which  supplied  the  flesh-eaters 
with  food. 

CAT^ID^. 

The  canine  family  during  the  iDliocene  was  represented,  as  in  later 
times,  by  several  species  of  wolves ;  during  the  miocene  period  it  was 
represented  by  an  allied  and  subsequently  extinct  genus,  the  Ampliicyon^ 
which  also  existed  cotemporaneously  in  Europe. 

CANIS, 

The  genus  to  which  our  wolves,  dogs,  and  foxes  belong. 

Canis  sa'viis. — An  extinct  species  of  wolf,  i)robably  a  near  relative,  if 
not  the  progenitor  of  the  existing  American  wolf,  {Canis  occidentalism)  is 
indicated  by  portions  of  two  lower  jaws  obtained  by  Professor  Hayden 
from  the  sands  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver,  Nebraska, 

Canis  femerarius. — A  second  species  of  wolf,  intermediate  in  size  with 
theprairie  wolf  {Canis  latrans,)  and  the  red  fox  {Canis  fiilvus ;)  is  indi- 
cated by  fragments  of  jaws  found  in  company  with  the  preceding  speci- 
mens. 

Canis  vafer. — A  species  of  fox,  about  the  size  of  the  living  swift  fox 
{Canis  velox,)  is  indicated  by  portions  of  jaws  obtained  by  Professor 
Hayden,  in  association  with  the  preceding  specimens. 

Canis  Haydeni. — An  extinct  species,  of  more  robust  ijroportions  than 
any  of  the  living  American  wolves ;  indicated  by  the  greater  portion  of 
one  side  of  a  lower  jaw ;  also  found  by  Professor  Hayden  in  the  same 
locality  as  the  former  specimens. 

The  remains  of  four  species  of  wolves  found  in  association,  in  the 
Niobrara  sands,  indicate  that  these  ravenous  animals  were  abundant 
during  the  later  tertiary  period.  Their  number  appears  to  have  held  a 
relationship  with  the  cotemporaneous  abundance  of  herbivorous  ani- 
mals. 

AMPHICYON. 

An  extinct  genus  of  carnivorous  animals,  to  which  the  above  name 
has  been  given,  was  established  on  fossil  remains  discovered  in  the 
middle  tertiary  deposits  of  France  and  Germany.  The  general  form  and 
construction  of  the  skull  and  the  character  of  the  teeth  indicate  a  near 
relationship  in  the  animals  of  this  genus  to  the  w^olves.  A  dozen  species 
have  been  indicated  as  having  formerly  lived  in  Europe;  one  of  them 
having  been  viewed  by  Cuvier  as  a  "  dog  of  gigantic  proportions." 

The  remains  of  two  species  referable  to  the  same  genus  have  been  dis- 


342  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

covered  in  the  miocene  tertiary  deposits  of  the  Mauvaises  Terres  of  White 
Eiver,  Dakota.    They  are  as  follows : 

Ampliicyon  vetus. — A  species  about  the  size  of  the  living  prairie  wolf 
{Canis  latrans,)  indicated  by  the  mutilated  cranium  and  fragments  of 
jaws,  with  teeth ;  discovered  by  Dr.  John  Evans  and  Professsor  ITayden. 

AmjpMcyon  gracilis. — A  small  species,  less  in  size  than  any  of  the  ex- 
isting American  foxes.  It  is  indicated  by  fragments  of  jaws,  with  teeth, 
and  the  facial  portion  of  a  skull  of  several  individuals ;  all  discovered  by 
Professor  Hay  den. 

HY^NODONTIDiE 

Is  the  name  given  to  an  extinct  and  remarkable  family  of  animals, 
exhibiting  a  relationship  to  the  canine  family  on  one  hand,  and  the  fe- 
line family  on  the  other,  together  with  ties  to  others. 

HY^NODON. 

One  of  the  most  remarkable  extinct  genera  of  carnivorous  animals  is 
that  to  which  the  above  name  has  been  given.  It  belongs  to  no  exist- 
ing family,  and,  indeed,  is  so  peculiar  as  to  have  become  the  type  of  an 
independent  family.  In  anatomical  character  it  partakes  of  those  of 
the  wolf,  the  tiger,  the  hyena,  and  the  weasel,  the  raccoon,  and  the 
opossum.  Originally  discovered  in  Prance,  the  remains  of  five  or  six 
species  have  been  obtained  from  the  lower  miocene  and  upper  eocene 
formations  of  that  country.  Three  American  species  are  indicated  by 
fossil  remains  obtained  in  the  lower  miocene  tertiary  beds  of  the  Mau- 
vaises Terres  of  White  Eiver,  by  Dr.  John  Evans,  Dr.  Benjamin  "Shu- 
mard, Professor  Hayden,  and  Mr.  Meek.    These  species  are  as  follows: 

Hywnodon  horridus. — The  largest  known  species,  and  one  of  the  most 
sanguinary  of  terrestrial  mammals  that  has  ever  existed.  Cotempora- 
neous  with  a  multitude  of  herbivorous  animals,  many  of  which  were 
gregarious  in  extensive  herds,  it  was  no  doubt  a  fearful  scourge  to 
them.  It  is  indicated  by  the  greater  i)ortious  of  three  skulls,  together 
with  fragments  of  jaws  and  teeth  of  other  individuals.  The  size  of 
the  aniuial  was  about  equal  to  that  of  the  largest  black  bears.  The 
specimens  of  jaws  and  teeth  discovered  have  afforded  us  a  view  of  the 
entire  dentition  of  the  animal,  which  is  truly  formidable.  Besides  the 
l)owerfnl  canine  teeth,  the  series  of  molars  affords  the  unusual  exhibi- 
tion of  three  teeth,  constructed  nearly  after  the  model  of  the  single  sec- 
torial tooth  of  other  carnivorous  mammals,  though  the  last  one  alone 
reaches  the  full  development  of  the  corresponding  tooth  in  the  latter. 

The  true  sectorial  molars  of  hysenodon,  the  last  of  the  series  of  teeth, 
are  constructed  like  those  of  the  lion  and  tiger.  These  teeth,  the 
broadest  and  strongest  of  all,  combine  the  mechanism  of  the  wedge 
and  the  scissors,  and  are  admirably  adapted  to  cutting  animal  tissues, 
including  bones. 

The  large  temporal  fossae  occupying  the  sides  of  the  skull,  and  sepa- 
rated only  by  a  long  and  high  median  ridge,  sufficiently  prove  the 
great  power  of  the  muscles  v/hich  operated  on  the  long  levers  of  the 
lower  jaw.  Certainly  no  other  animal  which  lived  cotemporaneously 
mth  tills  formidable  creature  could  have  resisted  its  power.  The  skull 
of  the  species  measures  about  a  foot  in  length. 

Hyccnodon  crucians. — This  is  the  name  given  to  a  species  not  much 
exceeding  in  size  the  red  fox  (Canis  Jiilr us.)  A  half  dozen  imperfect 
skulls  of  the  animal,  together  with  fragments  of  jaws  and  teeth,  and 
other  bones,  have  been  discovered.    Though  small,  compared  with  the 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       343 

preceding  species,  this  one  was  no  doubt  equally  destructive  to  tlie 
smaller  herbivorous  animals. 

Hyccnodon  crucntus. — A  species  thus  named,  intermediate  in  size  to 
the  two  foregoiug,  is  indicated  by  several  fragments  of  jaws  and  teeth 
found  in  association  with  the  remains  of  the  former. 

FELIDiE. 

The  feline  animals  forming  the  family  with  the  above  name  were 
well  represented  among  the  carnivores  of  both  the  middle  and  later 
tertiary  periods  of  Dakota  and  Nebraska. 

PSEUD^LTJRTJS. 

This  genus,  differing  from  that  of  felis  or  the  true  cats  only  in  the 
possession  of  an  additional  small  tooth  to  the  molar  series  of  the  lower 
jaw,  was  originally  named  from  remains  found  in  the  middle  tertiary 
formation  of  France. 

Pseudaiunts  intrejyidus. — This  species  is  indicated  by  a  well-preserved 
lower  jaw,  discovered  by  Professor  Hayden  in  the  pliocene  sands  of 
the  Niobrara  Valley  of  Nebraska.  It  was  intermediate  in  size  to  the 
panther  f  Felis  concolorj  and  the  lynx,  f  Fells  canadensis  J  and  in  ana- 
tomical character  and  habits  was  no  doubt  verj^  similar. 

DREPANODON. 

This  remarkable  feline  genus,  fortunately  for  animals  of  a  more  peace- 
ful nature,  now  utterly  extinct,  during  the  tertiary  period  appears  to 
have  had  a  wide  range  of  distribution  throughout  the  earth.  Its  re- 
mains have  been  discovered  in  the  middl<3t.,and  later  tertiary  formations 
of  Western  Europe,  Greece,  the  sub-Himalayan  Mountains  of  Asia,  and 
of  both  Americas.  Several  of  the  larger  species  equaled  in  size  the 
lion  and  tiger,  and,  judging  from  their  formidable  array  of  destructive 
weapons,  were  of  even  greater  ferocity.  In  comparison  with  the  exist- 
ing feline  animals  they  are  especially  marked  by  the  greater  propor- 
tionate size  and  compressed  form  of  the  upper  canine  teeth,  which  have 
given  to  the  animals  the  name  of  saber-toothed  tigers. 

Two  species  of  the  genus  appear  to  have  inhabited  Dakota  during 
the  formation  of  the  mauvaises  terres  deposits  of  White  Eiver. 

Drepaiwdon  primwvus. — A  species  not  quite  so  large  as  the  living 
panther  is  indicated  by  a  number  of  skulls,  jaw  fragments  with  teeth, 
and  other  bones,  first  collected  by  the  late  Drs.  Evans  and  Shumard,  and 
subsequently  by  Professor  Hayden  and  Mr.  Meek.  Two  of  the  skulls 
that  have  been  found  exhibit  the  marks  of  conflict  with  some  equally 
rapacious  animal,  most  probably  the  largest  Hyamodon,  as  the  depres- 
sions made  by  the  teeth  on  opposite  sides  of  the  specimens  exactly  cor- 
respond with  the  prints  of  tbe  canines  of  the  latter. 

Brepanodon  occidentalis. — The  second  si)ecies,  indicated  by  several  jaw 
fragments,  discovered  by  Dr.  Hayden,  Avas  about  the  size  of  the  exist- 
ing panther. 

DINICTIS. 

This  name  has  been  appropriated  to  an  extinct  genus  of  feline  ani- 
mals, represented  by  remains,  thus  far  only  discovered  in  the  mauvaises 
terres  miocene  deposits  of  AVhite  Eiver,  Dakota.  It  is  nearly  allied  to 
the  preceding  genus,  but  differs  from  it  in  the  possession  of  two  addi- 
tional teeth  to  the  molar  series  of  the  lov.er  jaw. 

JDinictis  feUna.—A  unique  species,  indicated  by  two  nearly  comijlete 


344  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

skulls,  botli  discovered  by  Professor  Hayden.  The  animal  was  rather 
less  in  size  than  the  existing  panther,  and  about  equaled  the  smaller  spe- 
cies of  Drepanodon,  with  which  it  was  cotemporaneous.  It  possessed  the 
same  formidable  character  of  upper  canines  as  in  the  latter  genus.  From 
the  number  and  disposition  of  the  teeth,  according  with  those  of  the 
weasel,  it  has  been  called  the  saber-toothed  weasel.  The  skull  measures 
six  and  a  quarter  inches  in  length. 

^LUEODON. 

An  extinct  genus,  probably  feline,  perhaps  canine,  distinguished  by 
the  above  name,  is  founded  on  an  isolated  tooth  discovered  by  Professor 
Hayden  in  the  pliocene  sands  of  the  Mobrara  Valley.  The  tooth  is  an 
upper  sectorial  molar,  and  is  intermediate  in  character  to  that  of  the 
wolves  and  cats. 

^lurodon  ferox. — The  species  was  nearly  as  large  as  the  Bengal  tiger. 

PATKIOFELIS. 

This  name  has  been  appropriated  to  another  extinct  and  supposed 
feline  genus,  founded  on  fragments  of  a  fossil  jaw  obtained  by  Profes- 
sor Hayden  from  the  tertiary  formation  near  Port  Bridger,  Wyoming. 

Patriofelis  ulta. — The  species  was  rather  larger  than  our  panther. 
The  length  of  its  lower  jaw  is  about  six  inches. 

LEPTARCTUS. 

An  extinct  genus,  to  which  the  above  name  has  been  given,  is  in- 
ferred to  have  existed  during  the  tertiary  period,  from  a  single  tooth 
discovered  by  Professor  Hayden,  in  association  with  remains  of  extinct 
equine  genera,  at  Bijou  Hill,  east  of  the  Missouri  Eiver,  about  ten  miles 
below  the  mouth  of  White  Eiver,  Dakota.  The  tooth  apparently  indi- 
cates a  carnivorous  animal  allied  to  the  living  coati  of  South  America. 

Leptarctus  primus. — The  siiecies  was  about  the  size  of  the  raccoon. 

NOTHARCTUS. 

An  extinct  genus,  with  the  above  name,  is  founded  on  a  portion  of 
the  lower  jaw,  obtained  during  the  last  expedition  of  Professor  Hayden. 
It  was  discovered  on  Black's  Fork,  and  pertains  to  the  Bridger  tertiary 
deposit. 

XotJiarctns  tenehrosns. — The  species  distinguished  by  this  name  was 
about  two-thirds  the  size  of  the  raccoon,  to  which  it  was  also  related. 

EUMINANTIA. 

The  ruminating  order  of  mammals  is  represented  by  an  abundance  of 
remains  in  the  western  tertiary  deposits.  Most  of  the  members  not  only 
belong  to  extinct  genera,  but  to  such  as  are  peculiar  to  the  North  Amer- 
ican continent. 

BOVID^. 
Bison. 

Our  western  bufialo,  or  bison,  was  probably  represented  during 
the  post-pliocene  or  quaternary  period  by  a  much  larger  animal,  the 
remains  of  which  have  been  found,  in  association  with  those  of  the 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  345 

American  mastodon,  both  in  the  eastern  and  western  portions  of  the 
.  continent. 

Bison  latifrons. — The  great  extinct  "bison  of  America  was  originally 
indicated  by  a  portion  of  a  skull  discovered  on  a  tributary  of  the  Ohio 
Eiver  about  a  dozen  miles  from  the  famous  deposit  of  bones,  Big-Bone 
Lick,  Kentucky.  Remains  liave  also  been  found  in  the  latter  locality,  on 
the  Brazos  River,  Texas,  and  elsewhere.  The  cranial  portion  of  a  skull, 
apparently  of  the  same  species,  was  discovered  in  California,  by  Walter 
Brown,  of  San  Francisco,  and  was  presented  to  the  Academy  oi'  Natural 
Sciences  of  Philadelphia.  The  species  was  about  as  large  as  the  living 
buffalo  or  arnee  of  India  and  Java. 

OREODONTIDJE. 

The  above  name  is  given  to  an  extinct  family  of  animals,  the  remains 
of  which,  discovered  in  the  AVestern  Territories  of  the  United  States, 
indicate  that  during  the  tertiary  period  it  embraced  many  genera  and 
species.  The  members  of  the  family  in  anatomical  character  exhibit 
strong  suilline  affinities,  while  the  structure  of  their  grinding  teeth 
indicate  them  to  have  chewed  the  cud  like  our  ruminating  animals. 
Their  feet  were  constructed  nearly  as  in.  the  hog,  and,  as  in  this  animal, 
were  provided  with  four  toes. 

The  skull  of  the  oreodonts  approaches  in  form  that  of  the  peccaries. 
The  cranial  portion  resembles  that  of  the  camel,  and,  as  in  this,  is  horn- 
less. The  temporal  fossse  are  large  and  separated  by  a  median  sagit- 
tal crest,  as  in  the  camel.  The  orbits  are  closed  behind  by  an  arch,  as 
in  the  latter,  and  other  living  ruminants.  Large  and  comparatively 
deep  depressions  occupy  a  position  just  in  advance  of  the  orbits,  as  in 
the  living  deer  family,  but  no  unossilied  spaces  occupy  any  part  of  the 
face.  The  teeth  in  both  jaws  form  nearly  unbroken  arches,  a  condition 
in  which  we  find  none  of  the  allied  living  families,  and  but  few  of  any 
other  living  mammalia.  Well-developed  incisors  occupy  both  jaws,  such 
as  exist  alone  in  the  lower  jaw  of  living  ruminating  animals.  The 
canine  teeth  approach  in  character  most  nearly  those  of  suilline  ani- 
mals. The  grinders  are  constructed  like  those  of  the  living  ruminants, 
resembling  most  nearly  those  of  the  deer  family. 

OREODON. 

The  remains  of  this  genus  are  of  all  other  fossils  the  most  abundant 
of  those  which  have  been  discovered  in  the  miocene  tertiary  deposits  of 
the  mauvaises  terres  of  White  River,  Dakota.  Two  species  especially, 
judging  from  the  great  quantity  of  their  remains  which  have  been  col- 
lected, appear  to  have  formerly  existed  in  immense  numbers.  They 
were  most  likely  gregarious,  in  the  manner  of  the  existing  peccaries,  and, 
like  the  modern  bison,  roamed  together  in  great  herds  over  the  exten- 
sive prairies  of  the  West.  Compared  with  the  latter  animal  they  were 
insignificant  in  size,  and  in  this  respect  approached  the  former. 

Oreodon  Culbertsoni. — This  species,  the  remains  of  which  have  been  dis- 
covered in  the  greatest  abundance,  was  first  brought  to  our  notice  by 
Messrs  Alexander  and  Thaddeus  Culbertson.  These  gentlemen,  brothers, 
engagediu  the  fur  trade,  were  the  first  to  collect  fossils  from  the  mauvaises 
terres,  and  place  them  in  the  hands  of  naturalists.  Oreodon  Culbertsoni, 
named  in  their  honor,  was  intermediate  in  size  and  apijcarance  to  the  do- 
mestic sheep  and  the  collared  peccary.  Skulls,  fragments  of  jaws  with 
teeth,  and  other  bones  of  the  skeleton  of  upwards  of  a  thousand  individu- 
als of  this  species  have  come  under  the  inspection  of  the  writer.  *  In  the 


346       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEREITORIES. 

large  number  of  specimens  representing  so  many  individuals,  consider- 
ablte  variation  in  the  details  of  structure  liave  been  noticed.  The  fossils 
also  exhibit  great  variety  in  the  condition  of  preservation.  Among  them 
are  some  crushed  in  such  a  way  as  to  indicate  that  the  condition  was  due 
to  the  bite  of  certain  of  the  powerful  carnivores  which  were  contemxjo- 
raneous  with  the  animals. 

Oreodon  gracilis. — A  small  species,  about  the  size  of  a  musk  deer ;  was 
an  associate  of  the  former.  It  was  probably  equally  abundant,  but  the 
greater  delicacy  of  its  skeleton  rendered  it  more  liable  to  a  variety  of  ac- 
cidents insuring  destruction. 

Oreodon  major. — A  larger  sj)eciesthan  either  of  the  former,  indicated  by 
a  few  remains,  among  them  a  nearly  entire  and  well-preserved  skull,  dis- 
covered by  Professor  Hay  den  in  the  mauvaises  terres  deposits  of  White 
Eiver.  The  skull  measures  about  ten  inches  in  length  ;  and  the  animal  was 
about  as  large  as  the  ordinary  wolf  or  the  largest-sized  dog.  The  species  is 
remarkable  for  the  large  size  of  its  ear  capsules,  which  not  only  greatly 
exceeded  in  i^roportion  those  of  the  Oreodon  Culhertsoni  and  O.  gracilis, 
but  are  larger  than  in  the  existing  hog.  What  relationship  the  inflated 
or  enlarged  condition  of  the  ear  capsules  has  with  the  aciiteness  of  hear- 
ing or  the  habits  of  animals  has  not  been  clearly  indicated.  The  com- 
parative scarcity  of  the  remains  of  Oreodon  major  in  the  localities  in 
which  those  of  the  preceding  species  were  obtained  leads  me  to  suspect 
that  the  former  was  i)robably  not  cotemporaneous  with  the  latter,  or 
at  least  did  not  inhabit  the  same  places. 

A  few  remains  from  the  maxivaises  terres  of  White  Eiver,  which  the 
writer  had  referred  to  two  species  of  oreodon,  distinct  from  the  preceding 
under  the  names  of  Oreodon  affinis  and  0.  hyhridus,  I  suspect  to  have  per- 
tained to  hybrids ;  probably  of  0.  gracilis  and  0.  major. 

In  ISGG,  Professor  Hayden  obtained  among  a  number  of  reiuains  of 
Oreodon  Culbertsoni,  from  the  mauvaises  terres,  a  specimen  of  a  skull, 
agreeing  in  size,  form,  and  details  with  that  of  the  species  just  named, 
except  that  it  had  the  ear  capsules  proportionately  as  well  developed  as 
in  0.  major.  I  referred  it  to  a  distinct  species  with  the  name  of  Oreodon 
bullatus,  but  I  suspect  it  pertained  to  a  hybrid  between  0.  major 
and  0.  Culbertsoni.  It  is  not  unlikely  that  Oreodon  major  may  have  lived 
in  a  locality  skirting  that  inhabited  by  the  species  0.  Culhertsoni 
and  0.  gracilis.  The  intimate  relationship  anatomically  and  physiolo- 
gically would  readily  allow  of  the  hybridization  which  has  been  sus- 
pected. 

Oreodon  siqierbus. — Last  autumn  the  writer  received  through  the 
Smithsonian  Institution,  for  examination,  a  collection  of  mammalian 
fossils  from  the  Eeverend  Thomas  Condon,  of  Dalles  City,  Oregon. 
They  were  mainly  collected  in  the  valley  of  Bridge  Creek,  a  tributary  of 
John  Day's  Eiver,  Oregon.  The  fossils  in  general  appearance  and  con- 
dition of  petrifaction  resemble  those  of  the  mauvaises  terres  of  White 
Eiver,  Dakota. 

The  greater  number  and  more  striking  specimens  belong  apparently 
to  a  species  of  oreodon  larger  than  any  of  those  from  the  locality  last 
named.  The  skull  of  the  animal  was  about  fourteen  inches  in  length. 
The  ear  capsules  are  inflated  and  liroportionately  as  large  as  in  0.  major. 
The  face  is  rather  more  abruptly  narrowed  in  advance  of  the  orbits  than 
in  the  latter ;  the  infra-orbital  arches  are  proportionately  deeper,  and 
the  lachrymal  depressions  are  shallower.  The  teeth  have  the  same  con- 
stitution as  in  the  mauvaises  terres  oreodons,  but  the  canines  and  pre- 
molars are  x)roportiouate]y  wider  and  thinner,  and  thus  appear  of  a  more 
compressed  character.    The  inferior  canine  tooth,  at  the  base  of  the 


GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES.       347 

c^o^yn  is  an  inch  in  breadtb  fore  and  aft.    The  species  I  have  distinguished 
by  the  name  heading  this  article. 

Mingled  with  the  remains  of  0.  sujperhtis  are  a  few  fragments,  appa- 
rently referable  to  0.  Culhertsoni. 

MEEYCOCHCERUS. 

As  the  name  of  the  genus  indicates,  a  ruminating  hog,  like  oreodon, 
and  pertaining  to  the  same  family.  It  is  closely  related  to  the  latter 
genus,  and  perhaps  by  many  naturalists  would  be  regarded  as  the  same. 
Its  chief  differences  consist  in  the  proportionately  great  depth  of  the 
infra-orbital  arch,  the  abruptly-narrowed  face,  the  comparatively-shallow 
lachrymal  depression,  and  the  more  posterior  position  of  the  infra-orb- 
ital foramen.  The  characters  thus  presented  were  more  sharply  defined 
previous  to  the  recent  discovery  of  a  second  species  of  the  genus, 
which  is  intermediate,  and  therefore  still  more  nearly  approximates  the 
two  genera,  if  it  does  not  merge  the  one  into  the  other. 

Merycocliccrus  proprius — The  remains  of  this  species  were  discovered  by 
ProfessorHayden,  during  Warren's  expedition  of  1857,  on  the  head- waters 
of  the  Niobrara  Eiver,  opposite  Fort  Laramie.  They  were  embedded  in  a 
dull,  reddish-brown  sandstone,  which  Professor  Haydeu  refers  to  the  mio- 
cene  tertiary  period.  The  animal  was  larger  than  any  of  the  species  of  ore- 
odon, except  the  0.  superhus  of  Oregon,  which  it  approximated  in  size. 
The  jaws  are  of  more  robust  proportions  than  in  the  oreodons,  and  the 
infra-orbital  arches  of  greater  depth.  In  this  the  latter  measure  nearly 
two  inches;  in  0.  supcrhus^  an  animal  of  about  the  same  size,  an  inch  and 
a  half;  in  0.  major,  three-fourths  of  an  inch. 

Merycoclioerus  proprius  appears  not  to  have  inhabited  the  same  local- 
ities with  the  oreodons,  at  least  cotemporaneously.  I  suspect  it  to  have 
lived  at  a  later  period,  and  perhaps,  on  the  theory  of  the  distinguished 
philosopher  Darwin,  may  have  been  the  successor  by  selection  of  the 
oreodons. 

Merycochcerus  rusticns. — A  second  species  of  the  genus  distinguished  by 
his  name  is  indicated  by  remains  recently  discovered  by  Professor  Hayden, 
on  the  Sweetwater  River,  eighteen  miles  west  of  Devil's  Gate,  Wyoming 
Territory.  The  animal  was  about  the  size  of  Oreodon  major,  but  is  readily 
distinguishable  through  the  anatomical  characters  that  separate  the  two 
genera  to  which  they  belong.  The  number  of  remains  of  M.  rusticus  ob- 
tained during  a  short  period  from  a  circumscribed  locality  indicate  the 
animal  to  have  been  abundant. 

MEEYCHYUS. 

Anothei"  genus  of  the  oreodont  family  to  which  the  above  name  has 
been  given  is  indicated  by  a  comparative  abundance  of  remains  discov- 
ered by  Professor  Hayden  during  Warren's  expedition  in  1857.  The 
fossils  were  found  in  the  loose  sands  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver,  and  are 
i;egarded  by  Professor  Hayden  as  being  of  more  recent  date  than  those 
of  the  oreodons,  the  age  of  the  formation  being  considered  as  later  ter- 
tiarj-  or  pliocene. 

Merychyus  is  clearly  related  to  oreodon  and  Merycocliccriis,  and,  like 
the  latter,  most  probably  is  the  successor  of  oreodon.  The  construction 
and  form  of  the  skull  and  teeth  are  nearly  alike  in  all  the  genera  men- 
tioned. 

The  true  molars  or  grinding  teeth  of  Merychyus  are  constructed  on 
the  same  plan  as  in  all  ordinary  ruminants,  recent  and  extinct,  and  are 
intermediate  in  character  with  those  which  have  short  crowns,  as'  in  the 


348       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEERITORIES. 

otber  oreodouts  and  the  deer,  and  those  wliicli  liave  long  crowns,  as 
in  the  camel  and  sheep. 

The  species  of  Merycliyus^  during  the  later  tertiary  period,  appear 
to  have  taken  the  place  of  the  oreodons  of  the  middle  tertiary  period. 
The  remains  discovered  appear  to  indicate  three  species  of  the  geuns. 

MerijcJujns  elegans. — A  small  S])ecies,  distinguished  l)y  this  name,  was 
intermediate  in  size  to  Oreodon  Culhertsoni  and  0.  gracilis,  or  \f  as  about  the 
size  of  the  existing  collared  peccar^'. 

Merychyus  medius. — This  species,  indicated  by  a  few  fragments,  was 
rather  larger  than  the  existing  lama  of  South  America. 

Merychyus  major. — Fragments  of  jaws  and  teeth  indicate  this  species 
to  have  been  about  the  size  otMerycoclioiriisiwopriuSy  and  nearly  as  large 
as  the  existing  camel. 

LEPTAUCHENIA.  ^ 

Another  esitinct  genus  of  ruminants  of  the  same  family  as  the  pre- 
ceding, distinguished  by  the  above  name,  was  first  indicated  by  a  few 
remains  discovered  by  Professor  Hayden  in  1855,  on  one  of  the  tributa- 
ries of  White  Eiver,  near  Eagle  Nest  Butte,  Dakota.  Subsequently, 
Professor  Hayden,  during  his  exploration  of  186G,  discovered  additional 
and  more  complete  remains  of  the  same  genus  on  White  Earth  Creek, 
a  tributary  of  White  Eiver,  Dakota.  The  fossils  are  attributed  by 
Professor  Hayden  to  the  miocene  formation. 

The  skull  of  Leptauclienia  has  the  general  form  Snd  construction  as 
in  the  i^receding  genera  of  oreodouts,  and  the  number,  form,  and  con- 
stitution of  the  teeth  are  nearly  the  same. 

The  ear  capsules  are  proportionately  larger  than  in  any  of  the  other 
members  of  the  family.  Large  unossified  spaces  exist  at  the  sides  of 
the  face,  extending  from  the  forehead  and  in  advance  of  the  lachrymal 
bones.  Similar  spaces  exist  in  the  living  deer  and  lama,  but  not  in  the 
other  oreodouts  so  far  as  known. 

Thetruemolar  teeth  or  grinders  of  Leptauclienia  most  nearly  resem- 
ble those  of  Merycliyus,  but  exhibit  differences.  The  median  Ibuttress- 
like  ridges  on  the  outer  part  of  the  upper  grinders  divide  the  crown  to 
the  fangs  more  completely  than  in  Merychyus;  and  in  the  lower  grind- 
ers the  crown  internally  is  divided  by  corresponding  ridges,  which  are 
nearly  or  quite  obsolete  in  Merychyus. 

The  fossil  remains  thus  far  discovered  indicate  the  existence  of  three 
species  of  Leptauchenia  during  the  miocene  period.  Cotemporaneous 
with  the  species  of  Oreodon  and  Merycochcerus  they  appear  to  have  been 
the  i^redecessors  of  the  species  of  Merychyus  of  the  pliocene  period .  They 
were  all  comparatively  small,  and  have  been  distinguished  by  the  follow- 
ing names : 

Leptauchenia  major. — The  largest  species  of  the  genus  was  intermedi- 
ate in  size  with  Oreodon  Culhertsoni  and  0.  gracilis.  The  length  of  its 
skull  was  about  five  and  three-quarter  inches. 

Lejitauchenia  decora. — Eather  smaller  than  0.  gracilis,  had  the  skull 
about  four  iuches  long. 

Leptauclienia  nitida. — The  smallest  of  the  species  was  about  the  size 
of  the  living  musk  deer.    Its  skull  is  three  and  a  half  inches  in  length. 

AGRIOOHOSRID^. 

Another  genus  of  extinct,  hog-like  ruminants,  allied  to  the  genera  of 
the  preceding  family,  is  nevertheless  so  peculiar  that  the  author  luis 
viewed  it  as  the  representative  of  a  distinct  family  to  which  he  has 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  349 

given  the  above  name.  Its  principal  features  clistiuguishiug  it  from  the 
oreouonts  are  as  follows  : 

The  orbits  are  open  behind,  or  not  separated  from,  the  temporal  fossfe, 
in  which  character  they  differ  from  those  of  all  known  ruminants,  recent 
or  extinct,  having  the  same  form  of  grinding  teeth.  No  lachrymal 
fossae  exist  in  front  of  the  orbits  as  in  the  oreodonts. 

The  number,  relation,  and  general  constitution  of  the  teeth  are  the 
same  as  in  the  latter ;  but  the  grinders  or  true  molars,  though  con- 
structed on  the  same  phm  as  in  the  oreodonts  and  the  ruminants  gen- 
erally, are  remarkable  for  their  transversely  spreading  character,  or  the 
comparative  shallowness  and  breadth  of  their  crowns.  The  last  pre- 
molar departs  from  the  usual  ruminant  pattern,  the  upper  having  three 
lobes  to  the  crown,  the  lower  four  lobes. 

AGRIOCHCERUS. 

Three  species  of  this  genus  have  apparently  been  recognized,  differ- 
ing little  in  size,  and  in  this  respect  approaching  0.  Culbertsoni. 
The  form  and  general  construction  of  the  skull  are  nearly  the  same  as 
in  the  latter.  Besides  the  orbits  being  open  behind,  and  the  absence  of 
lachrymal  fossae,  as  above  mentioned,  the  face,  in  comparison  with  that 
of  oreodon,  is  proportionately  wider  and  of  less  depth.  The  remains  of 
Agriochcenis  have  been  discovered  in  the  mauvaises  tcrres  of  Dakota, 
but  are  comparatively  rare. 

Agrioclwerus  antiqiius. — The  remains  of  this  species,  consisting  of  frag- 
ments of  jaws  and  teeth,  together  with  the  facial  portion  of  a  skull,  of 
two  individuals,  were  among  the  first  of  the  mammalian  fossils  collected 
in  the  mauvaises  terrcs  of  Dakota.  They  were  obtained  from  a  fur 
trader  by  the  late  Drt  Hiram  A.  Prout,  of  St.  Louis,  by  whom  they  were 
submitted  to  the  examination  of  the  writer.  Among  several  tons  of 
fossil  bones  subsequently  collected  in  the  mauvaises  terres  and  brought 
to  our  notice,  only  the  smallest  traces  of  this  species  were  detected. 

The  size  of  the  skull  was  about  equal  to  that  of  0.  Culbertsoni. 

Acjrioclioerus  latifrons. — This  species  is  indicated  by  an  almost  com- 
plete skull,  obtained  by  Professor  Hayden,  in  the  mauvaises  terres  of 
Dakota,  during  his  expedition  of  the  summer  of  1866.  It  differed  little 
in  size  from  the  preceding  species,  but  is  distinguishable  by  the  breadth 
of  its  forehead,  which  is  almost  one-third  greater.  Large  inflated  ear 
capsules  are  present  in  the  skull  ot  A.  latifrons,  proportionately  as  well 
developed  as  in  O.  major. 

The  skull  of  A.  latifrons  is  eight  and  a  half  inches  long. 

AgriocJicerus  major. — A  somewhat  larger  species  than  the  two  preced- 
ing, apparently  indicated  by  a  few  fragments. 

CA3IELID^. 

The  camel  family  at  the  present  time  is  represented  among  the  indig-' 
enous  animals  of  the  western  hemisphere  by  the  various  species  of 
the  lama  genus  of  South  America.  During  the  tertiary  period  many 
members  of  the  same  family  were  largely  distributed  in  the  western 
part  of  Xorth  America.  Recently  some  remains  discovered  in  Califor- 
nia, and  submitted  to  the  examination  of  the  writer  by  Professor  J.  D. 
Whitney,  indicate  a  species  of  lama  exceeding  in  size  the  existing 
camel.    The  species  has  been  named  Auchenia  or  Lama  calif ornica. 

CAMELOPS 

Is  the  name  of  an  extinct  genus  allied  to  the  lama,  indicated  by  a  jaw 
tragment  found  in  the  post  pliocene  gravel  drifts  of  Kansas.  The  si^ecies 
is  named  6'.  Icansanus. 


350  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITOEIES. 

PROCAMELUS. 

An  extinct  genus  established  on  remains  discovered  by  Professor  Hay- 
den  in  the  pliocene  sands  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver,  Nebraska.  Fragments 
of  jaws  and  teeth  exhibit  a  near  relationship  in  the  anatomical  charac- 
ters of  the  skull  to  that  of  the  existing  members  of  the  camel  family.  It 
possessed  a  greater  number  of  molar  teeth  than  the  camels  and  lamas. 
Three  species  of  the  genus  are  apparently  indicated  by  the  fossil  re- 
mains. 

Procamelus  rohustus. — The  largest  species,  founded  on  a  portion  of  a 
lower  jaw,  pertaining  to  an  animal  about  the  size  of  the  living  camel. 
Its  teeth  were  smaller  than  in  the  latter,  but  this  difference  was  fully  com- 
pensated in  the  greater  number  of  these  organs. 

Some  additional  remains  of  the  same  species  were  subsequently  dis- 
covered by  Professor  Hayden,  on  Little  White  lliver,  Dakota. 

Procamelus  occidei\taUs. — A  species  indicated  by  a  greater  number  of 
fossil  specimens  than  the  preceding,  was  about  two-thirds  the  size  of 
the  former.  Some  remains,  apparen^tly  of  the  same  animal,  subsequently 
discovered  on  the  Little  White  Elver,  Dakota,  lead  to  the  probability 
that  all  referred  to  the  si^ecies  thus  named  may  belong  to  the  female  of 
the  former  one. 

Procamelus  gracilis. — A  small  species,  not  larger  than  the  domestic 
sheep,  indicated  by  several  fragments  of  jaws  and  teeth. 

HOMOCAMELUS. 

An  extinct  genus,  closely  allied  to  the  former,  to  which  the  above 
name  is  given,  is  indicated  by  several  fragments  of  jaws  with  teeth,  ob- 
tained by  Professor  Hayden  in  the  pliocene  sands  of  the  Niobrara  River. 

Homocamelus  caninus. — The  species,  named  from  the  conspicuous  char- 
acter of  the  anterior  teeth  of  the  upper  jaw,  was  about  the  size  of  the 
living  lama. 

MERYCODUS. 

This  extinct  genus  of  ruminants  was  originally  founded  on  a  jaw  frag- 
ment discovered  by  Messrs.  Meek  and  Hayden,  in  1853,  on  Bijou  Hill, 
east  of  the  Missouri  Eiver.  Subsequently  Professor  Hayden  discovered 
additional  and  more  characteristic  remains  of  the  same,  mainly  consist- 
ing of  fragments  of  lower  jaws  with  teeth,  on  the  Niobrara  Eiver,  and 
on  Little  White  Eiver. 

Merycodus  necatus. — The  species  was  smaller  than  the  domestic  sheep. 

PCEBROTHERIUM, 

Another  extinct  genus  of  the  camel  family,  was  founded  on  the  greater 
portion  of  a  skull,  which  was  one  of  the  first  fossil  specimens  produced 
from  the  great  tertiary  cemeteries  of  the  West.  The  specimen  was  dis- 
covered by  Mr.  Alexander  Culbertson,  in  the  mauvaises  terres  of  White 
Eiver,  Dakota,  and  was  presented  in  1846  to  the  Academy  of  Natural 
Sciences  of  Philadelphia.  The  remains  of  the  genus  appear  to  be  exceed- 
ingly rare,  as  a  very  few  trifling  fragments  have  been  since  discovered. 
Pcebrotlierium  Wilsoni. — The  species,  approximating  in  size  the  domestic 
sheep,  is  named  in  honor  of  Dr.  T.  B.  Wilson,  late  of  Philadelphia,  and  a 
distinguished  patron  of  natural  history. 

PROTOMERYX. 

• 

Another  extinct  member  of  the  camel  family,  distinguished  by  the 
above  name,  is  founded  on  a  jaw  fragment  obtained  by  Professor  Hay- 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVFA'    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  351 

den  from  the  miocene  deposit  of  Bear  Creek,  a  tributary  of  White  Eiver, 
Dakota.  It  api)arently  possessed  the  same  number  and  arrangement  of 
teeth  as  the  former  two  genera. 

Frotomeryx  Halll. — The  species,  about  the  size  of  the  domestic  sheep, 
is  named  in  honor  of  James  Hall,  the  eminent  geologist  and  paleontol- 
ogist. 

MEGALO^IEEYX. 

This  generic  name  has  been  appropriated  to  a  large  ruminant  appa- 
rently of  the  camel  family.  It  is  founded  on  a  couple  of  specimens  of 
large,  inferior  molar  teeth  obtained  by  Professor  Hayden  from  the  plio- 
cene sands  of  the  Mobrara  Eiver.  The  genus  is  probably  the  same  as 
that  to  which  our  living  lama  and  alpaca  belong. 

Mcgalomeryx  niohrarensls. — The  species  exceeded  in  size  the  existing 
camel. 

MOSCHID^. 

The  family  to  which  pertain  the  musks,  or  musk-deers  at  the  present 
period,  is  chiefly  confined  to  the  continent  of  Asia  and  the  adjacent 
islands.  It  was  represented  during  the  miocene  tertiary  period  in 
]!!J"orth  America,  by  an  extinct  genus  to  Avhich  the  following  name  has 
been  given : 

LEPTO:MErtYX. 

The  genus  was  first  characterized  by  a  mutilated  skull,  discovered  by 
Dr.  John  Evans,  in  the  Mauvaises  Terres  of  White  Eiver,  Dakota.  Sub- 
sequently Professor  Hayden  obtained  portions  of  several  less  well-pre- 
served skulls,  together  with  many  fragments  of  jaws  and  teeth,  partly 
from  the  same  locality  and  iDartly  from  Bear  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the 
Cheyenne  Eiver. 

Leptomeryx  Evansi. — The  skull  indicatesan  animal  about  the  size  of  the 
musk  deer  of  Thibet.  The  species  is  named  in  honor  of  its  discoverer, 
the  late  Dr.  John  Evans. 

CERVID^. 

The  deer  family,  so  far  as  known,  is  poorly  represented  in  the  tertiary 
and  quaternary  deposits  of  the  Xorth  American  continent.  However, 
a  larger  species  of  deer  than  any  now  living  is  indicated  by  remains 
found  in  association  with  those  of  the  American  mastodon. 

CERVUS. 

The  genus  was  probably  in  existence  in  the  pliocene  fauna  of  Nebraska. 
A  few  remains,  attributed  to  an  extinct  species,  have  been  found  in  the 
sands  of  the  Mobrara  Eiver. 

Cervus  Warreni. — The  species  was  about  the  size  of  the  living  Virginia 
deer.  It  is  named  in  honor  of  General  G.  K.  Warren,  during  whose  expe- 
dition its  remains  were  discovered  b^"  Professor  Haj^den. 

ANTILOPID^. 

The  antelope  family  appears  to  have  been  represented  in  the  pliocene 
fauna  of  Nebraska,  by  a  peculiar  genus,  having  furcated  horn  cores. 

COSORYX. 

The  peculiar  genus  thus  named  and  just  alluded  to  is  founded  on 
several  fragments  of  horn  cores — they  may  be  of  antlers — discovered  by 
Professor  Hayden  in  the  sands  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver.    A  species,  ap- 


352       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

parently  of  the  same  genus,  has  beeu  described  under  the  name  of  Anti- 
lope  dichotojiia,  from  the  tertiary  formations  of  Gers,  in  France. 

Cosorijx  furcatus. — The  Niobrara  species  thus  named  was  about  the 
size  of  the  sheep. 

CAilELOPEEDALID^. 

A  singular  fossil,  obtained  by  Professor  Hayden  from  Dr.  Gehrung, 
of  Colorado  City,  submitted  to  the  writer  for  examination,  leads  to  the 
suppositon  that  it  belonged  to  a  large  ruminant,  probably  of  the  same 
family  as  the  existing  camelopard  of  Airica.  It  has  been  referred  to 
an  unknown  genus,  with  the  following  name  : 

:megacerops. 

The  genus  is  based  on  a  skull  fragment,  of  remarkable  character, 
found  in  Colorado.  The  fossil  calls  to  mind  the  wonderful  but  also  ex- 
tinct Sivatherium  of  the  Sevalik  Hills  of  India.  The  specimen  corre- 
sponds with  that  portion  of  the  face  of  the  latter  animal  which  comprises 
the  upper  part  of  the  nose,  together  with  the  forehead  and  anterior  horn 
cores.  As  in  Sivatherium,  all  the  bones  comprising  tiie  specimen  are 
completely  coossified,  and  of  great  comparative  massiveness.  The 
genus  was  probably  the  American  representative  of  the  Sivatherium, 
which  was  the  largest  of  all  known  ruminants.  In  its  bulk  and  i^ro- 
portions  it  approached  the  elephant,  and  it  was  provided  with  two  pair 
of  horns  and  probably  a  proboscis  like  the  taper. 

Megaeerops  coloradensis. — The  species  was  not  so  large  as  the  Sivath- 
erium (jiganteum  of  India,  but  may  be  regarded  as  having  been  the  largest 
of  all  the  known  ruminants  of  America,  recent  and  extinct. 

ARTIODACTYLA. 

Under  this  ordinal  name  the  writer  has  included  the  thick-skinned 
animals  or  pachyderms  of  Cuvier,  which  have  an  even  number  of  toes, 
and  has  excluded  the  ruminants  of  the  artiodactyle  pachyderms  of  Pro- 
fessor Owen. 

SUIDJE. 

The  suilline  family  at  the  present  time  is  not  represented  in  America 
by  any  of  the  old-world  genera,  nor  at  any  past  time,  so  f\ir  as  the  ob- 
servation of  the  writer  is  concerned,  was  it  inhabited  by  them.  !N"ot- 
with standing  many  reports  of  discoveries  of  remains  of  the  hog  and 
the  hippopotamus,  the  writer  has  as  yet  seen  no  undoubted  traces  of 
these  animals  which  pertained  to  the  American  continents. 

DICOTYLES. 

The  peccaries  appear  to  have  represented  in  the  western  hemisphere 
the  hogs  of  the  other  part  of  the  world ;  at  least  the  writer  has  not  yet 
seen  fossil  remains  which  appeared  to  him  as  indubitable  evidences  of 
the  existence  at  any  time  of  an  indigenous  species  of  hog  in  America. 
At  the  present  time  two  species  of  peccary  inhabit  South  America,  and 
one  of  them,  the  collared  peccary,  extends  into  North  America  as  far 
as  the  Eed  Eiver  in  Arkansas. 

At  an  earlier  period  several  species,  now  extinct,  inhabited  North 
America.  Professor  Hayden  found  an  upper  canine  tooth  of  a  i^eccary 
on  the  Niobrara  River,  but  its  age  and  reference  to  a  particular  species 
are  uncertain.  A  portion  of  a  skull,  found  in  digging  a  well,  at  the 
depth  of  thirty  feet,  in  Gibson  Couniy,  Indiana,  indicates  a  species  which 
has  been  named  Dicotyles  nasutus.    It  was  rather  larger  than  either  of 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEKRITORIES.       353 

the  existing  species,  and  liad  a  proportionately  longer  and  narrower 
muzzle.  Several  teetli  fouud  in  the  niioeeue  deposit  of  Monmouth 
ConDtj',  New  Jersey,  I  suspect  to  belong  to  the  same. 

A  lew  remains  fouud  in  Maryland,  Virginia,  and  South  Carolina  ap- 
parently indicate  a  species  smaller  than  the  collared  peccary.  It  has 
been  named  Bicotyles  lenis. 

PLATYGONUS. 

This  name  has  been  given  to  an  extinct  genus  of  peccary-like  ani- 
mals which  appear  to  have  been  abundant  during  the  i>ost-pliocene 
period.  Numerous  remains  of  a  species,  the  Flatygonns  co^npressus,  have 
been  fouud  in  the  lead-bearing  crevices  of  the  clilf  limestone  at  Galena, 
Illinois.  An  entire  skull,  as  fresh  in  appearance  as  if  taken  from  a  liv- 
ing animal,  and  of  the  same  species,  was  discovered  as  early  as  1805, 
in  a  cave  in  Kentucky.    Eemains  have  also  been  found  in  Iowa. 

ELOTHEKIUM. 

This  is  an  extinct  genus  of  suilline  animals,  originally  characterized 
by  remains  discovered  in  the  miocene  tertiary  deposits  of  France,  and 
was  first  described  in  1847.  Its  nearest  allies  now  living  are  the  hog,  the 
peccary,and  the  hippopotamus.  The  remains  of  two  and  perhaps  three 
species  of  the  genus  have  been  found  in  the  miocene  deposits  of  the 
inanvaises  terres  of  Dakota. 

Elotlierium  Mortoni. — The  remains  from  upwards  of  a  dozen  individ- 
uals of  this  species  have  come  under  the  notice  of  the  Avriter.  It  was 
about  the  size  of  the  domestic  hog.  The  skull  bears  some  resemblance 
to  that  of  the  latter  animal.  Capacious  temporal  fossre  for  the  accom- 
modation of  powerful  muscles,  separated  by  a  median  crest,  give  the 
cranial  portion  of  the  skull  a  decidedly  tiger-like  aspect.  The  strong 
jaws  are  provided  w4th  a  full  series  of  seven  molars,  a  canine,  and  three 
incisors  on  each  side  above  and  below. 

The  jiointed  character  of  the  latter  teeth,  the  long,  bear-like  canine 
teeth,  and  the  conical  premolars,  probably  indicate  at  least  a  partially- 
carnivorous  habit.  The  true  molars  or  grinders  a]>proach  in  character 
the  corresponding  teeth  of  the  living  sui»lline  animals. 

The  si)ecies  was  named  in  honor  of  the  late  Dr.  S.  G.  Morton. 

Elotlierium  ingens. — The  second  species,  about  a  third  longer  than  the 
former,  is  founded  on  a  few  jaw  fragments  and  teeth  obtained  by  Pro- 
fessor Ilayden  in  the  mauvaises  terres. 

Elotlierium  superhus. — A  third  species,  even  larger  than  the  former, 
indicated  by  an  incisor  tooth,  from  Douglas  Flat,  Calaveras  County,  Cali- 
fornia. The  specimen  was  submitted  to  the  writter  by  Professor  J.  D. 
Whitney. 

PERCHCERUS. 

An  extinct  genus  allied  to  the  peccary.  It  is  indicated  by  small 
fragments  of  jaws  and  teeth,  from  the  miocene  tertiary  deposit  of  the 
mauvaises  terres  of  White  River. 

Ferchcerus  prohus. — The  species  thus  designated  was  about  the  size  of 
the  living  Bicotijles  labiatus  of  South  America. 
23  G 


354  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

LEPTOCHCERTJS. 

Another  extinct  genus  thus  named  is  also  allied  to  the  peccaries. 
It  is  indicated  by  fragments  of  jaws  and  teeth  found  in  association  with 
those  of  the  preceding  animal.  .      ^^-u     •       ^ 4-1  ..^nnr^^ri 

Leptochcerus  spectahilis.— This  species  was  about  the  size  of  the  collared 

peccary. 

NANOHYUS 

Is  the  name  applied  to  another  extinct  genus  of  suiUine  animals,  indi- 
cated by  a  lower-jaw  fragment,  from  the  same  locality  as  the  remains 
of  the  preceding  two  genera.  . 

Nanohyus  porcinus.— The  si^ecies  was  about  the  size  of  the  common 

rabbit. 

MICROSUS. 

A  small  suilline  animal  of  an  extinct  genus,  thus  named,  is  inferred 
from  a  iaw  fragment  with  teeth,  obtained  during  the  last  expedition  ot 
Professor  Hayden,  on  Black's  Fork  of  Green  Kiver,  near  Fort  Bridger, 

^^Mi^rosus  cuspidatus.— The  species  named  from  the  pointed  condition 
of  the  tubercles  of  the  teeth  was  about  the  size  of  the  common  rabbit. 

HYOPSODUS. 

A  fragment  of  the  lower  jaw  with  teeth,  found  in  association  with  the 
specimen  last  mentioned,  appears  to  indicate  a  hitherto  unknown  genus 
to  which  the  above  name  is  given.  .       .        n     -,         ,     ^ 

Eijopsodus  yaulus.— The  species  was  about  the  size  of  a  large  hare. 

Anoplotlieridm. 

This  ancient  and  extinct  family  is  typified  by  the  singular  genus  Ano- 
plotherium,  originally  described  by  Cuvier,  from  remains  obtained  trora 
the  eocene  formation  of  the  Paris  basin.  In  the  ear  best  part  of  the 
tertiary  period  it  appears  to  have  been  the  genus  which  most  nearly 
approached  in  character  the  ruminants  of  later  epochs.  In  Anoiylotiie- 
riim  the  teeth  formed  closed  series  in  both  jaws,  as  we  now  observe  to 
be  the  case  in  no  mammals  except  man. 

TITANOTHERIUM. 

This  genus  is  apparently  allied  to  the  A^wplotlierium  of  Europe,  and 
another  extinct  genus  named  ChaUcother ium,  v^'ho&e  remains  were  dis- 
covered in  the  Sevalik  Hills  of  India.  , ,.  ,     ,  .        .  „  i,„„^ 

Titanotherium  proiiti.— This  species  is  established  on  remains  of  a  huge 
animal,  the  largest  of  those  yet  indicated  by  the  tossils  obtained  in  the 
mauvaises  terrcs  of  White  Eiver,  Dakota.  It  approached  in  size  the  ele- 
phant, and  it  was  no  doubt  the  conspicuous  size  ot  its  remains  which  led 
to  its  having  been  the  first  noticed  of  all  the  extinct  animals  whose  bones 
have  been  collected  in  the  mauvaises  terres  cemetery. 

The  first  notice  of  it  was  published  in  184G,  by  the  late  Dr.  Hiram  A. 
Prout,  of  St.  Louis,  who,  from  the  character  of  the  lower  teeth,  supposed 
it  to  belong  to  the  genus  Palwothcrium,  originally  established  by  Cuvier 
from  remains  obtained  from  the  eocene  formation  of  Pans,   i^  ranee. 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  •  355 

Many  remains,  consistingof  fragments  of  jaws,  teeth,  and  articular  ends 
of  different  bones  of  the  skeleton,  collected  by  Messrs.  Meek,  Haydeu, 
and  Evans,  indicate  a  nearer  alliance  of  the  animal  to  the  companion  of 
the  Palceothere,  that  is  to  say,  the  Anoplothere. 

The  remains  of  the  species,  named  in  honor  of  its  discoverer,  Dr.  Prout, 
belong;-  to  the  lowest  beds  of  the  miocene  deposits  of  the  mauvaises  terres, 
according-  to  the  authority  of  Professor  Hayden. 

The  teeth  of  Prout's  Titanothere  formed  nearly  unbroken  rows,  though 
not  so  completely  as  in  the  Anopothere.  It  appears  to  huxe  possessed 
an  incisor  less  on  each  side  than  in  the  latter,  and  its  canines  were  pro- 
portionately larger,  differences  which  induced  small  breaks  or  intervals 
in  the  dental  series.  Among  living  animals,  the  grinding  teeth  of 
the  Titanothere  approached  most  nearly  in  appearance  those  of  the  rhi- 
noceros. In  the  best  preserved  specimen  of  the  jaws  of  Titanothere  the 
series  of  teeth  measure  nearly  a  foot  and  a  half  in  length. 

Various  fragments  of  the  skeletons  of  different  individuals  indicate 
considerable  variation  in  size,  probably  due  to  difference  in  sex. 

Dr.  John  Evans  rei^orted  the  discovery  of  the  skeleton  of  an  individ- 
ual imbedded  in  the  rock  in  the  mauvaises  terres,  which  measured,  in 
position,  about  eighteen  feet  in  length  and  nine  feet  in  height.  This 
appears  much  too  large  in  iiroportion  to  the  size  of  the  jaws  above 
referred  to,  and  the  measurement  is  probably  greatly  exaggerated,  if  it, 
perhaps,  does  not  apply  to  some  other  and  larger  animal.  The  speci- 
mens upon  which  the  species  T.  Proiiti  is  established  indicate  an  animal 
intermediate  in  size  to  the  Indian  rhinoceros  and  the  elephant. 

PAL^OSYOPS. 

This  extinct  genus  is  indicated  by  some  remains  obtained  during  Pro- 
fessor Hayden's  last  expedition.  The  specimens  consisting  of  small 
fragments  of  jaws,  with  molar  teeth,  were  found  at  Church  Buttes,  and 
on  Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver,  Wyoming.  The  remains  belong  to  the 
Bridger  Group  of  tertiary  rocks,  probably  of  miocene  age.  The  genus 
is  closely  allied  to  Titanotherium  of  the  mauvaises  terres,  and  to  Chal- 
icotherium  of  the  Sevalik  Hills  of  India. 

Fakcosijops  paludosus. — The  only  species  of  the  genus  approximated  in 
size  the  common  ox. 

AntJiracotheridce. 

This  name  has  been  given  to  an  extinct  family  of  even-toed  pachy- 
derms whose  types  are  the  genera  Antliracoflierium  and  Chccropotamus^ 
of  the  early  and  medial  tertiary  formations  of  Europe.  It  is  also  rep- 
resented in  the  miocene  tertiary  formation  of  the  mciuvaises  terres  of 
White  liiver  by  the  remains  of  a  genus  which  had  been  previously 
recognized  as  occurring  in  England  and  France. 

HYOPOTA]VIUS. 

This  genus  was  established  by  Professor  Owen  from  some  remains 
found  in  the  eocene  deposit  of  the  Isle  of  Wight.  The  true  molar  teeth, 
or  grinders,  resemble  those  of  ruminating  animals,  except  that  the  upper 
ones  present  the  remarkable  character  of  an  additional  or  fifth  lobe 
introduced  between  the  anterior  pair  of  lobes.  The  whole  number  of 
teeth  and  the  kind  correspond  with  those  of  the  existing  hog. 

Hyojyotamiis  Amcricanus. — A  species  based  upon  fragments  of  jaws  and 


356       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES, 

teeth  discovered  by  Professor  Hay  den,  who  refers  them  to  the  lowest  bed 
of  the  tertiary  formation  of  the  mauvaises  terres.  The  animal  approached 
in  size  the  common  ox. 

PERISSODACTYLA. 

This  name,  originally  employed  by  Professor  Owen,  I  have  used  to 
include  all  the  uneven -toed  pachyderms  of  Cuvier,  except  the  solid  un- 
gulate or  equine  animals.  Thus  restricted,  the  order  is  represented  by 
seven  genera,  in  the  tertiary  formations  of  our  Western  States  and 
Territories. 

BMnocerotidce, 

Among  the  most  interesting  paleontological  discoveries  in  this  coun- 
try is  that  of  the  former  existence  of  the  rhinoceros  family  on  the 
North  American  continent.  Remains  of  a  number  of  species  have  been 
detected  in  Dakota,  Nebraska,  Texas,  California,  Oregon,  Colorado, 
Wyoming,  and  traces  even  in  New  Jersey. 

RHINOCEROS. 

The  existing  species  of  this  genus  are  now  confined  to  Asia  and 
Africa.  Eemains  of  extinct  species  have  been  found  in  great  abund- 
ance throughout  Europe  and  Northern  Asia.  The  living  species  are 
X)rovided  with  one  or  two  horns ;  some  of  the  extinct  ones  were  hornless, 
and  have,  on  this  account,  been  referred  to  a  different  genus,  with  the 
name  of  Aceratheriuni. 

Rhinoceros  occidentalis. — A  hornless  species,  distinguished  by  the  above 
name,  and  little  more  than  half  the  size  of  the  common  Indian  rhinoceros, 
is  indicated  by  an  abundance  of  remains  in  the  miocene  tertiary  deposits 
of  the  mauvaises  terres,  of  White  Eiver,  Dakota.  Its  dentition  is  the  same 
as  in  the  living  unicorn  rhinoceroses ;  that  is,  it  possesses  two  incisor  and 
seven  molar  teeth  on  each  side  of  both  jaws. 

The  length  of  the  skull  of  this  species  is  one  foot  and  a  half 

Rhinoceros  crassus. — This  species,  about  the  size  of  the  Indian  rhinoce- 
ros, is  indicated  by  a  few  fragments  of  jaws  and  teeth  discovered  by  Pro- 
fessor Hayden  in  the  pliocene  sands  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver,  Nebraska. 

Rhinoceros  meridianus. — A  third  species,  intermediate  in  size  with  the 
two  former,  is  indicated  by  an  imperfect  molar  tooth,  discovered  by  the 
late  Dr.  B.  F.  Shumard  in  a  tertiary  formation  of  Washington  County, 
Texas. 

Rhinoceros  hesperius. — A  fourth  species,  under  this  name,  has  been 
viewed  as  distinct  from  the  former  ones,  and  was  founded  on  specimens 
submitted  to  the  writer  by  Professor  J.  D.  Whitney.  The  specimens,  con- 
sisting of  the  greater  portion  of  a  lower  jaw  with  the  teeth,  and  some' 
fragments  of  upper  molars,  were  derived  from  a  tertiary  deposit  of  Cal- 
averas County,  California.  The  species  was  about  the  size  of  the  R. 
occidentaUs  of  the  mauvaises  terres. 

Eecently  some  remains,  probably  of  the  same  species,  were  sent  to 
the  writer  for  examination  by  the  Eev.  Thomas  Condon,  who  obtained 
them  on  the  John  Day  Eiver,  Oregon. 

HYRACODON. 

This  genus  has  been  proposed  by  the  writer,  founded  on  abundance 
of  remains  of  a  small  rhinoceros,  which  differs  from  all  others  previously 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       357 

doscribed,  whether  recent  or  extinct,  in  the  possession  of  canines  and  a 
full  series  of  incisors  in  both  jaws.    The  genus  was  also  hornless. 

Hi/racodon  nehrascensis. — The  only  species  of  the  genus  indicated  was 
the  smallest  of  its  American  kindred,  and  was  about  the  size  of  the  little 
hippopotamus  of  Liberia,.  AYestern  Africa.  During  the  miocene  period 
it  existed  in  great  numbers,  associated  with  the  R.  occidentalism  as  proved 
by  the  abundance  of  its  remains  in  the  mauvaises  tcrrcs  deposits. 
Remains,  apparently  of  the  same  species,  have  been  discovered  in  Colo- 
rado, Wyoming,  and  Oregon.  The  skull  of  H.  nebfasceusis  is  about  ten 
inches  in  length. 

HYRACHYUS. 

An  extinct  genus,  allied  to  Hyracodon,  is  founded  on  a  fragment  of  a 
lower  jaw  of  a  young  animal,  obtained,  during  Professor  Hayden's  recent 
expedition,  on  Black's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver,  Wyoming.  In  the  mature 
animal  seven  molar  teeth  formed  a  continuous  series  in  the  jaws.  The 
upper  molars  are  unknown.  The  lower  true  molars  resemble  those  of 
Hyraoodon,  but  the  crowns  have  their  constituent  lobes  more  deeply  sep- 
arated externally  by  an  angular  notch.  The  i)remolars  in  comparison 
with  the  true  molars  are  proportionately  smaller  than  in  Hyracodon. 

Hyrachyus  agrestis. — The  species  was  smaller  than  Hyracodon  nehras- 
censis, and  was  about  the  size  of  the  larger  living  peccary.  The  molar 
series  occupied  a  space  of  about  three  inches.  The  first  premolar  has  a 
laterally-compressed  conical  crown  spreading  in  a  slight  posterior  heel. 

Hyrachyus  agrarius. — A  supposed  secoiul  species,  probably  of  the 
same  genus,  is  inferred  from  the  portion  of  a  lower  jaw  about  the  size 
and  form  of  the  corresponding  part  in  Hyracodon  nehrascensis.  The 
specimen  was  obtained  on  Smith's  Fork  of  Green  River,  Wyoming. 
The  jaw  below,  the  last  molar  is  about  an  inch  and  three-fourths  deep. 
Its  ascending  portion  in  front  rises  vertically,  and  externally  is  deeply 
concave.  The  molar  series,  consisting  of  seven  teeth,  is  broken  away 
in  the  specimen.  The  space  occupied  by  the  series  is  about  three  inches 
and  three-fourths.    The  true  molars  occupied  a  space  of  full  two  inches. 

Tapiridce. 

The  existing  members  of  the  tapir  family  in  this  part  of  the  world 
are  confined  to  Central  and  South  America.  During  the  quaternary 
period,  contemporaneously  with  the  well-known  mastodon,  several  spe- 
cies of  tapir  inhabited  !North  America. 

LOPHIODON. 

An  extinct  genus,  described  under  the  above  name,  by  Cuvier,  from 
remains  found  in  the  middle  tertiary  formations  of  Europe,  appears  also 
to  have  existed  contemporaneously  in  North  America. 

LopModon  occidentalis. — A  species,  about  the  size  of  the  common 
tapir  (T.  terrestris)  of  South  America,  is  indicated  by  a  single  tooth  dis- 
covered by  Professor  Hayden  in  the  mauvaises  terres  of  White  River. 
A  fragment  of  an  upper  jaw,  with  two  teeth,  obtained  by  the  Rev. 
Thomas  Condon,  from  Bridge  Creek,  Oregon,  is  i)erhaps  referable  to 
the  same  species. 

Lophiodon  modestus. — A  small  species  of  the«same  genus,  thus  named, 
is  indicated  by  a  single  tooth,  discovered  in  Professor  Hayden's  last 
expedition,  near  Fort  JBridger,  Wyoming. 


358       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEERITOEIES. 

LOPHIOTHERIUM. 

An  extiDct  genus  of  this  name,  described  by  Professor  Gervais,  from 
remains  found  in  the  eocene  formation  of  France,  appears  also  to  have 
been  represented  by  a  small  species  during  the  formation  of  the  Bridger 
Group  of  tertiary  deposits. 

LopMoflierium  sylvaticum.— The  species  is  indicated  by  a  jaw  frag- 
ment with  teeth,  obtained  during  Professor  Hayden's  last  expedition  on 
Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver,  Wyoming.  The  animal  was  about  two- 
thirds  the  size  of  the  collared  peccary. 

Proboscidece. 

Of  all  extinct  animals  none  are  more  familiar  to  the  community  than 
the  great  proboscideans.  Their  huge  bones,  strewed  over  the  eartli, 
have  excited  the  attention  of  the  least  observant,  and  in  former  years 
were  viewed  as  uumistahable  evidences  of  the  earlier  existence  of  a 
race  of  giant  men.  Even  now,  to  the  uninformed  their  remains  have 
not  ceased  to  be  objects  of  wonder  and  the  most  convincing  proofs  that 
in  former  ages  huge  animals  roamed  over  the  country  where  now  they 
no  longer  exist. 

MASTODON. 

This  extinct  genus  of  elephants  appears  to  have  once  lived  throughout 
the  greater  part  of  the  world.  A  half  dozen  species  inhabited  Europe, 
the  same  number  Asia,  two  South  America,  and  at  least  three,  if  not 
four  or  five,  North  America. 

Mastodon  americanns — The  great  American  mastodon  appears  to 
have  extended  throughout  the  whole  of  North  America  during  the 
quaternary  period,  ifs  remains  are  among  the  most  abundant  of  fossils 
and  have 'been  found  in  almost  every  state  and  territory  of  tbe  United 
States.  Complete  skeletons,  together  with  skulls  of  others,  in  a  fine 
state  of  preservation,  are  among  the  most  conspicuous  and  striking 
objects  of  several  of  our  museums.  It  is  probable  that  this  species 
still  continued  to  exist  at  the  time  of  man's  appearance  on  the  stage 

of  life.  .  ^    ,  .,. 

Mastodon  oniriJlms.—Thi^  species,  whose  remains  were  first  discov- 
ered by  Professor  Hayden,  on  the  Loup  Fork  of  the  Niobrara  River, 
lived  at  an  earlier  period  than  the  preceding,  pertaining,  as  supposed, 
to  the  pliocene  age.     It  was  about  the  size  of  the  common  mastodon. 

Mastodon  ShepardL—A  third  species,  probably  of  miocene  age,  has 
been  recently  characterized  from  a  fragment  of  a  tusk,  from  Stanislaus 
County,  California.  The  tusk  of  the  common  American  mastodon  is 
composed  alone  of  ivory,  as  in  the  modern  elephants;  but  the  fragment 
iust  alluded  to  presents  a  broad  baud  of  enamel,  as  m  the  tusks  of  the 
narrow-toothed  mastodon  of  the  miocene  formation  of  Europe.  The 
species  is  named  in  honor  of  Professor  C.  U.  Shepard,  of  Amherst  Col- 
lege, by  whom  the  fossil  was  submitted  to  the  writer. 

Mastodon  obscurus.— This  name  has  been  appropriated  to  a  supposed 
species,  founded  on  a  tooth  which  was  reported  to  have  been  discovered 
in  the  miocene  deposit  of  Maryland.  Fragments  of  similar  teeth  from 
North  Carolina  and  Georgia  appear  to  confirm  the  distinctness  of  this 
species  from  31.  amerieamis  and  31.  mirificus.  A  portion  of  a  lower  jaw 
containing  a  last  molar,  like  the  Maryland  tooth,  was  recently  discov- 
ered in  Contra  Costa  County,  California.    This  specimen  also  clearly 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       359 

ilistiugriiishes  the  species  from  those  just  named,  bat  we  have  no  evi- 
ieuce  to  prove  that  it  is  not  identical  with  the  M.  Shcparcli. 

ELEPHAS. 

The  most  colossal  of  all  terrestrial  animals,  the  elephants,  are  now 
confined  to  Sontheru  Asia  and  Africa.  Prior  to  the  actual  iieriod  spe- 
cies existed  in  Asia,  Enrope,  and  North  America  which  are  now  extinct. 

Elephas  americanus. — Remains  of  an  extinct  specie^  of  elephant  have 
been  discovered  thronghout  the  greater  ])art  of  the  North  American 
Continent.  Generally  these  remains  have  been  viewed  as  pertaining  to 
the  Elephas  primifienius,  an  extinct  species  of  Europe  and  Northern  Asia, 
and  which  i)robal)ly  also  extended  into  the  extreme  northwest  of  North 
America.  There  appear  now  to  be  snfticient  grounds  to  consider  the 
American  elepliant  a  distinct  species  from  the  one  just  named.  The  late 
Dr.  Falconer,  of  England,  who  ])erhaps  more  than  any  one  else  had  studied 
the  characters  of  the  elephant  family,  supposed  that  among  the  remains 
found  throughout  North  America  there  were  evidences  of  two  species, 
one  of  which  he  called  Elephas  columhi^  and  the  other  he  viewed  as  the 
E.  primigenlus.  The  writer  also  thouglit  he  recognized  a  diiferent  spe- 
cies from  the  common  one  in  some  remains  obtained  by  Professor  Hay- 
den  on  the  Niobrara  River.  Upon  a  review  of  all  the  material  pertaining 
to  the  subject,  he  now  considers  that  the  remains  of  North  America, 
which  have  been  referred  to  several  species  of  elephant,  belong  to  but; 
one,  distinguished  by  the  name  heading  this  article. 

SOLIDUNGULA. 

This  order  is  now  represented  by  the  single  genus  Equns,  of  which 
no  living  species  is  indigenous  to  America.  Fossil  remains  go  to  show 
that  during  earlier  geological  i^eriods  the  order  was  nowhere  so  'well 
represented  as  it  was  in  America.  The  members  of  the  order  are  divis- 
ible into  two  gronps  or  families,  which  have  been  named  the  Equidce 
and  the  Anchitheridce. 

Equidce. 

The  equine  family  is  represented  at  this  time  by  nine  or  ten  species 
of  equns,  which  appear  all  to  be  indigenous  to  Asia  and  Africa.  Other 
species  of  the  same  genus  inhabited  Europe,  Asia,  and  North  America 
during  the  middle  and  later  tertiary  periods  extending  into  the  quater- 
nary period. 

EQUUS. 

Though  no  indigenous  species  of  horse  appears  to  have  existed  on  the 
American  continent  duringthe  period  of  man,  auumber  of  them  inhabited 
the  country  just  previously  and  contemporaneously  with  the  great  masto- 
don, the  elephant,  the  giant  sloths  of  both  North  and  South  America, 
&c.  Dr.  Lund  and  Professor  Owen  have  indicated  several  species  from 
remains  found  in  the  latter  continent.  A  number  of  species  have  like- 
wise been  indicated  from  remains  pertaining  to  the  pliocene  and  quater- 
nary deposits  of  North  America. 

Equns  fossilis. — This  name  has  been  appropriated  to  a  species  whose  re- 
mains are  found  in  the  quaternary  deposits  of  Europe  and  Northern  Asia. 


360  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

By  many  the  species  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  ancestor  of  the  com- 
mon domestic  horse.  A  few  remains  found  in  the  frozen  cliffs  of  Esch- 
scholtz  Bay,  Alaska,  in  association  with  remains  of  the  extinct  northern 
Asiatic  elephant,  are  supposed  to  belong  to  the  same  species. 

JEquus  major. — Eemaius  of  a  species  of  horse  have  been  discovered  in 
the  United  States,  in  association  with  those  of  the  mastodon,  &c.  The 
arrangement  of  the  enamel  folding  in  the  iipper  molar  teeth  is  of  a  more 
complex  character  than  in  the  domestic  horse.  The  species  was  larger 
than  ordinary  vafieties  of  the  latter,  which  led  to  its  being  named  Eqiius 
major,  though  it  did  not  exceed  in  size  the  English  dray  horse. 

Equus  fraternus. — This  name  has  been  proposed  for  a  second  species, 
based  on" remains  found  in  association  with  those  of  the  former,  together 
with  those  of  the  mastodon,  (Sec,  although  they  are  neither  distinguish- 
able in  gize  nor  details  of  form  from  corresponding  parts  in  the  domes- 
tic horse. 

Equus  excelsus. — A  third  species,  whose  remains  are  found  in  the  plio- 
cene deposits  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver,  was  about  the  size  of  the  domestic 
horse.  Its  remains  have  also  been  found  in  Califoruia  and  Oregon.  The 
grinders  of  this  species  differed  in  the  arrangement  of  their  enamel  from 
those  of  the  domestic  horse  in  the  same  manner  as  do  those  of  the  ass. 

Equus  2)acificus. — Another  species,  indicated  by  remains  from  Califor- 
nia, was  about  the  size  of  the  English  dray  horse.  The  arrangement  of 
the  enamel  folds  of  its  molar  teeth  is  of  the  utmost  comparative  sim- 
-plicity. 

Equus  parvulus. — This  name  has  been  assigned  to  a  supposed  diminu- 
tive species,  by  Professor  Marsh,  on  some  remains  found  in  a  tertiary 
deposit  of  Antelope  Station,  Nebraska,  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles 
west  of  Omaha.    It  i)robably  pertained  to  the  succeeding  genus. 

Equus  conversidens — Equus  tau. — These  are  tlie  names  of  two  species 
recently  indicated  by  Professor  Owen,  of  London,  froju  remains  dis- 
covered in  the  tertiary  deposits  of  the  valley  "hf  Mexico. 

PROTOHIPPUS. 

An  extinct  genus  of  equine  animals,  distinguished  by  the  above  name, 
was  originally  characterized  from  remains  discovered  by  Professor  Hay- 
den  in  the  pliocene  sands  of  the  Niobrara  River.  Remains  of  the  same 
genus  have  likewise  been  found  in  South  America,  but  were  referred  to 
species  of  the  former  genus  by  Dr.  Lund  and  Professor  Gervais.  Pro- 
fessor Owen,  recognizing  their  distinction,  has  recently  referred  them 
to  a  different  genus  with  the  name  of  Hippidion.  The  remains  from  the 
Niobrara  River  indicate  three  species  of  the  genus,  all  of  which  were 
smaller  than  the  domestic  horse. 

FrotoMppus  pcrditus. — This  species  approximated  in  size  the  ass. 

ProtoMppus  pkicidus. — This  second  species  was  not  more  than  two- 
thirds  the  size  of  the  former  one. 

ProtoMppus  supremus. — A  third  species,  intermediate  in  size  to  the 
ass  and  the  domestic  horse,  is  indicated  by  some  remains,  found  by 
Professor  Hayden  in  1860,  on  the  Little  White  River,  or  the  South  Fork 
of  White  River,  Dakota. 

The  South  American  species  of  the  genus  have  been  named  ProtoMp- 
pus arcidens,  P.  principalis,  and  P.  neogwus. 

niPPARION. 

This  is  the  name  of  an  extinct  genus  of  equine  animals,  whose  re- 
mains have  been  found  in  the  middle  and  later  tertiary  deposits  of  Eu- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       361 

rope,  Asia,  and  North  America.  The  skeleton  was  constructed  on  the 
same  general  plan  as  in  the  preceding-  genera,  but  in  addition  to  the 
■\vell-developed  toe  or  hoof,  which  sui)ported  the  animal,  it  possessed  an 
additional  i)air  of  toes  to  each  foot.  These,  however,  were  not  sufh- 
cicntly  developed  to  touch  the  ground,  but  projected  belaud  and  later- 
ally like  the  rudimental  toes  of  hogs  aud  rnmiuants.  The  arrangement 
of  the  enamel  in  the  molar  teeth  is  of  a  more  complex  character  than 
in  EquHS  and  Profohippus.  A  species  is  indicated  by  remains  found  in  the 
Ashley  River  deposits  of  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  It  was  not  more 
than  about  half  the  size  of  the  ass,  and  has  been  named  Riiqmrion 
venustiim. 

Rippnrlon  occidentale. — This  species,  about  the  size  of  an  ass,  is  indi- 
cated by  remains  which  were  found  in  the  mcmvaises  tcrrcs  of  White 
Eiver,  Dakota;  but  which  clearly  do  not  belong  to  the  mioceue  forma- 
tion of  that  region.  They  pertain  to  a  superficial  portion  of  the  tertiary 
deposit,  cotemporaneous  with  the  pliocene  deposits  of  the  iSTiobrara 
lliver. 

Hipparion  speciosum. — A  supposed  second  species,  nearly  the  same 
size  as  the'  preceding,  is  indicated  by  molar  teeth  found  at  Bijou  Hill, 
on  the  Missouri  Eiver,  and  in  the  pliocene  sands  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver. 
A  fragment  of  a  tooth,  likewise  apparently  belonging  to  this  species, 
was  found  in  digging  a  well,  at  the  dex^th  of  forty  feet,  in  Washington 
County,  Texas. 

Hipparion  affine. — A  third  species,  also  about  the  same  size  as  the 
preceding,  is  indicated  by  teeth  discovered  by  Professor  Hayden  in  the 
pliocene  sands  of  the  Mobrara  River.  The  enamel  folding  of  the  ui)per 
grinders  is  of  a  simpler  character  than  in  the  former  species. 

Hipparion  gratum. — This  species,  based  ui)on  a  number  of  teeth 
obtained  by  Professor  Hayden  in  the  pliocene  sands  of  the  Niobrara 
Eiver,  was  considerably  smaller  than  the  other  species  with  which  it  was 
associated. 

MEEYCHIPPUS. 

Another  extinct  equine  genus,  has  jiermanent  molar  teeth  like  those 
of  Protohippus,  but  the  skull  presents  deep  lachrymal  depressions  in 
advance  of  the  orbit,  as  appears  also  to  be  the  case  in  Hipparion^  but 
which,  in  the  former,  as  in  the  true  horse,  are  absent.  The  temporary 
te^iXioi  Merycliippus  resemble  more  nearly  in  appearance  the  permanent 
ones  of  the  members  of  the  next  family  than  they  do  those  of  the  other 
known  equine  genera.  It  was  from  the  remarkable  resemblance  of 
these  to  the  large  grinders  of  ruminating  animals  that  led  to  the  adop- 
tion of  the  name  of  Merychipjnis,  which  literally  signifies  ruminating 
horse.  The  name,  however,  refers  to  the  resemblance  alone,  and  does 
not  indicate  that  the  animal^  partook  of  the  peculiar  habits  of  the 
ruminants. 

Merychippus  insignis. — This  species,  about  the  size  of  the  ass,  was 
originally  established  on  a  jaw  fragment,  containing  teeth,  which  was 
discovered  by  Professor  Playden  at  Bijou  Hill.  Many  additional  re- 
mains, referable  to  the  same  species,  were  subsequently  found  in  the 
pliocene  sands  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver,  during  Warren's  expedition  in 
1857. 

Merycliippus  mirahilis. — This  second  species,  rather  larger  than  the 
preceding,  is  indicated  by  remains  discovered  by  Professor  Hayden 
in  the  pliocene  sands  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver  and  on  Little  White  Eiver, 
Dakota. 


362       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

AncMtheridce. 

This  extinct  family  of  tliree-toed,  liorse-like  animals,  lias  for  its  type 
the  genus  AncMtherium,  the  first  known  species  of  which  was  described 
by  Ouvier  under  the  name  of  Palceotherium  aureUanense.  Its  remains 
were  obtained  from  the  miocene  tertiary  deposits  of  France.  Lartet 
and  DeBJainville  call  the  same  animal  Palceotherium  Mjypoides,  or  horse- 
like Pala?othere. 

In  the  Equine  family  the  teeth  have  long  crowns,  which  are  gradually 
protruded  as  they  are  worn  away;  in  the  AnchitJierine  family  the  teeth 
have  comparatively  short  crowns,  which  are  quickly  protruded  and  in- 
serted into  the  jaws  by  long  fangs.  Their  skeleton  in  general  form 
closely  ax)X)roxi mates  that  of  the  horse,  and  most  nearly  that  of  Hq)- 
parion. 

ANCHITHERITJIVI. 

This  genus  is  represented  in  the  miocene  deposits  of  our  Western 
Territories  by  two  species. 

AncMtherium  Bairdi. — The  remains  of  this  species  are  comparatively 
abundant,  in  association  with  those  of  oreodous,  rhinoceros,  &c.,  in  the 
mauvaises  terres  of  White  Eiver,  Dakota.  The  skull  of  the  species  is 
a  miniature  form  of  that  of  the  horse,  except  that  the  face  is  propor- 
tionately^ shallower.  Its  length  is  rather  less  than  seven  inches.  The 
size  of  the  animal  was  about  half  that  of  the  domestic  horse.  The  spe- 
cies was  named  in  honor  of  Professor  Baird,  of  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution. * 

Anchitherium  Condoni. — A  second  species  is  inferred  to  have  existed 
from  a  fragment  of  an  upper  jaw  with  a  mutilated  tooth,  discovered  by 
the  Eev.  Thomas  Condon,  of  Dalles  City,  on  Bridge  Creek,  a  tributary 
of  John  Day's  River,  Oregon.  It  was  rather  larger  than  the  preceding 
species,  and  is  named  in  honor  of  its  discoverer. 

HYPOHIPPUS. 

An  extinct  genus  to  which  this  name  is  given  is  represented  by  the 
following  si)ecies : 

Hypohipims  ajfijiis. — Established  on  a  single  tooth,  indicating  an  ani- 
mal about  the  size  of  the  domestic  horse. 

ANCHIPPUS. 

Another  extinct  genus,  allied  to  the  preceding,  is  represented  by  the 
following  species : 

Anchipims  texamis. — The  species  is  established  on  a  molar  tooth  ob- 
tained by  the  late  Dr.  Shumard  in  Washington  County,  Texas.  It  was 
found  in  digging  a  well  at  the  depth  of  50  feet  in  a  sandstone  supposed 
to  be  of  miocene  age.  The  animal  indicated  by  the  tooth  was  rather 
smaller  than  the  ass. 

PAEAHIPPUS. 

A  fourth  genus  of  the  extinct  Anchitherine  family,  named  as  above,  is 
indicated  by  some  teeth  discovered  by  Professor  Hayden  in  the  plio- 
cene sands  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver.  The  teeth  resemble  in  their  char- 
acters those  of  Anchitherium  more  nearly  than  they  do  those  of  any  of 
the  equine  genera ;  nevertheless  they  exhibit  more  complexity  than  in 
the  former  or  any  other  member  of  the  same  family. 

Paraliippus  cognatus. — The  species  thus  designated  is  established 
upon  an  incomplete  series  of  well-preserved  teeth.  The  animal  was 
about  a  third  less  in  size  than  the  ass. 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  363 

EODENTIA. 

The  order  of  gnawing  animals  is  represented  in  the  tertiary  formations 
of  the  West  by  half  a  dozen  genera,  onost  of  which  are  extinct.  The 
comparative  smalluess  of  the  animals  of  this  order  renders  their  remains 
njore  liable  to  total  destruction  than  those  of  larger  animals,  and  also  to 
their  escaping  notice  when  preserved.  No  doubt  many  remains  of  un- 
known species  and  genera  will  be  discovered  in  future  explorations  of 
the  tertiary  deposits. 

Leporidce. 

The  hare  family  is  represented  in  the  miocene  formation  of  the  mau- 
vaises  terres  by  a  peculiar  genus,  which  j)robably  was  the  remote  ances- 
tor of  our  rabbits. 

PAL^OLAaus. 

The  genus  is  established  on  a  number  of  fragments  of  jaws  and  teeth 
discovered  by  Professor  Hayden  at  the  head  of  Bear  Creek,  a  tributary 
of  the  Sheyeuue  Eiver,  Dakota.  Palseolagus  had  the  same  number  of 
teeth  as  in  the  rabbit,  but  the  first  lower  molar  is  composed  of  a  double 
column,  as  in  the  other  molars,  whereas  in  the  latter  it  has  an  additional 
column. 

Palceolagus  Haydeni. — The  species,  named  in  honor  of  its  discoverer, 
was  rather  less  in  size  than  our  common  gray  rabbit. 

Sciuridce. 

The  family  of  the  squirrels  and  marmots  was  represented  by  a  pecu- 
liar genus,  whose  remains  were  discovered  by  Professor  Hayden  in 
association  with  those  of  the  former.  Similar  remains  were  subsequently 
obtained  from  the  mauvaises  terres  of  White  Eiver.  The  genus  is 
distinguished  by  the  following  name : 

«  ISCHYROMTk=«. 

The  skull  of  the  genus  approaches  most  nearly  in  form  that  of  the 
living  beaver,  but  the  teeth  more  nearly  resemble  those  of  the  squirrel. 

Ischyromys  typiLS. — The  species  was  about  the  size  of  the  common 
muskrat. 

Castoi'idcB. 

The  beaver  family  is  represented  both  in  the  miocene  and  pliocene 
formations  of  Dakota  and  Nebraska. 

PAL^OCASTOR. 

A  rodent  or  gnawer,  to  which  this  name  is  given,  is  founded  on  several 
incomplete  skulls,  together  with  a  number  of  fragments  of  jaws  with 
teeth,  obtained  by  Professor  Hayden  in  the  miocene  deposit  of  the 
mauvaises  terres  of  White  Eiver,  Dakota. 

Falceocastor  nebrascensis. — The  species  was  about  half  the  size  of  the 
existing  beaver. 

CASTOR. 

The  sole  representatives  of  this  genus  now  living  are  the  American 
and  the  European  beaver.  ^ 

Castor  tortus. — An  extinct  species,  thus  named,  is  indicated  by  a  por- 
tion of  a  skull,  with  teeth,  found  by  Professor  Hayden  in  the  pliocene 
sands  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver.  It  was  only  half  the  size  of  the  living 
species. 


364       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        ' 

Muridw. 

The  rat  family  is  represented  in  the  mioceue  deposit  of  the  man- 
raises  terres  of  White  Eiver  by  ai^  extinct  genus,  to  which  the  following 
name  has  been  applied : 

EIJMYS. 

This  genns  is  founded  upon  the  fragment  of  a  jaw  discovered  by  Pro- 
fessor Hayden. 

Eumys  elegans. — The  species  was  about  the  size  of  the  brown  rat. 

Hystricidce. 

The  porcupine  family  is  represented  by  a  species  whose  remains  were 
found  by  Professor  Haj^len  in  the  pliocene  sands  of  the  Mobrara  Eiver. 

HYSTRIX. 

The  living  species  of  this  genus  are  confined  to  the  Old  World,  none 
having  been  discovered  in  America. 

Hystrix  venustus. — An  extinct  species,  indicated  by  several  isolated 
teeth  from  the  Niobrara  Eiver.  Judging  from  the  characters  of  the  teeth 
it  was  more  nearly  related  with  the  crested  porcupine  of  Europe  than 
with  our  own  living  porcupine,  j^ertaining  to  another  genu.s. 

mSECTIVOEA. 

The  insectivorous  order  of  animals,  mainly  consisting  of  the  smallest 
forms  of  the  mammalian  class,  as  might  be  supposed,  are  among  the 
rarest  of  those  wliose  remains  are  found  i^reserved  in  fossiliferous 
strata.  Professor  Haydeu's  exj)lorations  in  the  West  have  led  to  the  dis- 
covery of  three  extinct  genera  of  the  order,  pertaining  to  the  miocene 
tertiary  formation  of  the  mmtvaises  terres  of  White  Eiver,  Dakota, 
and  a  third  genus  was  discovered  by  Dr.  J.  Van  A.  Carter,  of  Fort 
Bridger,  Wyoming,  in  the  Bridger  Group  of  tertiary  deposits  of  his 
vicinity.  • 

LEPTICTIS. 

The  genus  to  which  this  name  is  given  is  established  on  the  speci- 
men of  an  almost  complete  skull,  which  was  found  imbedded  in  a  soft 
rock  near  the  mouth  of  one  of  the  small  tributaries  of  White  Eiver,  in 
the  mauvaises  terres.  Ifc  possessed  three  incisor,  a  canine,  and  seven 
molar  teeth  on  each  side  of  the  jaws.  The  top  of  the  skull  presents  a 
l)air  of  i)romiuent  ridges,  defining  the  temi)oral  fossse.  The  animal  was 
allied  more  nearly  to  the  hedgehogs  than  to  any  other  of  the  living 
members  of  the  order. 

Leptictis  Haydeni. — The  species,  named  in  honor  of  its  discoverer,  was 
scarcely  as  large  as  a  mink.  The  skull  is  barely  two  and  a  half  inches 
long. 

ICTOPS. 

A  second  genus,  closely  allied  to  the  preceding,  is  indicated  by  a  small 
fragment  of  a  skull,  found  in  association  with  the  former  specimen.  It  is 
distinguishable  from  it  by  difference  in  the  form  of  the  molar  teeth. 

Icto2)s  dalcotensis. — A  species  about  the  same  size  as  the  preceding, 
with  which  it  lived  cotemporaneously. 

OMOMYS. 

This  extinct  genus,  probably  pertaining  to  the  same  family  as  the 
European  hedgehog,  was  established  on  the  fragment  of  a  lower  jaw, 
with  teeth,  from  the  tertiary  formation  near  Fort  Bridger,  Wyoming. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  365 

Omomys  Carteri. — The  species,  named  in  lionor  of  its  discoverer,  was 
about  lialf  as  large  again  as  our  common  mole,  [Scalops  aquaiicus.) 

EDEIS^TATA. 

Among  the  great  multitude  of  vertebrate  fossils  brought  to  our  notice 
from  the  western  part  of  the  continent,  we  have  detected  almost  no 
traces  of  remains  of  the  giant  sloths,  which  existed  so  extensively  dur- 
ing the  quaternary  period  in  both  North  and  South  America,  liemains 
of  Afylodon  Ilarlani  have  been  found  on  the  Willamette  Kiver,  Oregon, 
and  recently  we  have  seen  the  fragment  of.  a  claw  phalanx,  apparently 
of  a  large,  sloth-like  animal,  from  Castle  Creek,  Idaho. 

CETACEA. 

Eemains  of  cetaceans,  thus  far,  have  been  but  sparingly  found  in  the 
tertiary  and  quaternary  formations  of  the  West.  Vertebrae  from  the 
later  deposits  have  been  indicated  from  Oregon. 

.  DELPHINUS. 

Eemains  of  porpoises  have  been  discovered  in  the  npper  miocene 
formation  of  Half- Moon  Bay,  California. 

Delphinus  occiduus. — A  species,  founded  upon  a  jaw  fragment  from 
the  locality  just  named,  submitted  to  the  examination  of  the  writer  by 
Professor  J.  D.Whitney.    It  was  about  the  size  of  our  common  porpoise. 

BIRDS. 

The  remains  of  birds  are  among  the  rarest  of  vertebrate  fossils  iu 
most  of  the  explored  rocks  of  the  world.  From  the  peculiarities  of  these 
animals,  enabling  them  to  escape  many  of  the  catastrophes  or  accidents 
to  which  more  terrestrial  and  aquatic  animals  would  be  liable,  and  from 
the  generally  lighter  construction  of  their  bodies,  they  are  less  likely  to  be 
placed  iu  positions  where  their  remains  would  be  preserved  and  become 
fossils.  Among  the  large  collections  of  fossils  made  iu  the  mauvaises 
terres  of  White  Eiver,  Dakota,  amounting  to  several  tons  in  weight, 
which  have  been  subujitted  to  the  writer's  examination,  he  discovered 
no  trace  of  birds.  In  all  other  collections  from  the  West  there  was 
likewise  no  trace  detected,  except  a  single  bone  fragment  discovered 
by  Dr.  Hayden  in  the  pliocene  sands  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver,  Nebraska. 
This  specimen  has  been  recently  described  by  Professor  O.  C.  Marsh, 
who  views  it  as  pertaining  to  an  extinct  species,  to  which  he  has  given 
the  name  of  Grus  Raydeni. 

EEPTILES. 

The  remains  of  reptiles  occur  in  the  greatest  abundance  in  the  second- 
ary formations  of  the  West.  Those  best  known  have  been  derived  from 
the  cretaceous  deposits  of  Kansas,  Dakota,  and  of  the  head-waters  of 
the  Missouri  Eiver.  Eemains  of  the  same  order,  though  less  abundant, 
are  nevertheless  quite  numerous  in  the  tertiary  dei)Osits  of  the  country, 
especially  those  of  turtles. 

CHELONIA. 

The  chelonians  or  turtles  aj^pear  to  have  been  exceedingly  abundant 
in  the  AVest  during  the  tertiary  period.     They,  however,  appear  not  to 


366       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

have  been  so  rich  in  the  number  of  genera  and  species  relatively  as 
they  do  in  the  multitude  of  individuals  of  a  few  genera  and  species. 
Their  remains  are  found  in  association  with  the  numerous  mauimalian 
fossils  of  the  mauvaises  terres  of  Dakota  and  those  of  the  Niobrara 
Eiver.  A  greater  number  of  species  and  genera  are  indicated  by  the 
remains  in  the  tertiary  deposits  of  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Bridger, 
Wyoming. 

EMYS. 

The  genus  emys  includes  many  of  our  living  fresh-water  terrapenes, 
and  is  also  represented  in  Europe  and  Asia.  It  has  latterly  been  divided 
into  different  genera,  founded  on  characters  of  the  jaws,  head,  and  feet; 
so  that  from  the  fossil  shells  alone  we  are  unable  more  distinctly  to 
define  the  animals.  The  shell  of  emys  is  rather  oval  in  outline,  mod- 
erately convex.  The  sternum  is  large,  truncated  in  front,  and  notched 
behind.  Its  broad  pedicles  are  joined  by  firm  suture  to  the  upper 
shell  or  carapace.  The  outer  portions  of  the  humeral  and  abdominal 
scutes  cover  these  pedicles,  and  join  the  marginal  scutes  between  the 
position  of  the  axillary  and  inguinal  scutes. 

Emys  Jeanesi. — This  species  is  founded  on  a  nearly  complete  shell, 
obtained,  during  Professor  Hay  den's  last  expedition,  from  the  tertiary 
deposit  of  the  Bridger  Group,  near  Fort  Bridger,  Wyoming.  The  length 
of  the  shell,  following  the  fore-and-aft  curve,  is  fifteen  inches ;  the 
length  of  the  sternum  is  about  one  foot.  The  species  is  named  in 
honor  of  Joseph  Jeanes,  to  whose  aid  we  have  been  much  indebted 
in  developing  the  fossil  treasures  of  the  West. 

Emys  Raydeni. — A  second  species  has  been  inferred  to  have  existed 
from  an  imi)erfect  shell  found  in  association  with  the  former  specimen, 
together  with  many  fragments  of  shells  of  the  same  and  other  species  of 
turtles.  The  species  was  about  the  size  of  the  last,  but  is  distinguished 
from  it  by  the  difference  of  form  of  its  scute  impressions. 

Emys  ktevensoni. — An  apparent  third  species  is  founded  on  fragments 
of  the  carapace  and  sternum  of  a  shell,  obtained  by  Dr.  J.  Van  A. 
Carter,  from  the  tertiary  deposit  in  the  vicinity  of  Fort  Bridger, 
Wyoming.  It  has  been  named  in  honor  of  James  Stevenson,  the  active 
and  efficient  aid  of  Professor  IJayden  in  his  explorations. 

STTLEMYS. 

By  this  name  the  writer  has  distinguished  an  extinct  genus  of  tur- 
tles, which  is  intermediate  in  form  between  the  modern  land  turtles 
{Tesiudo)  and  the  aquatic  ones  {Emys.)  As  in  the  former  the  back 
extremity  of  the  carapace  is  invested  with  a  broad,  symmetrical  plate, 
instead  of  a  pair,  as  in  the  latter. 

Stylemys  nebrascensis. — The  species  is  established  upon  specimens 
which  have  been  collected  by  every  explorer  of  the  onau raises  terres  of 
White  Eiver,  Dakota.  So  abundant  have  these  fossil  turtles  been  in 
the  locality  mentioned  that  they  have  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
most  iudifferent  observers.  Among  the  specimens  submitted  to  the 
examination  of  the  author,  considerable  variation  has  been  noticed,  and 
this  variation  at  first  led  to  the  distinction  of  fi\'e  different  species. 
At  present  he  views  them  all  as  belonging  to  but  one  species.  Several 
mature  specimens  measure  one  and  three-quarter  feet  in  length  by  one 
foot  and  a  quarter  in  breadth. 

Stylemys  niobrarensis. — A  second  species  has  been  supposed  to  exist, 
founded  on  a  multitude  of  fragments,  discovered  by  Professor  Hayden 
in  association  with  mammalian  remains  in  the  pliocene  sands  of  the 
Niobrara  River.    It  was  as  large  as  the  preceding  species. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       367 
BAPTEMTS. 

An  extinct  genus  of  terrapenes,  tlins  named,  is  established  on  an 
almost  perfect  shell,  obtained  from  the  miocene  tertiary  deposits  in  the 
vicinity  of  Fort  Bridger,  Wyoming.  It  was  submitted  to  our  examina- 
tion by  Mr.  O.  0.  Smith  of  Amherst,  Massachusetts.  The  genus  ap- 
proaches in  character  the  existing  Dermatemys  of  Central  America. 
» The  pedicles  of  the  sternum  are  covered  by  a  large  scute  intervening 
between  the  comparatively  large  inguinal  and  axilUiry  scutes,  and  sep- 
arating the  humeral  and  abdominar scutes  from  the  marginal  ones. 

Baptcmys  wyomingensis. — The  shell  of  the  species  measured  about  one 
foot  and  a  half  in  length  by  a  foot  in  breadth. 

B^NA. 

Another  extinct  genus  of  turtles  is  indicated  by  two  nearly  complete 
shells,  obtained  from  the  tertiary  formation  near  Fort  Bridger,  Wyoming. 
One  of  the  specimens  was  discovered  during  Professor  Hayden's  last  ex- 
pedition; the  other  was  presented  to  the  Avriter  by  Dr.  J.  Van  A.  Carter, 
of  Fort  Bridger.  The  genus  partakes  of  characters  of  tlie  terrapenes 
and  the  snappers.  The  shell  is  moderately  convex  as  in  the  latter,  and 
like  it  is  notched  at  the  sides  posteriorly.  The  sternum  is  more  like 
that  of  the  emydes  than  of  the  snappers.  The  sternal  pedicles  are  deep 
and  wide,  and  are  impressed  by%one  or  two  large  scales  intervening  be- 
tween the  humeral  and  abdominal  and  the  marginal  scutes,  and  sepa- 
rating comparatively  large  axillary  and  inguinal  scutes. 

Bmia  arenosa. — In  its  perfect  condition  the  shell  measured  about  four- 
teen inches  long  and  about  ten  and  a  half  wide.  Two  large  scutes  inter- 
vene to  the  axillary  and  inguinal  scutes. 

Bcvna  affinis. — This  may,  perhaps,  be  the  same  as  the  former.  It  was 
nearly  of  the  same  size  and  shape,  but  in  the  specimen  which  has  sug- 
gested the  idea  of  a  species  distinct  from  the  former,  a  single  accessory 
scute  intervenes  to  the  axillary  and  inguinal  scutes.. 

TRIONYX. 

The  genus  of  soft-shelled  turtles  is  represented  by  a  number  of  extinct 
species  belonging  to  both  the  secondary  and  tertiary  formations  of  this 
country.  Numerous  fragments,  in  the  collections  of  fossils  obtained  by 
Dr.  J.  Van  A.  Carter,  and  in  those  made  during  Professor  Hayden's  last 
two  expeditions,  from  the  tertiary  deposits  of  Wyoming,  apparently  indi- 
cate two  extinct  species.  Only  one  of  these,  however,  can  be  charac- 
terized from  the  more  perfect  of  the  specimens. 

Trionyx  guttatus. — This  species  is  established  on  a  large  portion  of  a 
carapace,  discovered  by  Professor  Hayden  in  18GS,  at  Church  Buttes, 
near  Fort  Bridger,  Wyoming.  The  shell  of  the  animal  was  about  a  foot 
and  a  quarter  long  by  a  foot  in  breadth. 

CEOCODILTA. 

Eemains  of  crocodilians  have  not  been  found  so  abundantly  in  the 
West  as  might  have  been  supposed.  None  have  thus  far  been  found 
among  the  multitude  of  other  reptilian  remains  in  the  cretaceous  form- 
ations of  Kansas  and  Dakota.  None  have  been  discovered  in  the 
miocene  tertiary  deposits  of  the  mcmvaises  terres  of  Dakota,  nor  the 
pliocene  sands  of  the  Niobrara  Eiver.  One  would  have  suspected  that 
crocodiles  would  have  been  abundant  where  there  were  such  vast  num- 
bers of  mammals  feeding  in  the  vicinity  of  streams  and  lakes  of  fresh 


368       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

water,  sucli  as  existed  in  Dakota  and  Nebraska  during  tbe  tertiary 
j)eriod. 

CEOCODILUS. 

Remains  of  this  genus  occur  abundantly  in  the  Bridger  Group  of 
tertiary  formations  in  Wyoming.  Among  numerous  fossils  from  this 
region  sent  to  tlie  writer  by  Dr.  J.  Van  A.  Carter,  and  in  tbe  collection 
made  during  Professor  Hayden's  last  expedition,  tbe  writer  has  detected 
tbe  remains  of  tbree  species  of  crocodile. 

Crocodilus  aptus. — A  species  named  from  a  single  vertebra  found  by 
Colonel  Jobn  A.  Knigbt,  United  States  Army,  near  Soutb  Bitter  Creek, 
^Vyoming.  Tbe  anihial  was  about  tbe  size  of  tbe  Mississippi  alligator. 
Eemaius  apparently  of  tbe  same  species  bave  been  collected  by  Dr.  J. 
Yan  A.  Carter  in  tbe  vicinity  of  Fort  Bridger. 

Crocodilus  EUiotti. — Tbe  remains  of  a  second  species  of  crocodile  were 
found  in  abundance,  during  Professor  Hayden's  last  expedition,  on  one 
of  tbe  tributaries  of  Green  Eiver,  Wyoming.  Tbe  skull  is  about  a 
foot  and  a  balf  in  length  and  bears  a  resemblance  in  shape  to  that  of 
tbe  crocodile  of  the  Nile.  Tbe  species  is  named  in  honor  of  Mr.  Henry 
W.  Elliott,  the  artist  attendant  on  Professor  Hayden's  expeditiofi.  Tbe 
remains  of  a  third  and  smaller  species  of  crocodile  are  contained  in  tbe 
collections  made  by  Professor  Hayden's  party  in  the  tertiary  deposits 
of  tbe  Bridger  Group.  Dr.  J.  Van  A.  Carter  has  also  sent  to  tbe  author, 
from  the  same  locabty,  a  number  of  vertebrae  of  this  third  siDccies. 

LACEETILIA. 

The  cretaceous  formations  of  the  West  teem  with  tbe  fossil  evidences 
of  lacertilian  life,  forms  well  expressed  in  tbe  line  "  there  were  giants  in 
those  days."  These  were,  however,  in  many  respects  so  peculiar,  or 
different  from  the  lacertilians  of  our  day,  holding  as  they  did  a  position 
between  the  latter  and  tbe  serpents,  that  Professor  Cope  has  viewed 
them  as  characteristic  of  a  distinct  order,  under  the  name  of  Pythono- 
morpha.  Tbe  true  lacertilians  appear  also  to  have  been  represented 
during  the  tertiary  period,  as  indicated  by  the  following  genus  : 

SANIVA. 

An  extinct  genus  of  lacertian  rei)tiles,  with  the  above  name,  is  founded 
on  remains  discovered  during  Professor  Hayden's  last  expedition,  in  a 
tertiary  rock  at  Granger,  Wyoming.  Tbe  vertebrae,  as  in  tbe  living 
iguanas,  monitors,  &c.,  bave  the  body  excavated  in  a  cup  in  front  and 
terminating  in  a  ball  behind.  Tbe  cup  and  ball  are  oblique  and  widest 
transversely.  Tbe  animal  possessed  well-developed  limbs  with  long 
toes,  but  the  remains  are  too  imperfect  to  determine  their  number  and 
arrangement.  Tbe  teeth  were  compressed,  conical,  and  doubly  trench- 
ant, indicating  carnivorous  habits. 

Saniva  ensidens. — The  si)ecies  was  as  large  as  /)ur  largest  living 
iguanas. 

FISHES. 

Numerous  remains  of  fishes  bave  been  discovered  in  the  secondary 
and  tertiary  formations  of  tbe  West.  Those  from  tbe  secondary  forma- 
tions of  cretaceous  age  belong  to  marine  forms.  Those  of  tbe  tertiary 
formations  of  California,  which  have  been  described,  also  belong  to  ma- 
rine forms,  mainly  sharks.  Those  of  the  tertiary  formations  east  of  the 
Eocky  Mountains,  which  bave  been  described,  are  from  Green  Elver, 
Wyoming,  and  Castle  Creek,  Idaho,  and  belong  to  fresh-water  forms. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       369 

Cypriniclce. 

This  is  an  extensive  fiimily  of  fresh-water  fishes,  aniono,-  the  least  car- 
nivorous of  its  chiss.  It  inchides  the  carp,  the  gold-fish,  the  sucker, 
&c.  It  is  well  represented  by  the  remains  of  a  number  of  extinct  spe- 
cies and  genera  in  the  tertiary  deposit  of  Castle  Creek,  Idaho. 

MYLOCYPRINUS. 

An  extinct  genus,  founded  on  numerous  specimens  of  pharyngeal 
bones,  supporting  strong  grinding  teeth,  submitted  to  the  investigation 
of  the  author  by  Professor  John  S.  dewberry. 

Mtjlociipriims  robiistus. — The  large  size  of  the  pharyngeal  bones  with 
their  robust  grinders,  looking  like  human  premolar  teeth,  indicate  a 
species  several  feet  in  length. 

CyprinodontidcD. 

The  living  members  of  the  cyprinodont  family  are  small  fishes,  for 
the  most  part  inhabiting  fresh  water. 

OYPEINODON. 

This  genus  is  represented  by  an  abundance  of  remains,  discovered,  iu 
association  with  those  of  herrings,  by  Professor  Hay  den,  in  the  tertiary 
shales  of  Green  Eiver,  Wyoming. 

Cyprinodon  Levatus. — A  small  species,  described  by  Professor  Cope, 
from  specimens  obtained  from  the  locality  just  named. 

Clupeidw. 

The  clupeoid  family  includes  shad,  herring,  &c. 

CLUPEA. 

Several  species  of/herrings  have  left  an  abundance  of  remains  in  the 
tertiary  shales  of  Green  Eiver,  Wyoming.  The  first  of  these  fossils  was 
made  known  to  us  in  1856  by  the  late  Dr.  John  Evans. 

Clupea  Jmmilis. — This  species  is  about  three  and  a  half  inches  in 
length. 

Clupea  pusilla. — A  species  about  half  the  size  of  the  preceding  and 
found  with  it  described  by  Professor  Cope. 

Squammipennes. 

A  family  of  fishes  characterized  by  the  extension  of  scales  on  the 
fins.  To  it  belongs  the  curious  Ch(Etodon  rostratus  of  Java,  which  pos- 
sesses the  faculty  of  throwing  a  droj)  of  water  from  its  mouth,  at  an 
insect,  with  unerring  accuracy. 

ASINEOPS. 

An  extinct  genus,  established  by  Professor  Cope  on  abundance  of 
remains  obtained  by  Professor  Hayden  in  the  tertiary  shales  of  Green 
Eiver,  Wyoming. 

Asincops  squamifrons. — The  species  is  about  eight  inches  in  length. 

PLAGOSTOMI. 
This  order  includes  the  sharks  and  rays. 

SELACHII. 

The  selachians,  or  sharks,  have  left  a  multitude  of  remains  in  some  of 
the  marine  tertiary  formations  of  the  West.     From  the  miocene  deposits 
of  Ocoya  Creek,  at  the  western  base  of  the  Sierra  Nevada,  California,  a 
24  G  •  • 


370       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

number  of  genera  and  species  have  been  indicated  by  Professor  Agas- 
siz,  as  follows :  Echinorliinus  Blakei,  Scymnus  occidentalism  Galeocerdo 
productus,  Prionodon  antiquus,  Hemipristis  lieteropleuriis,  Carcharodon 
rectus,  Oxyrhina  plana,  Oxyrhina  tumula,  Lamna  clavata,  Lamna  ornata. 

BATIDES. 

The  skates  are  indicated  in  the  Ocoya  Creek  tertiary  by  the  frag- 
ment of  a  tooth  referred  by  Professor  Agassiz  to  the  genus  Zygobates. 

ONCOBATIS. 

An  extinct  genus  of  rays  is  indicated  by  an  osseous  scale  of  peculiar 
character,  from  the  tertiary  deposit  of  Castle  Creek,  Idaho. 

Oncobatis  pentagonus. 

The  scale  upon  which  the  species  is  founded  was  discovered  in  asso- 
ciation with  abundance  of  remains  of  cyprinoid  fishes,  and  is  interesting 
as  indicating  most  i)robably  a  large  form  which  inhabited  fresh  water. 


v.— ON  THE  FOSSIL  PLANTS  OF  THE  CRETACE- 
OUS AND  TERTIARY  FORMATIONS  OF  KANSAS 
AND  NEBRASKA. 

By  L.  Lesquereux. 

CHAPTEE  I. 

ON  THE  MODE  OF  PRESERVATION  OF  THE  FOSSIL  PLANTS,  AND  ON  THE 
CIRCUMSTANCES  UNDER  WHICH  THEIR  FOSSILIZATION  HAS  BEEN  EF- 
FECTED. 

Researches  for  fossil  plants  are,  in  this  country,  so  rarely  undertaken 
under  a  scientific  direction,  that  their  discovery  is  mostly  a  matter  of 
chance,  giving  rise  to  speculations  and  queries  of  a  most  extraordinary 
kind.  Not  only  our  flexuous  stems  of  Stigmaria  have  been  often  con- 
sidered as  snakes  of  a  prodigious  size,  but  many  times  in  my  exi^lora- 
tious  I  have  been  amused  by  preposterous  questions  like  this  one,  ad- 
dressed to  me  by  people,  who,  recognizing  a  branch  of  fern  upon  a  speci- 
men of  shale  of  the  coal,  wished  me  to  explain  "  bj'  what  means  plants 
of  such  slender  size  could  pierce  the  stones  and  grow  into  them."  It  is 
not,  therefore,  inopportune  to  say  a  few  words  on  the  questions  heading 
this  chapter. 

Every  kind  of  woody  tissue,-  when  shut  out  of  atmospheric  influence, 
(or  of  oxidation,)  either  by  water  or  by  any  other  matter,  escapes  de- 
comi)osition  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time.  In  such  circumstances,  the 
wood  is  subjected  to  a  slow  kind  of  combustion,  of  which  the  first  state 
is  a  softening  of  the  tissue  or  of  the  whole  mass.  Timber  used  as  piling 
in  water  or  in  c\aj  is  found,  after  centuries,  blackened,  and  more  or  less 
plastic,  without  any  trace  of  decay.  Whole  forests  of  the  pliocene  age 
have  been  imbedded  in  clay,  or  submerged,  and  the  trees  have  now  their 
tissues  as  soft  as  the  clay  itself,  though  their  structure  is  in  a  perfect 
state  of  preservation.  It  is  the  same  with  some  deposits  of  lignites  of 
the  tertiary,  which  are  a  mere  compound  of  heaped  trunks  of  trees  whose 
wood  has  become  black  as  coal,  but  is  still  soft  as  clay.    This  first 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF  -THE    TERRITORIES.  371 

mode  of  decouiposit  ion  of  the  woody  tissue  explains  tlie  various  appear- 
ances reiunrked  in  different  kinds  of  fossil  wood  after  complete  minerali- 
zation ;  for.it  is  easy  to  understand  tluit,  after  this  softening  process, 
the  wood  is  easily  penetrated  by  different  mineralizing  elements,  of 
which  the  water  or  the  imbedding  substances  are  impregnated.  Some 
substances,  especially  lime  and  silica,  do  not  destroy  the  woody  tissue 
in  penetrating  it.  The  internal  structure  of  fossil  trees  of  this  kind  can 
therefore  be  studied  in  obtaining  their  lamella?,  and  observing  them  with 
the  microscope.  This  has  furnished  the  means  of  exactly  determining, 
if  not  the  species,  at  least  the  genera  to  which  are  referable  fossil  trees 
of  various  geological  epochs. 

Deposits  of  fossil  wood  of  this  kind  are  generally  formed  in  connection 
with  our  tertiary  and  cretaceous  formations,  and  also,  though  moie 
rarely,  in  our  carboniferous  measures.  There  is  a  deposit  of  silicilied 
trunks  in  Southern  Ohio,  from  which  splendid  specimens  have  been  ob- 
tained. Silicified  trunks  of  the  tertiary  are  now  found  strewn  on  the 
sandy  surface  of  the  land  in  MissiSvsippi,  Arkansas,  and  farther  west. 
This  mode  of  petrification  has  happened  to  trees  in  a  standing  position 
as  well  as  to  jirostrated  trunks.  In  the  first  case  the  petrification  of 
the  trees  is  generally  homogeneous  or  unmixed.  In  prostrated  trunks 
the  difference  in  the  decomposition  of  the  trees,  at  the  time  when  they 
were  buried,  has  apparently  varied  the  mode  and  the  agents  of  minerali- 
zation in  such  a  way  that,  in  the  same  specimens,  part  of  a  trunk  is  im- 
pregnated with  lime,  while  other  i)arts  are  silicified,  and  still  others 
penetrated  with  oxide  of  iron  or  hardened  into  clay.  Trees  fossilized  in 
that  way  have  been  remarked  at  various  places,  especially  in  beds  of 
sandstone  of  the  coal  formations  near  Gallipolis,  Ohio.  At  first  it  seems 
difficult  to  explain  how  trees  can  have  been  preserved  in  a  standing 
position  for  a  time  long  enough  to  produce  mineralization.  But  in 
examining  the  geological  strata  of  our  coal  measures,  for  example,  it 
becomes  evident  that  at  repeated  times,  areas,  sometimes  of  wide  extent, 
have  been  subjected  to  great  depressions,  and  been  covered  more 
or  less  rapidly  Avith  water  and  with  the  materials  brought  with  it,  espe- 
cially sand.  In  that  way  entire  forests  have  been  buried,  their  trees 
imbedded  to  a  certain  height  and  petrified  in  that  position,  sustained  as 
they  were  in  their  softened  state  by  the  imbedding  materials.  Such 
fossil  standing  trees  are  of  no  rare  occurrence  in  the  sandstone  of  our 
coal  measures,  and  sometimes,  as  for  example  near  Carbondale,  Penn- 
sylvania, the  miners  have  pierced  their  tunnels  through  such  forests  of 
stone  and  brought  to  light  an  immense  amount  of  their  debris. 

It  is  questionable  if,  by  the  petrification  of  trees  by  silex,  the  silica 
which  has  penetrated  them  was  naturally  in  solution  in  the  water  cov- 
ering the  deposit,  as  Professor  Gceppert  will  have  it;  or  if,  according  to 
Professor  Schimper's  opinion,  the  silicification  has  happened  only  under 
the  influence  of  hot  springs,  impregnated  with  a  large  proportion  of 
silica,  like  springs  of  volcanic  agency.  Tlie  first  or  natural  process  can 
have  been  but  verj'  slow,  and  so  lohg,  according  to  Professor  Schimper, 
that  the  wood  could  not  have  escaped  total  decomposition  and  destruc- 
tion before  its  mineralization.  In  this  assertion  the  celebrated  in^ofessor 
is  certainly  in  error,  for,  from  what  we  have  said  before,  the  woody 
tissue,  protected  by  immersion  against  the  destroying  influence  of  the  oxy- 
gen of  air,  is  indeed  indestructible  for  an  indefinite  length  of  time ;  and  be- 
ing preserved  for  whole  epochs  in  the  soft  state,  can  be  thus  slowly  im- 
pregnated by  any  kind  of  mineralizing  elements  which  may  be  in  solution 
in  the  water.  The  opinion  of  Professor  Schimper  is  still  contradicted  by 
the  fact  that  in  this  country  silicified  wood  is  found  in  our  coal  meas- 


372       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

iires  and  in  onr  tertiary  and  cretaceous  formations  in  connection  with 
such  strata,  which  do  uotshow^  the  slightest  traces  of  disturbances  and 
of  metamorphism  or  change  of  nature  bj'  heat ;  and  at  such  localities 
where  no  traces  of  thermal  springs,  or  other  phenomena  of  the  same 
nature,  indicate  the  influence  of  volcanic  action. 

When  other  substances,  like  clay,  iron,  sand,  &c.,  have  penetrated  the 
trees  or  plants  subjected  to  fossilization,  the  internal  structure  of  the 
wood  has  been  totally  destroyed,  and  then  nothing  is  left  to  indicate  . 
its  primitive  nature  but  a  thin  pellicle  of  charcoal  surrounding  the  bark 
and  preserving  therefore  only  the  outline  of  the  outer  surface  of  the 
trees.  Trunks  of  this  kind  are  often  found  either  standing  in  their 
original  form,  or  prostrated  and  flattened  by  compression  in  the  sand- 
stone of  our  coal  measures.  The  peculiar  conformations  of  the  trees  of 
this  formation  afford,  from  the  scars  of  branches  and  leaves  which  have 
been  left  on  the  trunks,  the  means  of  comparing  them  and  of  classify- 
ing them,  even  according  to  their  species.  At  some  places,  for  exam- 
ple, near  the  Raccoon  Furnace,  in  Korthwest  Kentucky,  immense  deposits 
of  iron  ore  have  been  formed  by  the  accumulation  of  stems  and  leaves 
of  Stigmaria  and  Cordaites,  which  have  been  transformed  into  a  rich  car- 
bonate of  iron.  The  stems  of  Stigmaria  have  preserved  their  original 
form,  not  being  flattened  in  the  least,  with  the  scars  of  their  leaves 
j)erfectly  distinct,  as  well  as  the  medular  canal  and  its  star-like  divisions. 

When  trunks  are  immersed  for  a  great  length  of  time  in  water  which 
does  not  contain  any  kind  of  mineralizing  element,  the  softer  tissue 
becomes  not  only  softened,  but  disaggregated  in  such  a  way  that  the 
woody  matter  is  separated  like  a  paste,  excepting  the  bark,  which  longer 
resists  this  kind  of  disaggregation.  In  that  way,  and  by  compression, 
layers  of  bark  of  species  of  trees  of  the  coal  epoch  are  found  in  the 
shale,  heaped  upon  one  another  in  a  more  or  less  confused  manner.  The 
same  x)henomenon  is  observable,  even  at  our  time,  in  some  peat  forma- 
tions of  the  North,  for  example  in  Denmark,  near  the  border  of  the 
sea,  in  a  large  swamp  out  of  which  the  peat  is  worked  for  combustible. 
This  matter  is  a  half  fluid  paste,  a  compound  of  debris  of  woody  fibers. 
It  is  taken  out  in  buckets,  thrown  upon  beds  of  straw  to  drain  off  the 
water,  and  then  compressed  and  dried,  when  it  becomes  a  good  combus- 
tible. In  the  meanwhile  the  bark  of  the  trees  from  which  this  decomposed 
matter  has  been  derived  is  taken  out  of  the  ditch,  like  rolled,  hollow 
cylinders,  and  then  dried  separately  and  used  as  a  combustible  of  less 
value. 

It  is  especially  from  the  iietrification  of  leaves  and  small  branches 
that  our  valuable  and  interesting  specimens  of  fossil  plants  are  obtained. 
Their  fossilization  is  somewhat  different  from  that  of  the  trunks.  Leaves 
falling  in  pools  of  quiet  water,  containing  some  muddy  sediments,  are 
softened,  then  comi)ressed,  and  by  the  hardening  of  the  imbedding  mat- 
ter the  skeleton  of  their  tissue  is  printed  upon  the  stone,  sometimes  in 
its  minutest  details.  In  the  shale  of  the  coal-measures  the  matter  of 
the  leaves  has  been  transformed  into' a  thin  pellicle  of  coal,  which  shows 
all  the  details  of  their  structure.  The  exact  outlines  of  whole  fronds 
of  ferns,  their  leaves  in  their  minutest  divisions,  the  stems,  the  pedicels, 
all  the  nerves  and  their  branches,  are  there  plearly  printed  in  black  upon 
the  stone,  offering  in  their  details  of  structure,  characters  which  serve  to 
their  determination.  In  some  shale  the  leaves  and  branches  are  inclosed 
in  concretions  or  nodules  of  carbonate  of  iron,  wherein  thej^have  left  the 
most  beautiful  and  distinct  impressions.  Our  tertiary  and  cretaceous 
measures  contain  leaves  of  trees  which  are  preserved  in  the  same  way, 
in  clay  or  soft  sandstone,  and  which  have  left  nothing  on  the  shale  but 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       373 

tbe  print  of  the  details  of  their  structure,  their  outlines  and  their  nerva- 
tion, without  any  trace  of  their  original  substance. 

The  mode  of  preservation  of  the  leaves  varies  like  that  of  the  trunks, 
according  to  the  elements  composing"  the  matter  in  which  they  are  im- 
bedded, and  especially  according  to  the  circumstances  in  which  they 
have  been  deposited.  Immense  beds  of  coal,  for  example,  have  been 
formed  from  the  remains  of  plants,  while  the  coal  itself  scarcely  shows 
any  distinct  prints,  except  sometimes  upon  thin  lamelhe  of  dry  char- 
coal which  separate  its  layers.  Per  contra,  the  i^rints  of  fossil  plants 
are  abundantly  seen  in  the  shale  which  covers  the  coal.  The  reason  of 
this  diilerencc  is,  that  when  the  combustible  is  heaped  by  sni)erposition 
of  debris  of  wood,  and  no  foreign  element  like  clay  or  sand  is  mixed 
with  it,  the  whole  matter,  by  sloW'  decomposition,  is  softened  into  paste, 
then  compressed  and  hardened,  forming  a  homogeneous  mass.  In  this 
process  all  the  tissues  are  destro^-ed  or  mixed,  and  therefore  the  origi- 
nal form  of  vegetables  is  rarely  preserved.  But  when  the  growth  of 
the  peat  or  the  heaping  of  the  woody  materials  which  have  composed  a 
bed  of  coal  have  ceased,  and  when  by  immersion  the  surface  becomes 
covered  by  water,  deep  enough  to  stop  the  active  vegetation  which 
originated  the  coal,  some  hillocks  or  islands  are  left  here  and  there 
above  water,  bearing  the  same  kind  of  plants  as  those  of  the  coal.  Their 
branches  in  decaying  fall  into  the  water  and  are  imbedded  in  its  muddy 
deposits,  which  form  the  shale,  and  then  preserved  by  fossilization. 

It  is  in  the  same  way  that  the  leaves  of  trees,  growing  around  the 
swamps  at  the  time  of  our  cretaceous  or  tertiary  formations,  have  been 
deposited  in  clay,  and  preserved  in  a  fossil  state.  Sometimes,  however, 
leaves  and  Avoody  debris  have  been  transported  and  heaped  at  some 
places  accordhig  to  circumstances.  In  this  case  they  are  more  or  less 
damaged,  rolled  up,  and  mixed  together  in  sandstone  or  clay,  in  a  more 
or  less  indistinguishable  mass.  We  have  at  our  time  examples  of  all 
these  kinds  of  transportation,  deposition,  and  preservation  of  leaves.  We 
find  them  imbedded  in  the  muddy  deposits  which  cover  our  peat-bogs. 
The  clay  of  our  swamps  is  full  of  skeletons  of  leaves  from  the  trees  which 
surround  them,  and  along  our  rivers,  as,  for  example,  of  the  Ohio  lliver 
near  Paducah,  we  find  deposits  of  leaves  floated  down  the  river  and 
buried  in  the  bottom  clay,  in  heaps  of  six  to  ten  feet  thick,  where  they 
still  follow  the  same  process  of  slow  decomposition,  whose  ultimate  term 
is  complete  petrification. 


ON    THE    FOSSIL    PLANTS    CONSIDERED    IN   THEIR    RELATION    TO    THE 
ACTUAL  DOMAIN  OF  MAN. 

As  most  of  the  strata  composing  the  crust  of  the  earth  have  been 
formed  under  water,  and  mostly  contain  remains  of  animals,  especially 
of  molusks,  geology  receives  from  animal  paleontology  far  greater 
assistance  for  the  determination  of  the  strata  and  of  their  relative  age 
than  it  can  obtain  from  the  study  of  botanical  remains.  Considered  in 
this  point  of  view,  therefore,  fossil  plants  appear  of  little  importance. 
But  when  we  come  to  demand  from  geology  some  instructions,  some 
light  concerning  the  surftice  of  our  earth  at  different  epochs,  science 
can  answer  nothing  if  it  does  not  inquire  into  the  data  furnished  by 
botanical  paleontology.     As  vegetation  is  in  absolute  relation  with 


374       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

I 

atmospberic  circiimstauces,  the  fossil  plants  are,  indeed,  tlie  written 
records  of  tlie  atmospheric  and  phjsical  conditions  of  our  earth  at  the 
e]iochs  which  they  represent.  In  the  Marcelkis  shale  of  the  Middle 
Devonian,  we  see  the  first  appearance  of  vegetation  in  the  fossil  remains 
of  large  trunks  of  coniferous  trees  found  here  and  there  imbedded  in 
the  shale,  without  any  trace  of  branches  or  leaves.  The  shale  also  con- 
tains a  quantity  of  fish  remains  and  large  flakes  of  black,  coaly  matter, 
apparently  due  to  the  decom])osition  of  marine  plants.  It  is  an  exten- 
sive formation,  sometimes  a  few  hundred  feet  in  thickness,  impreg- 
nated with  bitumen,  presenting  everywhere  the  same  characters.  Ko 
other  trace  of  land  plants  is  left  but  these  large  fossil  trunks.  Where 
was  the  land  then  just  emerging  for  the  first  time  from  its  marine  cra- 
dle '?  What  was  the  aspect  of  the  landscape  ?  A  black  muddy  surface 
covered  with  an  atmosphere  darkened  by  vapors,  where  nothing  is  dis- 
tinguishable, but  perhaps  at  wide  intervals,  a  group  of  some  trees  emerg- 
ing from  the  muddy  bottom  and  breaking  the  universal  gloom.  jSTo 
trace  of  animal  life  appears  above  the  waters.     All  is  dismal  and  silent. 

In  the  Upper  Devonian,  the  Chemung,  the  Catskill  group,  and  espe- 
cially the  red  shale  of  the  subcarboniferous  measures,  largely  developed 
in  the  anthracite  basin  of  the  Appalachian  coal-fields,  the  remains  of 
land  plants  are  more  frequently  found.  These  are  not  trunks  of  fossil 
wood,  but  rather  leaves  and  branches  of  a  peculiar  type  of  plants,  ferns 
with  flabellate  leaves,  especially  Noef/gerathia,  which  we  do  not  find  in 
the  coal  measures;  and  a  few  stems  of  LycopodiaceK  and  Uquisetacew, 
the  first  representatives  of  a  class  of  plants  which  constitutes  the  largest 
part  of  the  vegetation  of  the  coal.  Leaves  and  branches  of  the  Upper  De- 
vonian and  subcarboniferous  measures  are  compressed  between  layers  of 
shales,  which  bear  ripple-marks,  fissures  caused  by  heat,  and  round  prints, 
evidently  formed  by  drops  of  rain.  If  tJiis  does  not  indicate  a  succession 
of  seasons  of  different  temperature,  it  shows  at  least  a  distinct  atmo- 
sphere, already  penetrated  by  light,  where  changes  of  temperature  cause 
condensation  or  difiusion — rain,  followed,  perhaps,  by  some  rays  of  sun- 
shine. Animal  life  also  appears  at  the  surface  ;  crustaceans  and  large 
creeping  saurians  slowly  plow  their  paths  in  the  mud.  Their  traces  have 
been  preserved  upon  the  shales ;  they  indicate  the  first  attempt  at  an 
serial  respiration. 

In  the  coal  formations  the  aspect  of  the  landscape  is  totally  changed. 
Everywhere  the  vegetable  life  predominates  and  attains  its  widest  pro- 
portions ;  ^11  still  more  or  less  under  the  influence  of  water.  The  emerged 
land  is  marked  by  a  succession  of  immense  low  swamps,  whose  surface 
is  concealed  under  a  thick  carpet  of  creeping  plants,  which  fill  them 
with  their  debris.  Where  the  land  has  already  some  fixity,  immense 
forests  of  large  trees,  mostly  of  the  acrogenous  kind,  grow  in  a  dense 
mass,  of  a  size  and  height  which  compare  with  the  hjrgest  trees  of  our 
time.  They  cover  the  land  with  a  world  of  vegetation,  which  is  scarcely 
now  conceivable,  even  by  the  wildest  imagination.  All  the  vegetation 
is  by  its  nature,  its  form,  its  texture,  especially  adapted  to  the  absorp- 
tion of  atmospheric  humidity  and  of  carbonic  acid.  It  is  there  at  work 
cleaning  the  atmosphere,  in  transforming  into  woody  fiber  its  surplus  of 
water  and  of  carbonic  acid,  and  preparing  it  for  animal  life.  For  already, 
remains  of  saurians,  scorpions,  insects  of 'large  size,  found  in  the  shale 
of  the  coal,  indicate  that  animal  life  has  taken  a  marked  place  on  the 
surface  of  the  land.  There  is  there  also  an  evident  distinction  of  sea- 
sons ;  the  layers  of  coal  show  annual  decay  and  periodical  deposition 
of  woody  remains. 

The  lower  permian  has  still  for  its  land  vegetatioo.  many  species  of 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  375 

plants  of  tlie  coal-measures,  but  liere  the  conifer  appears,  represented 
for  the  tirst  time  by  their  leaves  and  branches,  and  are  of  a  peculiar 
order.  The  carboniferous  vegetation  loses  its  foi'ce  by  the  disappear- 
ance of  its  arborescent  acrogenous  plants.  The  debris  are  no  more 
heaped  in  immense  deposits,  but  scattered  here  and  there  in  the  shales, 
or  forming  by  their  agglomeration  mere  flakes  of  coal.  This  indi- 
Ciites  an  atuiosphere  already  discharged  of  greatest  part  of  its  carbonic 
acid  and  of  vapors.  The  triassic,  which,  with  us  at  least,  touches,  by 
the  character  of  its  flora,  to  the  Jurassic,  has  plants  which,  like  CtjcaclecCy 
rather  indicate  a  warm  than  a  vaporous  atmosphere.  But  for  this  and 
the  following  formations,  the  Jurassic,  the  data  furnished  by  fossil 
plants  on  this  continent  are  too  scant  to  permit  reliable  conclusions. 
We  have  to  pass  to  the  lower  cretaceous  to  find  abundant  remains  of 
land  plants,  and  here  at  once  we  have  a  vegetation  absolutely  difl'erent 
in  its  characters  from  all  that  has  been  seen  before.  _  All  the  forms  (the 
needle  form  of  leaves)  which  indicate  atmospheric  humidity,  have  dis- 
appeared ;  scarcely  any  conifers  remain,  very  few  ferns,  no  trace  of 
Lycopodiacea\  but  leaves  of  dicotyledonous  plants,  re]>resenting  already 
most  of  the  genera  of  trees  found  in  our  forests.  The  vegetation  is 
therefore  of  a  kind  known  to  us.  The  atmospheric  circumstances  are 
then  analogous  to  those  of  our  time.  We  now  follow  through  the 
cretaceous  and  tertiary  formations  merely  modifications  of  species, 
disappearance  of  some  forms,  reappearance  of  others,  about  as  we 
should  have  to  do  now  in  studying  our  flora  in  passing  through  a  few 
degrees  of  latitude*. 


THE  FOSSIL  PLANTS  IN  RELATION  TO  OUR  PRESENT  CIVILIZATION. 

To  say  that  fossil  plants  have  a  relation  to  our  present  civilization 
appears  at  first  sight  a  paradoxical  affirmation.  But  what  is  coal  ?  A 
mere  agglomeration  of  petrified  debris  of  plants.  And  who  at  our  time 
could  refuse  to  admit  the  influence  of  coal  upon  our  actual  civilization  ? 
Coal  is  the  great  generator  of  heat,  of  steam,  of  force;  a  potent  auxiliary 
to  every  kind  of  enginery.  It  helps  to  the  construction  of  our  rail- 
roads; it  brings  them  to  countries  which,  without  it,  would  remain 
deserts;  and  transports  everywhere,  with  lightning  speed,  not  only  the 
necessaries  of  life,  but  the  products  of  industry  essentially  due  to  its 
active  cooperation.  Coal  is  now  used  everywhere,  and  is  the  friend  of 
everybody.  It  has  become  an  object,  not  of  mere  commodity,  but  of 
absolute  necessity.  • 

The  formation  of  the  coal  is  now  pretty  well  understood  among  geol- 
ogists. It  results  from  active  growth  of  woody  plants,  whose  debris, 
falling  every  year,  are  preserved  against  decomposition  by  stagnant 
water,  or  great  atmospheric  humidity.  It  is  the  process  which  now 
still  forms  our  deposit  of  peat.  It  demands  for  its  faV'Orable  action  a 
ground  or  basin,  rendered  impermeable  by  a  substratum  of  clay,  a  pecu- 
liar kind  of  plants,  constantly  growing  at  the  same  place,  and  heaping 
their  debris  for  a  length  of  time.     At  our  epoch  the  formation  of  peat 

*  In  the  geological  report  of  Dr.  F.  V.  Haydeu  on  the  explorations  of  the  Yellow- 
stone River,  under  the  direction  of  Brigadier  General  W.  F.  Raynolds,  i)ublished  in 
1869,  Dr.  Newberry  has  clearly  exposed  the  character  of  the  vegetation  in  i-elation  to 
e»ch  geological  epoch. 


376        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

is  essentially  of  two  kinds.  Either  the  vegetables  whicTi  furnish  the 
materials  are  aquatic,  or  semi-aerial  plants,  having  their  roots  in  water, 
and  ex])anding  their  branches,  leaves,  &c.,  on  the  surface  of  the  water, 
or  above  it.  Their  debris  falls  in  water,  and  are  heaped  and  preserved 
under  it.  In  another  way,  and  this  is  more  generally  the  case,  the 
plants  of  the  peat  bogs  are  of  a  j)eculiar  texture.  Hygrometrical,  like 
sponges,  they  absorb  humidity  by  their  aerial  tissues  as  much  as  by 
their  roots,  and  thus  protected  themselves  against  decomposition  from 
atmospheric  action,  they  cover  in  their  growth  every  kind  of  woody 
d6bris,  even  large  trees,  and  afford  to  them  the  same  protective  in- 
fluence. In  that  way  the  surface  of  peat-bogs  of  this  kind  grow 
constantly  up.  In  that  way  also  peat-bogs  grow  at  our  time  upon 
the  slopes  of  steep  mountains,  whenever  atmospheric  humidity  is  con- 
stant and  abundant  enough  to  furnish  moisture  for  the  life  of  those 
hygrometrical  plants,  which  now  are  mere  mosses.  The  peat-bogs  of  the 
coal  did  grow  in  the  same  way;  the  distinction  in  cannel  coal,  which 
bas  been  formed  under  water,  and  bituminous  coal,  which  by  its  laj^ers 
Indicates  an  upper  aquatic  growth,  is  Avell  marked.  But  during  the 
carboniferous  epoch,  the  circumstances  favorable  to  the  growth  of  the 
peat  Avere  in  their  highest  development.  Low,  wide  basins  of  stagnant 
water,  whose  bottom  was  first  coated  by  deposits  of  clay;  an  atmosphere 
constantl}^  charged  with  vapors  and  a  large  proportion  of  carbonic 
acid,  the  food  of  plants,  forming  by  its  transformation  the  woody 
tissues ;  floating  vegetables  of  immense  size,  first  growing  horizon- 
tally at  the  surface  of  the  water,  and  filling  the  basin  with  their 
debris,  then  forming  a  support  for  a  more  aerial  vegetation ;  fern- 
trees,  lycopodes,  horse-tails,  all  of  enormous  size,  heaped  in  a  con- 
tinuous growth  the  woody  tissues  of  their  vegetable  remains  in  a 
now  inconceivable  proi)ortion.  Our  thickest  beds  of  peat  now 
measure  scarcely  twenty  feet.  By  compression  and  mineralization  the 
thickness  would  be  reduced  to  one-sixth,  or  three  feet  at  the  most.  We 
have  beds  of  coal  of  twenty  feet  of  thickness  which  would  make  a  4e- 
posit  of  peat  reach  one  liundred  and  twenty  feet.  And  now  the  result 
of  this  wonderful  accumulation  of  fossilized  debris  of  plants  of  the  car- 
boniferous epoch  is  known  to  everybody.  We  will  not  repeat  what 
Taylor,  Eogers,  Lesley,  Sheatfer,  and  others  have  published  on  the  extent 
of  our  coal-measures  and  on  their  coal-bearing  capacity.  The  area  cov- 
ered by  the  carboniferous  formations  in  the  United  States  comprises 
about  one  hundred  and  forty  thousand  square  miles.  It  is  true,  indeed, 
that  the  peat  bogs  of  old  did  not  extend  over  the  whole  surface ;  that 
they  were  of  various  dimensions,  separated  by  sandy  hills  or  by  deep 
lagoons ;  that  after  the  deposit  of  their  materials,  erosions  caused  by 
water  or  other  agency  have  greatly  diminished  their  size.  But  it  is  true 
also  that  beds  of  coal,  like  the  Pittsburg  bed*,  whose  average  thickness 
is  about  eight  feet,  may  be  traced  over  surfaces  more  than  one  hundred 
square  miles  in  width.  It  is  equally  true  that  beds  of  coal  are  superposed 
at  intervals,  in  the  coal  measures,  in  such  a  way  that  at  the  same  place  a 
boring  of  a  few  hundred  feet  may  successively  pass  through  five  beds  of 
coal  or  even  more  of  various  thicknesses.  A  boring  of  seven  hundred  and 
fifty  fe(  t,  recently  made  in  the  anthracite  coal  basin  of  Pennsylvania, 
passed  through  five  beds  of  coal,  respectively,  four,  eleven,  five,  twenty- 
eight,  and  five  feet  thick,  or  more  than  fifty  feet  of  anthracite,  with 
intervals  of  rocks,  respectively  two  hundred  and  sixty,  ninety-eight, 
one  hundred  and  seventy-four,  and  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  feet. 
A  section  at  Wilkesbarre,  Pennsylvania,  indicates  sixty-two  feet  of  coal 
in  a  thickness  of  about  six  hundred  feet  of  measures.    A  low  bed  of 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       377 

coal,  the  equivalent  of  the  mammoth  vein  of  Pennsylvania,  which 
averages  eight  to  ten  feet  in  thickness,  is  found  over  the  whole  extent 
of  the  coal  measures  of  Ohio,  Kentucky,  Indiana,  and  Illinois,  measur- 
ing from  four  to  eight  feet.  So  immense,  indeed,  are  the  riches  of 
the  American  coal-measures,  that  in  their  conception  of  the  future  devel- 
opment of  our  human  race,  geographers,  historians,  philosophers,  agree 
in  this  idea :  that  in  the  United  States  we  have,  especially  in  our  coal 
deposits,  the  elements  for  the  greatest  and  most  perfect  development 
of  the  human  race. 

And  what  is  petroleum  or  mineral  oil,  too,  which  is  now  entering  in  our 
civilization,  if  not  as  one  of  its  essential  elements,  at  least  as  one  of  its 
potent  auxiliaries !  It  is,  like  coal,  the  result  of  slow  maceration  of 
plants  ;  with  this  difference,  that  in  the  formation  of  the  coal,  the  plants 
which  entered  into  the  composition  of  the  matter  were  woody  or  librous, 
and  the  woody  tissue  cannot  be  destroyed  by  the  slow  process  of  combus- 
tion no  more  than  it  is  in  burnt  charcoal.  The  plants  which  concurred 
to  the  formation  of  ])etroleum  were  sea-weeds  or  marine  plants.  Tbese 
have  no  fibers,  no  wood  in  their  tissue,  which  is  merely  cellular ;  and 
in  their  decomposition  all  trace  of  this  tissue  has  been  destroyed,  and 
pure  bitumen  preserved,  either  by  impregnation  of  shale  or  sandstone, 
&c.,  or  by  accumulation  in  subterranean  cavities.  It  is  to  fossil  plants 
also  that  we  owe  the  explanation  of  this  remarkable  process  of  mineraliza- 
tion. Deposits  of  oil  are  especiaUy  found  in  strata  of  the  Upper  Silu- 
rian and  the  Lower  Devonian,  and  always  in  connection  with  shale  or 
limestone,  which  contain  in  great  quantity  petrified  remains  of  fucoids 
or  marine  plains.  The  conditions  bringing  up  an  exuberance  of  vege- 
tation were  alreadj^  at  work  before  the  carboniferous  epoch ;  their  action 
resulted  in  the  production  of  an  imaiense  marine  vegetation.  As  nature 
does  nothing  in  vain,  as  she  takes  care  of  all  its  materials  and  uses  them, 
to  the  minutest  debris,  she  took  the  bitumen  away  and  preserved  it  in 
cavernous  recesses  for  future  use.  By  the  discovery  of  our  deposits  of 
petroleum  we  have  learned  what  had  been  done  with  the  superabundant 
production  of  marine  plants  in  our  old  geological  epochs.  Coal  and 
petroleum  are  found  in  all  the  geological  formations.  But  since  the  coal 
era  the  deposits  of  these  matters  have  become  of  comparatively  rare 
occurrence,  and  of  far  less  importance,  their  value  being  diminished  as 
much  b}"  the  reduction  of  their  areas  as  by  the  inferior  quality  of  their 
products.  They  now  take  a  nominal  and  far  more  modest  place  iu  the 
harmony  of  our  earth's  surface. 


ON  THE  DISCORDANCE  IN  THE   CHARACTERS  OF  EUROPEAN  AND  AMER- 
ICAN FLORA  AT  THE  TERTIARY  AND  CRETACEOUS  EPOCHS. 

'Since  the  first  appearance  of  land  vegetation  upon  the  surfiice  of  our 
earth,  what  we  know  of  it  by  fossil  remains  seems  to  indicate  for  our 
country  a  i)recedence  in  time  in  the  development  of  botanical  types. 
Large  trunks  of  coniferous  wood  are  already  found  in  our  Devonian 
measures,  while  analogous  species  are  recorded  as  yet  only  in  the  car- 
boniferous measures  of  England.  Though  the  analogy  of  vegetation 
between  the  flora  of  the  coal  measures  of  America  and  EuroiJe  is  evi- 
dently established  by  a  number  of  identical  genera  and  species,  we  have 
nevertheless  some  types,  like  the  Paleoxiris,  which  are  considered  as  char- 


378  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

acteristic  of  strata  of  the  European  permian,  and  which  are  found  in  our 
coal-measures  as  far  down  as  the  first  coal  above  the  millstone  grit. 
Even  peculiar  ferns  of  our  upper  coal  strata  have  a  tj'pical  analogy  with 
species  of  the  oolite  of  England.  Our  trias,  by  the  presence  of  numerous 
cycadere,  touches  the  Jurassic  of  Europe.  But  it  is  especially  from  our 
flora  of  the  lower  cretaceous  that  we  have  a  vegetable  exposition  pecu- 
liarly at  variance  with  that  of  Europe  at  the  same  epoch,  and  whose 
types  so  much  resemble  those  of  the  European  tertiary  that  the  evi- 
dence of  the  age  of  the  formation,  where  the  plants  have  been  found, 
could  not  be  admitted  by  paleontologists  until  after  irrefutable  proofs 
of  it  had  been  obtained. 

Professor  dewberry,  in  the  report  mentioned  above,  has  already  given 
sufficient  details  of  the  history  of  these  plants,  the  scientific  value  of 
their  discovery,  the  interest  and  the  discussion  which  they  have  kindled. 
He  has  also  rendered  full  justice  to  the  researches  of  Dr.  F.  V.  Hay  den, 
to  whom  we  owe  what  we  may  consider  as  the  most  important  materials 
furnished  at  our  time  to  the  consideration  of  vegetable  paleontology. 
Professor  Newberry's  enumeration  of  our  cretaceous  and  tertiary  plants 
is  limited  to  what  was  known  after  the  exploration  of  Messrs.  Marcou 
and  Cappellini  in  1863.  Since  then  the  researches  of  Professor  Hayden 
and  Dr.  J.  Leconte  have  procured  new  materials,  which  have  been  de- 
scribed and  figured  for  a  final  report  of  Professor  Hayden's  exploration. 
Those  materials  are  now  briefly  examined  in  order  to  render  as  complete 
as  possible  our  review  of  the  American  cretaceous  and  tertiary  flora  and 
of  its  relation  to  the  European  flora  of  the  same  epochs. 

•> 

SECTION  1. — CRETACEOUS  FLORA. 

In  1867  Dr.  John  Leconte  had  the  kindness  to  send  me  a  small  lot  of 
cretaceous  fossil  plants  from  Fort  Ellsworth,  Kansas  ;  the  same  locality 
where  had  been  obtained  the  cretaceous  leaves  collected  by  Messrs. 
Marcou  and  Capellini,  and  described  by  Professor  Heer.  These  plants 
were  figured  and  described  as  an  appendix  to  a  paper  on  species  of  fos- 
sil plants  from  the  tertiary  of  the  State  of  Mississippi.*  Though  the 
lot  of  these  specimens  was  small,  it  furnished  an  interesting  contribu- 
tion to  the  fossil  botany  of  the  cretaceous,  especially  in  confirmation  of 
what  had  been  already  renmrked  on  the  miocenic  facies  of  this  flora. 
Besides  Proteoides  acuta,  P.  grevilUwformis,  Andromeda  Parlatorii,  and 
Magnolia  alternans,  already  described  by  Professor  Heer  in  his  memoir 
on  the  leaves  of  Marcou  and  Capellini,  the  appendix  mentions  a  new 
species,  Popnlitcs  micropliyUus,  represented  only  by  two  partly -broken 
specimens;  PhyUites  Z;ef«/frfo?M?s,  a  leaf  still  smaller  than  the  former 
ones,  with  irregularly  dentate  borders  and  an  irregular  (somewhat  ob- 
scure) nervation;  Sassafras  Leconteanum,  a  fine  large  ovate  lanceolate 
leaf,  resembling,  by  its  outlines,  a  leaf  of  Magnolia,  but  with  the  pecu- 
liar nervation  of  sassafras ;  Persca  Wehrascensis,  related  to  Pcrsea  land- 
folia  (Heer)  and  other  species  of  the  miocene  and  of  the  eocene  of  Europe ; 
Cinnamomum  Heerii,  (Lesqx.,)  a  plant  already  described  from  s])ecimens 
collected  by  Dr.  J.  Evans  at  ISTauaimo.f  This  species,  in-both  collections, 
is  represented  by  one  specimen  only ;  and  as  the  Ellsworth  s]>ecimen  has 
its  base  scraped  away,  and  that  of  Nebraska  has  the  point  broken,  the 
comparison  of  both  leaves  is  not  quite  satisfactory,  and  "^herefore  the 
identity  is  not  certain.    The  leaves  have,  indeed,  the  same  general  out- 


*  Trims.  Amer.  Phil.  Soc,  Vol.  XIII,  page  :]40,  Plate  23,  Mny,  1667. 
t  Amer.  Jour,  of  Nut.  Science  and  Arts,  Vol.  XXVII,  page  10 1 . 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  379 

line  and  the  same  kind  of  nervation,  and  if  not  of  the  same  species 
they  belong-  to  two  nearly  related  species  of  Cinrianiomum.  ' 

The  following-  list  is  an  enumeration  of  these  cretaceous  plants  and 
of  those  sent  me  somewhat  later  by  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden,  Dr.  Leconte,  and 
a  small  lot  presented  to  the  Smithsonian  Institution  by  Professor  B  F 
Jludg-e,  of  Kansas  University.  With  the  list  of  those  published  by 
Protessor  Heer  and  Dr.  Newberry,  which  is  given  in  Dr.  Ilayden's  for- 
mer report,  the  table  completes  the  exposition  of  what  is  known  till 
now  of  our  cretaceous  flora : 

1.  Fopnius  micropJu/lius,  Lesqx.,  Fort  Ellsworth,  J.  L.  C. 

2.  FhijUlteti  nitafoIiKs,  Lesqx.,  Fort  Ellsworth,  J.  L.  C. 

3.  Fersea  Ncbrcuscensis,  Lesqx,,  Fort  Ellsworth,  J.  L.  C. 

4.  Sassafras  Leconteanum,  Lesqx.,  Fort  Ellsworth,  J.  L.  C. 

5.  Cinuamomuni  Eeerii,  Lesqx.,  Fort  Ellsworth,  J.  L.  C* 

C.  Lijijodium,  (f)  fragment  of  fern,  Northwest  Salina,  Kansas,  B  F  M 

7.  FterophijUum  llaydenU,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  V.  H.    * 

8.  Glyptostrohusfp-acilUmus,  Lesqx.,  Dakota  County,  Nebraska,  F.  V.  H 

9.  Sequoia  (f)  formosa,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  V.  II. 

10.  FlUjUocladus  suUntegr  if  alius,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  V.  H. 

11.  Arunrlo  cretaceus,  Lesqx.,  Fort  Ellsworth,  L.  C. 

12.  Liquidambar  intefj)  if  alius,  Lesqx.,  Northwest  Salina,  Kansas,  B. 

13.  Fopulus  Lancastriensis,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  V  H 

14.  Fopulites  ciidophylla,  (?)  Heer,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  V.  H. 
lo.  Fopulites  elegans,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  V.  H. 

16.  Fopulites  ovata,  Lesqx.,  Dakota  County,  Nebraska,  F.  V.  H. 

17.  Fopulites  quadrangularis,  Lesqx.,  Decatur  County,  Nebraska,  F. 
v .  H. 

15.  Fopulites  fiabellata,  Lesqx.,  Lancaster  Couutj^,  Nebraska,  F.  Y.  H. 

19.  Fopulites    salisburiafolia,  Lesqx.,  Lancaster  County,  Nebraska* 

20.  Salix  proteoifolia,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  Y.  H. 

^  ^l;  ^ctula    Beatriciana,  Lesqx.,  Beatrice,  Gage  County,  Nebraska, 

22.  Fagus  polycladus,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  P\  Y.  H. 

23.  Quercus  primordialis,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  Y  H 

^24.  (^lercus  hexagona,  Lesqx.,  Cass  County,  Platte  Eiver,' Nebraska, 

25.  Quercus  UllstvortManns,    Lesqx.,  Lancaster   County,  Nebraska, 

26.  (?"ercMi'ance79s,  Lesqx.,  Dakota  County,  Nebraska,  F  Y  H 

2l  Quercus  semi-alatus,  Lesqx.,  Beatrice,  Gage  County,  Nebraska, 

28.  Ficus  (?)  rhoniboideus,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  Y.  H 

29.  Ficus  (?)  fimbriatus,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  Y  H 

30.  Flatanusaceroides,  (?)  Gopp.,  var.  latior,  Decatur  and  Lancaster, 
Nebraska,  F.  Y.  H.  ' 

31   Platanus  obtusiloba,  Lesqx.,  Beatrice,  Gage   County,  Nebraska, 

p  32.  ^atayms  dimimitivus,  Lesqx.,  Beatrice,  Gage  County,  Nebraska, 

33.  Credneria  Leconteana,  Lesqx.,  Fort  Ellsworth,  J.  L.  C. 

34.  Laurus  macrocarpus,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  Y.  H. 


AmP^^Tnn.^TfftF-''''^'  from  Trans   Araer.  Phil.  Society,  loc.  cit. ;  the  following  from 
Amer.  Jour,  of  Science  and  Arts,  Vol.  XLV,  page  91. 


380        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

35.  Sassafras  Mudgii,  Lesqx.,  Northwest  Salinas,  Kansas,  B.  F.  M. 
3o.  Sassafi^as  siibintegrifolius,  Lesqx.,   Northwest    Salinas,   Kansas, 
B.  F.  M. 

37.  Lyriodendron  intermedium^  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  V.  H. 

38.  Lyriodendron  giganteum,  Lesqx.,  five  miles  north  of  Fort  Ellsworth, 
Kansas,  B.  F.  M. 

39.  Magnolia  tenuifolia,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  Y.  H. 

40.  Domheyojms  ohtusiloba,  Lesqx.,  five  miles  north  of  Fort  Ellsworth, 
Kansas,  B.  F.  M.  ' 

41.  Acer  ohtusilohuni,  (f)  Ung-.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  V.  H. 

42.  Acerites  menispermifoUus^  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  V.  H. 

43.  Nequndoides  acutifoUa,  Lesqx.,  Salt  Creek,  Dakota  County,  Ne- 
braska, F.  Y.  H. 

44.  PaUurus  memhranaceus,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  Y.  H. 

45.  Bhamniis  tenax,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  Y.  H. 

46.  PhyUltes  rhoifoUus,  Lesqx.,  Lancaster  County,  Nebraska,  F.  Y.  H. 

47.  Prunus  cretaceus,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  Y.  H. 

48.  PhyUites  umhonatus,  Lesqx.,  Beatrice,  Gage  County,  Nebraska, 
F.  Y.  H. 

49.  PhyUites  amorplms,  Lesqx.,  Decatur,  Nebraska,  F.  Y.  H. 
Besides  these  fifty  species,  or  rather  forms  of  fossil  plants  which  are 

new  for  the  American  cretaceous,  the  specimens  sent  for  examination 
have  numerous  representatives  of  the  following  species  already  de- 
cribed:  PlatanusNeivherrH  Herr;  Laiirus  fPerseaJ  Nehrascensis,  Lesqx.; 
Sassafras  cretaceus,  Newb'y;  Proteoides  Baplmogenoldes,  Heer;  Pr. 
acuta,  Heer ;  Juglans  (Poxmlus)  Deheyana,  Heer  ;  Prunus  (Andromeda  fj 
Parlatorii,  Heer ;  and  PhyUites  Vannotuc,  Heer.  There  is  especially  a 
great  quantity  of  specimens  of  that  peculiar  Juglans  Bebeyana  whose 
leaves,  some  of  them  at  least,  resemble  leaves  of  Poimlus.  The  great 
difference  in  their  size,  and  in  the  length  of  the  pedicels ;  the  mode 
of  curving  to  one  side,  or  dissymmetry  of  the  small  ones,  while  the  largest 
are  exactly  symmetrical,  mark  them  as  separate  leaflets  of  a  compound 
leaf.  For  this  and  their  nervation,  tliey  are  referable  to  Juglans.  Both 
species  of  Proteoides  are  also  represented  by  a  large  number  of  speci- 
mens, all  with  the  former  obtained  from  the  same  locality. 

Considered  in  its  whole,  this  group  of  plants  has  a  strong  micceuic 
facies;  though  we  find  in  it  already  two  species  belonging  to  genera 
characterizing  the  European  cretaceous.  One  is  Pterophyllnm  Ilaydenii, 
a  plant  whose  generic  name  cannot  be  correct  or  does  not  indicate  the 
true  botanical  relation ;  for  neither  its  leaves  nor  its  cone  can  be  re- 
ferred to  Cycadece.  But  two  fragments  like  ours,  of  branch  with  leaves 
and  of  a  cone,  have  been  described  and  figured  under  this  generic  name 
by  Stiehler,  from  the  cretaceous  of  Europe,  and  the  affinity  of  this  plant 
being  unknown,  I  preserved  the  name  on  account  of  geological  analogy. 
The  other  species  is  the  beautiful  Credneria  Leconteana,  a  large  leaf, 
represented  by  a  single  specimen,  unluckily  broken.  The  essential 
character  of  the  genus  is  preserved  in  a  small  part  of  the  basilar  hori- 
zontal nerve,  as  seen  in  the  figure.  A  few  of  these  new  species  of  our 
cretaceous  do  not  have  any  analogy  with  any  others  known  as  yet  from 
the  tertiary  or  the  cretaceous  or  from  the  flora  of  our  time ;  the  species, 
for  example,  described  under  the  generic  name  of  Populites,  which  have 
the  secondary  nervation  straight  and  continuous  to  the  borders,  like 
leaves  of  Platanus,  the  round  outlines  of  leaves  of  Populus  with  their 
base  narrowing  to  a  long,  slender  petiole  as  in  the  Beech ;  the  leaves  also 
described  as  Quercus  seyni-alatus,  which  are  broadly  lobed  on  one  more 
enlarged  side,  and  entire  ovate  on  the  other.    Especially  of  unknown 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       381 

type  is  the  peculiar  Ficus  (f)  fimbriatiis,  represented  by  a  broad,  reni- 
form  leaf,  whose  borders  are  fringed  by  small,  nearly  triangular,  con- 
cave protuberances,  equally  distant  from  each  other,  and  turned  up- 
wards. 

Out  of  those  few  exceptions,  the  primordial  character  of  the  flora,  as 
indicated  by  the  plants  enumerated  above,  is  distinctly  Northwest 
American.  The  list  contains  species  of  Liquidambar,  Fojndufi,  Sallx, 
Betiihi,  Fagus,  Quercns,  Platanus,  Sassafras,  Liriodendron,  2[agnolia, 
Acer,  Khamnus,  Prumis,  &c.  If  some  of  these  species  may  be  regarded 
as  of  uncertain  value,  there  can  be  no  doubt  on  their  relation  to  the 
genera  to  Avhich  thej'  are  assigned,  all  represented  in  our  actual  flora. 
Even  the  exceptions  to  this  Northwest  American  character  are  very 
few.  Besides  the  now  extinct  races,  like  Credneria  and  Domheiopsis,  we 
can  record  only  the  species  of  Proteoides  as  referable  to  Australian  forms, 
with  Flii/Iloeladus,  indicating  an  Eastern  Asiatic  origin.  This  last  is  rep- 
resented by  a  single  specimen,  which,  though  well  preserved,  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  prove  generic  affinity.  As  for  the  genus  Cmnamomtim,  it  is  so 
closely  related  to  Sassafras  that  its  nativity  could  as  well  be  assigned  to 
this  country,  if  it  did  not  have  more  numerous  representatives  in  the 
tertiary  and  cretaceous  formations  of  our  western  continent,  thus  indi- 
cating its  origin  from  Asia,  where  a  number  of  its  species  have  been 
preserved  to  our  time. 

From  all  that  has  been  published  on  the  subject,  it  is  fully  established 
that  besides  its  Asiatic  types,  the  original  characters  of  the  mioceuic 
flora  of  Europe  are  Northwest  xVmerican.  It  is  not  therefore  surprising 
that  the  first  fossil  plants  of  our  cretaceous  measures  should  have  been 
considered  as  miocenic  as  long  as  their  geological  position  had  not  been 
positively  ascertained.  But  even  now,  with  full  evidence  afforded  to  us 
on  the  subject,  it  may  be  still  doubted  if  the  relation  of  epochs  between 
the  plant-beariug  strata  of  Nebraska  and  those  which  lay  over  them 
and  contain  cretaceous  mollusks  is  rightly  indicated  by  the  fossil  re- 
mains. For  as  it  is  now  ascertained  that  at  a  great  depth  the  present 
fauna  of  our  seas  is  related,  if  not  analogous,  to  the  fossil  fauna  of  some 
cretaceous  rocks,  the  depth  at  which  have  been  deposited  the  calcare- 
ous strata  overlaying  the  sandstone  containing  our  leaves,  may  have 
caused  what  might  be  called  an  unconformable  development  of  zoological 
types.  This  question  is  merely  hypothetically  touched  in  order  to  pre- 
sent it  to  the  attention  of  geologists  and  i)aleontologists. 

SECTION  2. — TERTIARY  FOSSIL    PLANTS. 

We  have  first  to  complete  the  list  of  our  tertiary  fossil  plants  as  it  has 
been  done  for  those  of  the  cretaceous  formations.  Besides  the  species 
described  from  the  specimens  of  Dr.  F.  Y.  Hayden  and  Dr.  Leconte,  the 
following  list  enumerates  a  number  of  others  from  the  tertiary  of  Missis- 
sippi. These  have  been  established  from  specimens  furnished  by  Pr^ 
fessor  E.  W.  Hilgard,  mentioned  in  his  geological  report  of  the"^  State 
of  Mississippi,*  and  hereafter  described  and  figured  in  Trans.  Am.  Phil. 
Soc,  as  remarked  above.  Their  geological  position  is  not  definitively 
ascertained.    They  appear  referable  to  the  lower  tertiary,  (the  eocene.) 

Species  from  Mississippi : 
Calamopsis  Danal,  Lesqx. 
Sabal  Grayana,  Lesqx. 
Salisburia  binervata,  Lesqx. 

*  Report  on  the  Geoloo:y  and  Agriculture  of  the  State  of  Mississippi-  bv  Eug.  W.  Hil- 
gard, (I860,)  pp. .108,  109,  &c.  .1  -    .        o 


382  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

Populits  monodon,  Lesqx. 

Fopulus  mutahilis  var.  repando-crenata,  Heer. 

JSalix  WortJienii,  Lesqx. 

Salix  tahcUaris,  Lesqx. 

Qiiercus  Moorii,  Lesqx. 

Quercus  LyelUij  Heer. 

Qiiercus  retracta.  Lesqx. 

Quercus  chlorophyUaj  Ung.     ' 
^     Celtis  hrevifoUa.,  Lesqx. 
'     Ficus  Schimperi,  Lesqx. 

Flcus  cinnamomoides,  Lesqx. 

Laurus  pedatus,  Lesqx. 

(Jinnamomnm  Mississippiense,  Lesqx. 

Banks ia  Helvetica,  Heer. 

Persea  lancifolia,  Lesqx. 

Ceanothiis  Meif/sil,  Lesqx. 

Sapindus  midulatus,  Al.  Br. 

Rhamnus  marginatus,  Lesqx. 

Jugians  appressa,  Lesqx. 

Juglans  /Sajffbrdiana,  Lesqx. 

Magnolia  Milgardiana,  Lesqx. 

21agnolia  laurifolia,  Lesqx. 

Magnolia  Lesleijana,  Lesqx. 

Magnolia  oralis,  Lesqx. 

Magnolia  cordifolia,  Lesqx. 

AsimincL  leiocarpa,  Lesqx. 

Ph  yllites  truncatus,  Lesqx. 

Species  collected  by  Dr.  J.  Leconte  :* 
Rhamnus  obovatus.  Lesqx.,  upper  eud  of  Purgatory  Cauoii,  Colorado. 
Arundo,  fragments,  Purgatory  Cauoii,  Colorado. 
Berchemia  parvifolia,  Lesqx.,  Raton  Pass,  Colorado. 
Cinnamomum  affine,  Lesqx.,  Eaton  Pass,  Colorado. 
Abietites  dubius,  Lesqx.,  Raton  Pass,  Colorado. 
Jugians  Leconfeana,  Lesqx.,  Raton  Pass,  Colorado. 
Echitomum  Sophicc,  (?)  Web.,  Raton  Pass,  Colorado. 
Acer,  (?)  numerous  small  fragments  undeterminable. 

Species  from  Dr.  Hayden's  specimens : 
Cornus  incompletus^  Lesqx.,  Marshall  Coal,  Colorado. 
Rhamnus  saMcifolius,  Lesqx.,  Marshall  Coal,  Colorado. 
Cinnamomum  affine,  Lesqx.,  Marshall  Coal,  Colorado. 
Lygodium,  fragment,  Marshall  Coal,  Colorado. 
Phyllites  sulcatus,  Lesqx.,  Marshall  Coal,  Colorado. 
Echitonium  Sophico,  (?)  Web.,  Marshall  Coal,  Colorado. 
Juglayis  Leconteana,  (?)  Lesqx.,  Marshall  Coal,  Colorado. 
Quercus  Lyellii,  (?)  Heer,  Marshall  Coal,  Colorado. 
Quercus  chlorophylla,  (?)  Heer,  Marshall  Coal,  Colorado. 

Dr.  Leconte  obtained  from  the  same  locality  fragments  of  Acer  allied 
to  A.  stricfum,  Gopp. ;  of  Jugians  allied  to  J.  acuminata,  Heer;  of  Cor- 
nus,  Banlcsia,  &c.;  all  too  small  and  broken  for  satisfactory  examination. 

*  These  species  aud  the  following  ones  of  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden  have  been  figured  and 
described  for  the  final  report  of  Dr.  Hayden,  but  the  descriptions  have  not  been  pub- 
lished as  yet. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  385 

With  these,  in  specimens  of  Dr.  Hayden  and  Dr.  Leconte: 
Lastrcca  (?)  clentata,  Lesqx.,  Golden  City,  Colorado. 
Magnolia  tenuinervis,  Lesqx.,  Golden  City,  Colorado. 

And  from  Dr.  Hayden's  specimens : 
Platamts  aceroides,  Heer,  Rock  Creek,  Wyoming. 
Populus  attenuata,  Al.  Br.,  Eocli:  Creek,  Wyoming. 
Fopulus  subrotundus^  Lesqx.,  Rock  Creek,  AVyoming. 
Fopulus  a'qualis,  Lesqx.,  Rock  Creek,  Wyoming. 
Querctis  acrodouj  Lesqx.,  Rock  Creek,  Wyoming. 
Quercus  Haydcnil.,  Lesqx.,  Rock  Creek,  Wyoming. 
And  fragments  of  Acer  and  Fopulus,  species  undeterminable. 

The  gronp  of  plants  from  Mississippi  has  a  more  recent  facies  than 
the  cretaceous  leaves  of  Nebraska.  Except  the  beautiful  piunate  palm, 
{Calamojjsis,)  distantly  related  to  species  now  living  in  equatorial  re- 
gions, and  a  remarkable  Sali!<huria,  wbich  does  not  in  the  least  resemble 
the  only  remaiuing  species  now  living  in  China,  most  of  its  genera  are 
represented  here  at  our  time,  and  a  number  of  its  species  are  allied  to 
living  ones.  Some  others,  like  Quercus  Lyellii,  Q.  chlorophylla,  Banlcsia 
Helvetica,  Sapindns  undulatus,  are  considered  as  identical  with  species 
of  the  miocene  of  Europe,  and  this  all,  therefore,  indicates  with  the 
miocenic  age  a  nearer  relation  than  that  marked  by  the  characters  of 
the  cretaceous  flora  of  Nebraska  and  Kausas.  This,  however,  is  not  a 
positive  evidence  of  contemporaneity,  and  it  is  probably  right  that  the 
strata  where  these  fossil  plants  were  obtained  should  be  considered  as 
pertaining  to  the  eocene,  or  even  to  the  upper  cretaceous.  Indeed,  Dr. 
Leconte's  species  from  Raton  Pass  are  not  less  miocenic  in  aspect,  for, 
excejit  the  numerous  fragments  of  an  Ahietites,  analogous  to  remains  of 
the  same  kind  from  the  European  cretaceous,  all  the  genera  are  repre- 
sented at  our  time.  From  tlie  animal  remains,  however,  found  in  con- 
nection with  the  coal-bearing  strata  of  Raton  Pass,  Dr.  Leconte  consid- 
ered them  as  cretaceous.*  If  it  is  right,  from  what  we  have  seen  of  its 
fossil  flora,  the  Marshall's  Coal  should  be  admitted  also  as  of  cretaceous 
age,  as  the  specimens  from  both  localities  have  plants  apparently  iden- 
tical—  Cinnamomum  affine,  Echitonium  SopMw,  Juglans  LeconteaPM. 
These  specimens  are  indeed  very  incomplete — mere  fragments  repre- 
senting vegetables  whose  identification  is  difficalt  and  not  absolutely 
reliable ;  nevertheless,  the  flora  bears,  evidently,  the  same  character 
at  both  localities,  as  its  fiicies  also  is  related  to  that  of  the  Mississippi 
flora.  The  character  is  far  differeiit  from  that  of  our  true  miocenic 
flora,  as  it  is  indicated  by  the  small  group  of  plants  obtained  by  Dr. 
Hayden  at  Rock  Creek,  Nebraska ;  for  here  on  six  species  only  there 
are  two  identical  with  miocenic  species  of  Europe,  and  five  are  closely 
allied  to  species  of  our  Eastern  North  American  forests.  One  only,  the 
beautiful  Quercus  Haydenii,  is  related  to  species  of  our  Western  coast. 
The  specimens  of  Rock  Creek  are  mostly  perfect  remains  of  plants  easily 
studied,  and  their  characters  undoubtedly  ascertained. 

No  less  miocenic  in  their  characters,  though  of  different  family  rela- 
tions, are  the  remains  of  fossil  plants  obtained  by  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden  in 
his  last  exploration,  and  just  now  received  for  examination.  These 
specimens  merely  belong  to  two  strata;  those  labelled  Henry's  Fork,, 
Muddy  Creek,  and  Black  Fork  being  on  a  kind  of  hard,  silicified  lime- 
stone, with  remains  of  the  same  species  of  plants,  and  therefore  iudi- 

*  Notes  on  the  Geology,  &c.,  from  Smoky-Hill  River,  Kansas,  to  the  Rio  Grande,  by 
J.  L.  Leconte,  1868.    Columbns,  7th  Jannary,  1871. 


384       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

eating  identity  of  horizontal  station ;  those  from  Barrel's  Spring  upon 
yellow  ferruginous  shale,  having  upon  all  the  specimens  the  same  species 
of  fossil  plant  also,  but  of  a  different  group  from  that  of  the  former. 
Henry's  Fork  si^ecimens  have: 

1.  Pteris  2)Gimaformis,  Heer,  in  numerous  but  indistinct  specimens. 
The  species  may  differ  somewhat  from  that  of  Europe,  but,  in  the  state 
of  the  specimens,  the  difference  is  not  appreciable.  It  is  a  large,  lanceo- 
late leaf,  varying  from  one  to  three  inches  in  length,  and  from  one-half 
to  three-fourths  of  an  inch  broad,  with  a  thick,  half-round  medial  nerve, 
and  thick,  mostly  simple,  secondary  veins,  obliquely  curving  to  the 
borders.  This  species  is  not  rare  in  the  miocene  of  Germany  and  Swit- 
zerland. 

2.  Broken,  obscure  remains  of  a  large  leaf,  with  thick,  oblique,  straight, 
closely-approached  secondary  veins ;  neither  the  middle  part  nor  the 
medial  nerve,  nor  the  borders  are  seen.  It  may  be  compared  only  to 
some  PalmaciteSj  or  to  the  leaf  described  as  Zingiherites,  from  the  mio- 
cene of  Europe,  by  Professor  Heer. 

3.  Fragments  of  a  Calamopsis,  or  palm  leaves, (rachis  not  seen,)  one  inch 
broad  and  as  far  distant  from  each  other,  marked  lengthwise  with  four 
narrow  tertiary  veins  between  the  more  distinct  secondary  ones,  five  to 
six  in  number. 

4.  Leaves  of  a  Cyperites,  with  the  same  areolations  as  Cyperus  Chavan- 
ensis,  Heer,  but  only  half  as  broad. 

From  Muddy  Creek : 

5.  As2)icUuni{Lastraea)pulc1iellum,  Heer,  ov  A.  Fisher i,  Heer.  Though 
small,  the  specimens  are  distinct.  The  leaflets  are  slightly  broader  than 
in  this  last  species,  and  not  quite  as  large  as  in  the  former.  An  inter- 
mediate form,  equally  referable  to  both  of  the  species  of  the  miocene 
of  Europe.  All  the  specimens  of  the  former  and  of  the  following  locality 
have  fragments  of  it. 

From  Black's  Fork :  The  specimens  have  only  fragments  of  the  last 
species,  and  of  Fteris  pennceformis,  with  undeterminable  leaves  of  Cy- 
perites, resembling  Carex  tertiaria,  Heer. 

Barrel  Spring :  All  the  shale  have  numerous  remains  of  the  three 
following  species.     The  fourth  is  represented  in  only  one  : 

6.  Lygodium  neuropteroides,  Spec.  nova.  A  beautiful  fern,  of  which 
only  separate  leaflets  are  preserved.  These,  from  one  to  two  and  a  half 
inches  in  length,  proportionally  broad,  are  linear  lanceolat-e,  slightly 
obtuse,  either  entire  or  more  generally  divided  from  below  the  middle 
in  two  or  three  linear  lanceolate  lobes,  like  the  living  Lygodium  8alici- 
folium.  But  the  nervation  is  far  different,  rather  comparable  to  that  of 
a  Pteris  than  to  that  of  a  Lygodium.  The  medial  nerve  is  thin ;  the 
secondary  nerves  branch  three  or  four  times  in  curving  to  the  borders. 
It  is  a  nervation  like  that  of  some  species  of  Neuropteris  of  the  coal 
measures,  especially  of  Neuropteris  liirsuta,  which  the  large,  entire  leaf- 
lets also  resemble  in  their  form.  The  relation  of  this  beautiful  fern  is 
with  species  of  Lygodium  and  of  Osmunda  of  the  European  miocene,  but 
this  relation  is  distant  indeed. 

7.  A  floating  stem,  like  Myriophyllum,  referable  perhaps  to  one  species 
of  this  genus.  As  the  divisions  are  pretty  thick,  it  may  be  rather  com- 
pared to  the  roots  and  rootlets  of  Pragmites  Oenigensis,  Heer.  It 
is  evidently  related  to  species  of  our  time.  This  Pragmites  of  Heer  is 
from  the  miocene  of  Europe.  Leaves  of  a  species  of  this  genus  have 
been  published  by  the  same  author  from  the  tertiary  of  Alaska. 

Cyperus  Leiicalionis,  Heer.  The  specimens  have  a  number  of  leaves 
of  this  species,  which  show  all  the  varieties  of  the  European  i)lant  with- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEREITORIES.       385 

out  any  appreciaWe  difference,  varying  from  one-eiglitli  to  one-fourth  of 
an  inch  broad.  The  brofidest  of  ours  is  jnst  of  the  same  size  as  the  leaf 
published  in  Sismontla's  memoir,  from  tbe  tertiary  of  Ital}-,  as  Ci/perites 
DeucaJionis  ?  Heer.     It  is  evidently  the  same  species. 

9.  Fragments  of  leaves  of  a  Sahal.  The  rachis  is  not  seen,  and  there- 
fore the  species  is  not  determinable.  By  the  larg-e  divisions  of  its  leaves, 
it  resembles  Sahal  major  of  common  occurrence  in  the  miocene. 

10.  A  sheath-bearing  leaf  of  grass,  undistinguishable  from  the  one 
figured  by  Heer  in  his  tertiary  flora,  Tab.  XXY,  Fig.  10,  aud  described 
as  Poacites  hvvis. 

From  the  small  number  of  the  above-mentioned  species,  it  is  not  pos- 
sible to  mark  between  both  groups  of  plants  a  difference  of  stage  in  the 
formations  where  they  have  been  found.  But  it  is  evident  that  none  of 
these  species  indicates  an  older  Ibrmation  than  that  of  the  middle  tertiary 
or  miocene.  All  the  Glumacete,  species  of  Carc.i\  Cyperus,  Arundo  (f-c, 
have  not  been  found  as  yet  in  formations  older  than  the  tertiary,  and 
our  ferns  of  the  group  of  Aspidium  {Lastram)  as  well  a's  all  the  species 
of  Lygodinm,  are  also  characteristic  of  the  miocene  formation.  There- 
fore the  group  of  these  i)lants,  taken  in  its  whole,  is  evidently  of  the 
middle  tertiary. 

The  peculiar  facies  of  these  plants  indicates  their  origin  as  from  prairie 
swamps,  covered  merely  with  grasses,  ferns,  and  low  palms.  The  fossil 
remains  do  not  show  any  traces  of  leaves  of  dicotyledonous  trees,  or  of  any 
arborescent  plant  whatever.  It  is  for  the  first  time  that  this  facies,  so 
often  remarked  in  tertiary  specimens  of  Europe,  has  been  observed  in 
those  of  our  country. 

Columbus,  Ohio,  January  12, 1871. 


VI.— ON  THE   FOSSIL   REPTILES  AND   FISHES  OF 
THE  CRETACEOUS  ROCKS  OF  KANSAS. 

By  Prof.  E.  D.  Cope. 
EEPTILIA. 

The  species  of  reptiles  which  have  been  found  in  the  cretaceous  strata 
west  of  the  Mississippi  Eivec  up  to  the  present  time  number  fourteen. 
Five  of  these  pertain  to  the  Sauropterygia,  one  to  the  Dinosatiria,  and 
seven  to  the  Pyfhonomorplia.  In  the  present  report  attention  is  confined, 
to  the  species  discovered  near  the  line  of  exploration  of  Dr.  Hayden,  or 
that  of  the  Kansas  Pacific  Eailroad,  and  that  of  Professor  B.  F.  Mudge, 
of  the  State  Agrictiltural  College. 

During"  the  period  when  the  cretaceous  ocean  extended  from  Eastern 
Kansas  over  the  present  site  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  and  from  the 
Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  Arctic  Sea,  it  abounded  in  life.  Among  verte- 
brata,  fishes  aud  marine  reptiles  chiefly  abounded,  and  in  varied  forms. 
Many  of  the  reptiles  were  characterized  by  a  size  and  strength  exceed- 
ing* that  seen  in  any  other  period  of  the  world's  history.  The  species  of 
Savropterygia  and  FyfJionomorpJia  were  all  aquatic,  but  the  two  types 
present  very  diflerent  adaptations  to  their  mode  of  life.  While  the 
former  possessed  two  pairs  of  limbs,  the  latter  appear  to  have  possessed 
an  anterior  pair  only,  or  with  the  jiosterior  pair  so  reduced  as  to  have 
been  insignificant.  Tliey  substituted  for  them  an  immensely  long-  and 
25  a 


386       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES, 

flattened  tail,  whicii  tliey  used,  like  the  eels  and  sea-snates,  as  an  oar. 
Tlie  Sauro])terygia  were  generally  stout-bodied  and  with  a  very  markedly 
distinct  neck.  In  the  Pytlumomorpha,  on  the  other  hand,  the  body  w^as 
snake-like,  with  narrow  chest  and  neck  scarcely  differing  in  diameter.  ' 
They  were  immensely  elongate,  and  might  be  called  sea-serpents  with 
considerable  propriety. 

Of  Sauroptenigia,  Polycotylus  had  a  slender  neck  and  very  stout 
limbs :  but  in  Ehumosaurus  the  neck  attained  dimensions  exceeding  that 
of  any  vertebrated  animal.  The  species  E.  platyurus  was  probably  the 
longest  of  the  order,  measuring  perhaps  fifty  feet,  but  of  this  tlie  neck 
amounted  to  twenty -two  feet.  This  creature  was  carnivorous,  and  could, 
no  doubt,  like  the  snake-bird,  swim  at  a  considerable  distance  below  the 
surface  of  the  water  and  reach  to  the  surface  for  air,  or  explore  the 
depths  or  plunge  for  fishes  to  the  depth  of  forty  feet. 

Among  the  Pythonomorpha  the  Liodon  dyspelor  is  the  largest  species 
and  the  Clidastes  intermedms  the  smallest.  A  specimen  of  Mosamurus 
missuriensis  obtained  by  William  Webb  near  Topeka  is  stated  by  him 
to  measure  seventy-five  feet  in  length.  Sliould  this  be  substantiated, 
the  L.  dyspelor  was  at  least  one-third  larger.  This  is,  however,  as  yet 
uncertain. 

The  upper  arm  bones  of  the  Clidastes  are  remarkably  short  and  wide, 
and  furnished  with  strong  processes  for  the  insertion  of  muscles.  They 
are  among  reptiles  much  like  those  of  moles  among  quadrupeds,  and,  as 
in  the  latter,  indicate  probably  great  power  of  propulsion  m  the  fore 
limbs.  The  finger  bones  were  long  and  slender  and  formed  a  long  fin 
or  flipper,  while  the  ujjper  arm  was  probably  concealed  in  the  skin. 
The  whole  limb  came  off  but  a  short  distance  posterior  to  the  head. 

These  reptiles,  so  far  as  known,  were  all  carnivorous ;  their  food  was 
chiefly  fishes.  Some  of  the  species  on  which  they  preyed  .are  enumer- 
ated in  the  portion  devoted  to  them,  and  their  structural  characters 
pointed  out.  .  * 

As  it  is  desirable  to  develop  the  science  of  geology,  the  writer  would 
be  glad  if  his  friends  in  the  West  would  forward  to  him,  in  Philadelphia, 
at  his  ex]>euse,  specimens  of  bones  or  teeth  which  they  may  find.  He 
will  return  to  them  determinations  of  their  nature,  and  credit  them 
with  discoveries  which  may  result  from  their  care  and  interest  in  pre-, 
serving  them,  in  the  publications  of  scientific  bodies. 

SAUROPTERYGIA. 

POLYCOTYLUS,  (COPE.) 

Traus.  Amer.  Pliilos.  Soc,  1869,  p.  34. 

This  genus  is  established  on  a  series  of  vertebrae  with  portions  of 
pelvic  arch  and  posterior  extremity,  discovered  in  the  upper  cretaceous 
of  Kansas  by  W.  E.  Webb,  superintendent  of  the  land  oflice  in  Topeka, 
Kansas.  The  point  at  which  the  remains  were  found  is  about  five  miles 
west  of  Fort  Wallace  on  the  plains  near  the  Smoky  Hill  River,  Kansas, 
in  a  yellov/  cretaceous  limestone. 

The  animal  thus  indicated  is  of  interest  in  American  vertebrate  paleon- 
tology, as  the  first  true  Plesiosauroid  determined  within  our  limits. 
That  its  affinities  are  nearer  to  Plenosaurus  than  to  Elasmosaurus  will 
be  apparent  from  the  following  description. 

There  are  wholes  ipr  portions  of  twenty-one  vertebroe,  of  which  but 
two  retain  their  neural  arches,  and  six  are  represented  by  neural  arches 
only.    Four  centra  may  be  referred  to  the  caudal  series,  the  remainder 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       387 

to  the  dorsal ;  only  two  indicate  the  characters  of  the  cervical  verte- 
br?e.  All  of  these  vertebra?,  except  the  distal  caudals,'  are  remarkable 
for  their  short  antcn-oposterior  diameter  and  deepl3--concave,  articidar 
faces.  This  concavity  is  not,  however,  of  an  open  conic  form,  as  in 
Ichthyosmirns,  but  is  flattened  at  the  fundus,  thus  exhibiting  a  small, 
slightly  disciform  area.  The  usual  i^air  of  venous  foramina  appears  on 
the  under  side  of  the  centrum.  Tbe  neural  arch  is  continuous  with  the 
latter,  and  exhibits  no  trace  of  connecting  suture.  The  diapophyses 
arise  from  the  neural  arch  in  all  the  dorsals ;  they  are  compressed  aud 
vertical  in  sectiou.  The  arch  is  of  course  narrow  anteroposteriorly,  aud 
presents  a  iiair  of  moderately  prominent  zygajiophyses  in  each  direction, 
the  posterior  as  usual  articulating  downwards,  the  anterior  upwards. 
On  some  of  the  vertebra?  they  become  closely  approximated.  The  neu- 
ral spines  are  narrow  anteroposteriorly,  but  n^uch  stouter  transversely 
than  in  JEIasmosatirus  ;  they  are  strongly  grooved  at  the  base,  both  an- 
teriorly and  posteriorly,  most  so  posteriorly. 

Tbe  caudal  vertebra?  are  anteriorly  quite  as  large  as  the  dorsals.  Two 
anterior  caudals  present,  on  the  latero-inferior  part  of  the  posterior  mar- 
gin, a  pair  of  widely-separated,  articular  surfaces  for  chevron  bones. 
A  portion  of  one  of  the  latter  remains  ;  it  is  narrow  and  subcylindric  at 
the  base.  The  diapophyses  are  situated  on  the  upper  part  of  the  cen- 
trum, and  are  continuous  with  it,  and  without  trace  of  suture.  There 
are  two  distal  cervicals  which  are  much  smaller  than  the  preceding. 
They  are  solidly  coossified  and  have  been  broken  from  one  anterior  to 
them,  with  which  they  have  been  also  ankylosed.  Processes  in  the  po- 
sition of  the  diapophyses  have  disappeared,  while  a  strong  infero-lateral 
process  projects  from  the  middle  of  each,  similar  in  position  to  thei)ara- 
pophyses  (or  Avhatever  they  may  be)  of  the  Elasmosaurus.  These  pro- 
cesses are  decurved  and  much  thickened  and  rugose  5  they  may  be  de-' 
scribed  as  more  or  less  elongate  conic.  Tbe  neural  canal  of  these  ver- 
tebra? is  well  marked,  though  small.  The  coossification  of  cervical  ver- 
tebrae is  a  remarkable  character,  and  very  unusual.  It  does  not  seem 
probable  that  these  specimens  represent  a  diseased  condition,  since  they 
are  symmetrical,  and  the  inferior  surface  and  foramina  are  unafiected. 
The  lugosity  is  much  that  of  a  ligamentous  articulation.  Their  size  in- 
dicates a  remarkably  slender  neck  as  in  Plesiosaurus,  but  even  more  so, 
and  perhaps  as  elongate  as  in  Elasmosaurus. 

That  the  portions  of  an  extremity  alluded  to  belong  to  the  posterior  is 
rendered  probable  by  the  presence  of  i^art  of  an  ilium,  and  by  the  fact 
that  the  portions  of  the  vertebral  column  secured  are  chiefly  median  and 
posterior.  The  fragments  consist  of  the  extremity  of  the  femur,  the  tibia, 
several  tarsal  bones,  aud  numerous  i)halanges.  The  whole  limb  is  of 
great  size,  comi)ared  with  the  vertebral  column,  and  indicates  power- 
ful natatory  capacity  in  its  possessor.  What  the  relative  length  of 
the  femur  may  be  cannot  be  ascertained,  as  the  proximal  portion  is  want- 
ing, but  if  it  were  like  the  tibia  it  was  characterized  by  stoutness  rather 
tlian  by  length.  The  portion  remaining  is  flattened,  and  presents  distally 
two  distinct  articular  faces  for  ulna  aud  radius,  instead  of  the  uniformly 
convex  outline  characteristic  of  most  of  the  species  of  Plesiosaurus.  The 
tibia  is  pentagonal,  broader  than  long,  and  not  emarginate  externally. 
The  fibula  is  wanting.  One  of  the  tarsal  bones  is  a  flat,  unequally  hex- 
agonal disk,  of  less  thickness  than  the  tibia  and  tbe  tarsals  which  appear 
to  connect  with  it.  One  of  the  latter  is  transverse  parallelogrammic, 
with  three  faces  of  broad  plane  articulations  and  the  outer  edge  rounded 
in  section.  Another  tarsal  or  metatarsal  is  a  parallelopipedou  except 
that  one  extremity  presents  two  faces  meeting  at  a  right  angle.    Another 


388       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

is  similar,  but  oblique,  i.  €.,  rhombic  in  section  ;  one  of  the  longitudinal 
ang'les  is  also  prolonged. 

Of  the  phalanges  there  are  individuals  from  three  series.  Portions 
of  flat  bones,  perhaps  belonging  to  the  pelvic  arch,  indicate,  as  do  all 
the  other  pieces,  that  the  bony  structure  in  Polycotylns  is  more  massive 
than  in  Elasmosavrns,  if  the  only  known  species  has  not  attained  such 
huge  dimensions  as  some  of  the  latter.  These  fragments  do  not  throw 
much  light  on  the  structure  of  the  pelvic  arch. 

The  structure  of  the  bones  is,  like  that  in  the  order  generally,  of  the 
coarsest  description.  There  are  no  medullary  cavities,  but  the  medul- 
lary cells  are  large,  and  extended  everywhere  in  the  direction  of  the 
axis  of  eath  bone. 

The  characters  which  separate  this  genus  from  Plesiosannis  may  be 
derived  from  the  preceding  as  follows  : 

First.  The  deeply  biconcave,  and  very  short  vertebral  centra. 

Second.  The  tibia  broader  than  long,  resembling  those  of  Ichthyosau- 
rus. 

Third.  The  coalescence  and  depression  of  the  cervicals. 

Fourth.  The  continuity  of  the  neural  arches. 

Fifth.  The  continuity  of  the  diapophyses  of  the  caudals. 

The  only  genus  with  which  this  genus  compares  nearly  is  the  Thau- 
^matosaitrus  of  Meyer.  This  is  known  by  but  a  few  fragments,  and  of 
these  but  few  are  present  in  the  Kansas  animal.  The  character  on 
which  1  rely  at  present  to  distinguish  them  is  the  much  less  concavity 
of  the  dorsal  vertebrjie  in  Thanmafosanriis.  This  is,  however,  not  en- 
tirely satisfactory.  Thaumatosaurus  oolithicus,  INTeyer,  is  from  the  lower 
oolite  of  South  Germany. 

The  bones  are  thoroughly  mineralized,  and  the  adherent  matrix  is  a 
light-yellow,  chalky  limestone,  similar  to  that  which  yielded  the  fine 
fragments  of  the  Lioclon  proriger.  This,  Dr.  Leconte  informs  me,  is 
probably  Meek  and  Hayden's  IJpiier  Cretaceous  No.  3,  and  is  a  higher 
horizon  than  that  near  Fort  Wallace,  from  which  Dr.  Turner  procured 
the  EJasmosauriis  plafyimis.  The  specimens  were  all  taken  out  under 
the  direction  of  W.  E.  Webb,  of  Topeka,  from  the  same  spot.  From- 
every  point  of  view  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  they  belong  to  the 
same  animal. 

POLYCOTTLUS  LATIPINNIS,  (COPE.) 
Loc.  Cit.,  p.  36,  Plate  I,  Figs.  1-13. 

The  anterior  dorsal  vertebrae  have  the  centra  slightly  compressed  or 
vertically  oval,  while  the  posterior  are  more  rounded.  The  anterior 
caudals  appear  to  have  been  round  or  nearly  so ;  they  are  somewhat 
distorted  by  pressure.  The  sides  of  the  centrum  are  slightly  concave 
in  the  longitudinal  direction  ;  below  there  is  no  carina,  but  at  least  two 
venous  foramina.  There  is  another  large  foramen  on  the  side  of  the 
centrum,  usually  not  far  from  the  neural  arch  ;  there  are  usually  other 
smaller  foramina  below  this.  The  bases  of  the  diapophyses  are  longi- 
tudinally grooved  behind,  and  separate  a  concavity  of  the  arch  in  front 
of  them  from  one  behind.  In  the  most  median  the  most  elevated  dia- 
X)ophysis  stands  about  equally  on  the  neurapophysis  and  the  neural 
spine  above  it.  The  diapophyses  are  vertically  compressed,  and  the  cos- 
tal articulation  of  the  only  one  preserved  is  in  the  same  plane.  The 
margins  of  the  external  surfaces  are  not  coarsely  striate  as  in  many 
Smiropterygia.    The  venous  foramina  of  the  distal  cossified  cervicals  are 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       389 

in  pairs,  and  of  larjj;e  size.  In  the  proximal  caudals  tlie  diapo])by.ses 
are  above  the  uiijdle  of  the  sides  of  the  centra.  In  one  the  basis  of  a 
chevron  is  preserved.  It  is  cyliudric  and  striate.  The  zygapophysis 
on  the  hinder  aspect  of  a  dorsal  has  a  disciform  articuhir  snrface  di- 
rected outwards  and  downwards ;  the  ijrominence  of  its  upper  face  is 
continuous  with  the  lateral  ridge  of  the  neural  spine.  The  anterior  up- 
looking  sui'face  is  equally  small  and  little  divergent. 

Inclits. 

Length  two  coossified  cervicals 2.  5 

Width  anterior  in  front 1.7 

Depth  anterior  in  front 0 

Vertical  diameter  centrum  dorsal 3.  42 

Transverse  diameter  centrum  dorsal 2.  7 

Antero-posterior  diameter  centrum  dorsal,  (below) 1.  85 

Vertical  diameter  centrum  dorsal,  (poster) 2.  98 

Transverse  diameter  centrum  dorsal 2.  9 

Transverse  diameter  neural  canal 86 

Longitudinal  diameter  base  neural  spine 1.  22 

Longitudinal  diameter  base  diapophysis 1.2 

Length  between  extremities  zygapophyses,  (dorsal) 2.  26 

Depth  of  cup  of  vertebra? 63 

Length  centrum  anterior  caudal 1.  73 

Distance  between  bases  chevron  bone,  (caudal) 2.  58 

It  may  be  observed  the  anterior  caudals  have  a  nearly  round  articu- 
lar extremity ;  one  of  them  is  a  little  wider  than  high,  but  they  are  too 
much  distorted  to  furnish  reliable  measurements. 

The  portion  of  ilium  preserved  is  an  extremity.  It  is  flat  on  one  side 
and  convex  on  the  other.  The  shaft  is  solid.  The  articular  extremity 
is  oblique,  and  presents  a  truncate  extremity,  which  is  at  right  angles 
to  a  short,  recurved  margin,  Tvhichhas  been  an  insertion  or  articulation ; 
the  flat  surface  is  rugose  distallj'.  Long  diameter  of  extremity,  2.75 
inches ;  of  shaft,  1.9  inches.  The  articular  faces  of  the  extremity  of 
the  femur  are  at  an  open  angle  with  each  other,  and  are  strongly  con- 
cave in  transverse  section.  The  femur  is  here  very  flat,  with  narrow  mar- 
gins; it  becomes  stouter  with  diminishing  width.  Distally  the  surface 
is  marked  by  grooves  and  small  foramina.  What  may  be  tibia  is  the 
basal  frustum  of  a  wedge ;  the  articular  faces  broad,  the  outer  margin 
narrowed ;  the  faces  slightly  concave.  The  inner  margin  is  shorter 
than  the  outer,  and  the  distal  part  of  it  presents  abroad,  articular  face. 
Some  of  the  tarsal  bones  have  been  already  described.  There  are  thir- 
teen Metatarsals  and  phalanges.  They  are  of  stout  j)roportionsand  are 
considerably  constricted  medially.  Those  of  one  series  are  square  in 
section ;  those  of  another,  transverse ;  those  of  the  third  transverse 
with  one  edge  thinned  or  acuminate  in  section.  Some  of  e'ach  form  are 
more  elongate  than  others. 

Inches. 

Width  femur  at  extremity,  (restored) 8. 

Depth  femur  at  extremity,  (median) 1.  3 

Width  femur  four  inches  from  extremity 6. 

Thickness  femur  four  inches  from  extremity 1.  95 

Width  tibia 3.  88 

Length  externally 2.  6 

Width  tarsi  tibiale 2.  48 

Thickness  tarsi  tibiale 1.  52 

Length  parallelopiped  phalange 1.  56 


390  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITOEIES. 

Indies. 

Width  parallelepiped  phalange A 1.2 

Thickness  parallelopipod  phalange - 1.  2 

Thickness  depressed  phalange 1. 

Width  deijressed  phalange 1. 4 

Length  depressed  ])halange 1. 9 

■These  powerful  extremital  pieces  indicate  a  body  to  be  propelled,  of 
not  less  than  usual  proportions.  If  this  be  the  case  the  number  of  dor- 
sal vertebrae  is  considerably  greater  than  in  the  species  of  this  order  in 
general,  and  approaching  more  the  Ichthyosauri.  I  do  not  intend  to 
suggest  any  affinity  between  the  latter  and  the  present  genus,  as  none 
exists.  What  the  extent  of  cervical  vertebrae  may  have  been  is  uncer- 
tain. Tlie  caudals  have  probably  been  numerous,  though  not  probably 
so  extended  as  in  Elasmosauriis. 

The  size  of  the  species  can  be  approximately  estimated  from  the  pro- 
portions furnished  by  Owen  (Reptiles  of  the  Liassic  Formations)  for 
Plesiosaurus  rostratus.  The  skeleton  of  this  species  measures  eleven 
feet  eight  inches,  and  the  dorsal  vertebrae  are  of  less  vertical  and  equal 
transverse  diameter  compared  with  those  of  the  present  saurian.  We 
may  therefore  suppose  that  the  latter  exceeded  the  former  in  dinien- 
sions. 

William  E.  Webb,  of  Topeka,  discovered  the  specimens  from  which 
this  species  was  first  described,  and  liberally  forwarded  them  to  me  for 
examination  and  description.  Other  specimens  have  been  discovered 
since  that  time  by  various  other  persons.  I  have  received  numerous 
fragments  of  an  individual  of  about  the  size  of  the  one  above  described, 
which  were  found  by  Professor  B.  F.  Mudge,  at  a  point  near  the  mouth 
of  the  north  branch  of  the  Smoky  Hill  Eiver. 

These  consist  of  a  few  vertebrae,  portions  of  i^elvic  and  scapular 
arches,  and  three  proximal  bones  of  the  limbs.  Which  of  these  is 
femur  and  which  humerus  I  am  unable  to  determine,  owing  to  their 
close  resemblance.  The  vertebra?  do  not  differ  from  those  of  the  speci- 
men just  described.  The  limb  bones  are  stout  and  expanded  and 
thinned  distally ;  this  thinning  is  remarkable  and  indicates  a  much- 
liattened  metapodial  region.  The  head  is  slightly  expanded,  the  artic- 
ular face  being  turned  obliquely  to  the  inner  face  of  the  shaft;  the  surface 
is  pitted  for  attachment  of  the  articular  cartilage  ',  two-fifths  the  length 
from  the  proximal  end  is  an  extensive  and  exceedingly  rugose  surface, 
a«  wide  as  the  shaft,  for  the  insertion  of  the  adductor  muscles. 

M. 

Diameter  of  centrum  of  lumbar  vertebrae 0.  08 

Length  (?)  humerus 0.  45 

Diameter  head 0. 125 

Diameter  shaft 0.  098 

Diameter  distal  end  (transverse)  restored  in  part 0. 18 

Should  the  humerus  have  been  related  to  the  fore  limb  as  in  Flesio- 
saurus  doUchodirus,  Conyb.,  tbe  latter  would  have  had  a  length  of  four 
feet  three  inches ;  as  the  proportions  of  the  radius  and  phalanges  are 
shorter,  the  limb  was  probably  relatively  shorter.  If  related  to  the 
total  length,  as  in  the  same  Plesiosaur,  the  humerus  would  indicate  a 
length  of  seventeen  and  a  half  feet.  As  the  cervical  vertebrae  become 
attenuated  as  compared  with  the  dorsals  to  a  greater  degree  in  Foly- 
coti/lus  than  in  Plesiosaiirus,  I  have  little  doubt  that  the  length  of  this 
species  exceeded  that  amount. 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES..  391 

ELASMOSAURUS,  (COPE.) 

Leconte's  Notes  on  Gcologiy  of  the  Route  of  the  Union  Pacific  Railroad,  1868,  j).  68. 
Cope,  Proceed.  Acad.  Nat.  Sciences,  18G8,  p.  92.    Tiansac.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  186'J,  p.  44. 

This  genus  has  been  more  completely  preserved  to  ns  than  any  other 
American  representative  of  the  order,  and  hence  may  be  accepted  as 
most  clearly  expressive  of  its  characters.  In  the  iuteri>retation  of  these, 
however,  considerable  difficnlty  has  been  expeiienced,  as  the  structure 
form  appears,  at  first  sight,  to  reverse,  to  a  remarliable  degree,  the  usual 
proportions  of  known  reptiles. 

The  determiuiitiou  of  the  anterior  extremity  of  the  vertebral  column 
has  been  rendered  certain  by  the  fortunate  completeness  of  the  cervical 
series,  as  the  extraordinary  length  of  the  latter,  equaling  three  times 
that  of  the  body,  renders  the  most  careful  scrutiny  necessary. 

The  neural  arches  are  ever}'  where  continuous  with  the  centra,  with- 
out sign  of  suture,  and  are  externally  plane.  The  neural  canal  is  ex- 
ceedingly small  for  the  size  of  the  vertebrie,  especially  on  the  lumbars 
and  caudals. 

The  dorsal  vertebrne  are  remarkable  from  the  fact  that  the  diapophyses 
disappear  on  the  anterior  part  of  the  series,  and  gradually  diminish  in 
length  from  behind  forwards  to  the  point  of  disappearance.  On  the 
median  and  posterior  parts  of  the  series,  they  are  very  elongate,  and 
rise  for  a  short  distance  from  the  basis  of  the  neural  arch.  Anteriorly, 
they  descend  and  shorten,  and  finally  remain  only  as  the  slightly  ele- 
vated borders  of  rib-pits.  Throughout  the  whole  of  the  anterior  portion 
of  the  column  to  the  cervicals,  the  neural  spines  are  of  great  elevation, 
and  of  such  antero-posterior  extent  as  to  be  nearly  continuous. 

The  cervical  vertebrae  are  not  only  more  numerous,  but  become  ante- 
riorly much  smaller  and  more  attenuated  than  in  its  allies  of  the  same 
familj^  They  are  remarkably  compressed,  the  centra  much  longer  than 
deep,  and  deeper  than  wide,  and  with  smooth  concave  sides. 

The  ribs  of  the  anterior  cervico-dorsal  region  are  inserted  directly  in 
the  vertically  oval  pits  of  the  centrum.  Immediately  at  the  point  where 
these  cease  thin  transverse  processes  appear  to  arise  from  the  lower 
edges  of  the  rib  pits.  They  form  a  continuous  series  with  the  ribs,  and 
soon  rise  from  the  plane  of  the  lower  face  of  the  centrum,  and  are 
directed  obliquely  downward.  At  the  end  of  the  cervical  series  they 
are  directed  nearly  vertically  downward.  The  number  of  these  verte- 
brae is  very  great,. the  anterior  diminishing  to  a  very  small  size;  the 
whole  measuring  a  little  more  than  half  the  total  length. 

Most  of  the  cervicals  possess  two  venous  foramina  below;  the  dorsals 
two,  and  most  of  the  caudals  one. 

The  resemblance  of  the  caudals  to  the  usual  type  of  Flesiosaurus  is 
seen  in  the  fact  that  each  bears  near  its  posterior  articular  aspect,  on 
the  inferior  face,  a  pair  of  articular  surfaces  for  chevron  bones.  Simi- 
lar vertebrtB  had  been  described  by  Leidy  as  the  caudals  of  a  genus  he 
called  Blscosaurus  ;  the  study  of  the  present  genus  shows  that  they  are 
really  of  the  caudals  of  the  allied  genus  Gimoliasaurus. 

The  ribs  are  simple-headed ;  the  abdominal  ribs  seen  in  Flesiosaurus 
are  possibly  wanting,  as  none  are  found  by  the  discoverer  of  the  fossil, 
after  a  careful  search. 

The  end  of  the  muzzle,  with  symphysis  mandibuli,  was  preserved. 
This  is  flat,  the  symphysis  rather  short,  the  premaxillary  grooved  at  the 
intervals  between  the  dental  alveoli.  The  teeth  are  deeply  im])lanted, 
with  small  pulp  cavity ;  are  eylindric,  and  furnished  with  nearly  straight 
elongate  conic  crowns,  which  are  minutely  but  sharply  striate  to  the 


392  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

tip ;  the  ridges  straight,  continuous.  There  are  no  indications  of  nos- 
trils, so  that  these  were  probably  posterior,  and  near  the  orbits,  as  in 
Piesiosaurus. 

The  pelvic  arch  is  more  extended  tban  the  scapular,  and  strongly 
resembles  4]he  pelvic  arch  of  other  Plesiosauridcc.    The  scapular  arch  is 
peculiar ;  thechiviculi  are  broad,  flat  bones,  resembling  the  pubes  of  cer-  , 
tain  tortoises,  while  the  coracoids  are  much  like  the  coracoids  of  Ple- 
siosaurus. 

The  scapular  arch  is  remarkable  fol'  the  resemblance  of  coracoids  to 
those  of  Flesiosauriis.  The  clavicles  have  a  greater  transverse  extent 
than  the  former,  and  have  a  very  extensive  line  of  union  medially,  and 
a  narrow  posterior  x^rolongation,  which  meets  a  similar  anterior  one  of 
the  coracoids,  separating  the  intervening  foramina.  They  appear  to 
form  about  one-third  of  the  walls  of  the  glenoid  cavity,  and  have  a  con- 
stricted base,  as  in  some  Plesiosauria,  applied  to  the  extremity  of  the 
coracoid.  The  form  of  the  glenoid  cavity  cannot  be  readily  ascertained 
from  the  absence  of  the  scapula.  What  we  have  of  it  would  suggest 
the  existence  of  a  fore  limb,  of  comparatively  little  power,  though  no 
remains  of  such  have  been  found.  The  acetabulum  is  smaller  than  the 
glenoid  cavity ;  this  point,  with  the  obvious  source  of  propulsive  power 
in  the  tail,  renders  it  probable  that  the  posterior  limbs  were  the  weaker 
of  the  two,  if  any  existed.  But  there  is  no  trace  of  sacrum,  nor  of  any 
modified  diapopyses  for  support  of  an  ilium. 

The  ischia  are  flat,  snb-triangular  bones,  with  a  long  median  line  of 
junction,  and  communicating  anteriorly  with  the  posterior  prolongation 
of  the  pubic  plate.  Their  postero-exterior  mai-gins  project  well  back- 
ward. The  pubes  are  broad  plates,  whose  anterior  margins  diverge 
from  each  other.  They  are  broader  than  the  ischia,  ^nd  form  a  broad 
shallow  basin  for  the  support  of  the  viscera.  The  suture  defining  these 
elements  is  obliterated ;  they  are  continuous,  and  form  a  weak,  inferior 
keel  on  the  median  line.  A  simple  curved  ilium  has  been  preserved,  for 
which  there  appears  to  be  a  smooth,  articular  surface  on  the  pubis  to 
which  it  was  attached. 

The  acetabular  portions  of  these  elements  are  flattened  and  furnished 
with  convex  articular  surfaces.  The  supposed  ilia  are  short,  curved 
bones,  resembling  that  of  Piesiosaurus  latispimis,  Ow.,  or  of  some  of  the 
other  species  of  that  family.  The  shank  is  flattened  cylindric;  the 
distal  extremity,  dilated,  rounded,  and  flattened.  The  proximal  ex- 
tremity sub-truijcate,  or  truncate  in  two  or  three  unequal  planes,  and 
with  a  median  pit.  It  fits  well  when  applied  to  a  concavity  on  the 
articular  surface  of  the  pubis.  The  vertebra?  above  the  pelvic  arch  were 
furnished  with  elongate,  sub-cylindric  diapophyses. 

The  question  as  to  the  presence  of  posterior  limbs  remains  unsolved. 
Dr.  Turner,  having  made  a  second  careful  search  and  renewed  excava- 
tions at  the  original  locality,  failed  to  find  any  bones  which  can  be 
assigned  to  humerus,  ulna,  radius,  carpus  or  phalanges,  or  similar  ele- 
ments of  the  hind  limbs.  This  is  the  more  remarkable,  as  the  pelvic 
and  scapular  arches  were  further  completed,  and  an  additional  number 
of  ribs  obtained.  The  inferior  and  lateral  regions  of  the  trunk,  being 
then  so  abundantly  discovered,  what  are  we  to  think  of  the  entire 
absence  of  the  usually  numerous  elements  of  extremities  ?  The  glenoid 
cavities  are  rather  angular,  and  both  were  filled  with  solid,  argillaceous 
matrix.  The  acetabula  are  not  cup-like,  but  merely  exposures  of  the 
r^arrow,  plane  extremities  of  the  pubes  and  ischia ;  they  were  covered 
with  thin  layers  of  gypsum  ;  the  pieces  of  the  ilia  were  found  imbedded 
in  the  mass  of  matrix  which  occui)ied  the  pelvic  arch. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       393 

The  allied  geuus  Cimoliasarus,  Leicly,  possesses  a  femur,  as  desci-ibed 
ill  the  work  quoted  above;  it  is  of  shorter  aud  thicker  form  than  iu 
most  Pies iosa  u r i. 

The  skeleton  so  nearly  complete  would  indicate  no  violent  disturb- 
ance of  the  carcass  ;  but  if  tliere  were,  it  would  be  an  unusual  accident 
that  all  of  the  four  limbs  should  have  been  removed  from  their  socli.ets 
without  leaving'  even  fragments. 

This  genus  is  well  distinguished  from  Plcsiosaurus  by  the  peculiarity 
of  the  sca]>ular  arch.  The  mesosternum  ajjpears  to  be  coijssitied  with 
the  cUiviculi,  and  the  three  elements  form  n  broad  breast-plate.  If  the 
claviculus  was  ever  united  with  the  scapula  as  in  Flcslosaurus,  no  evi- 
dence of  it  can  be  seen  in  the  specimen.  Both  the  clavicular  and  ine- 
sosternal  elements  are  bi'oader  and  more  extended  anteriorly. 

The  American  genera  of  JElasmosauridw  may  be  compared  as  follows : 

Posterior  cervical  vertebnc  without  diapophyses:  cervicals  longer, 
compressed,  neck  very  elongate. 

Elasmosaurus. 

Posterior  cervical  vertebrae  witli  diapophyses:  cervicals  quadrate, 
shorter,  dei^ressed,  rapidly  diminishing  in  size,  hence  the  neck  shorter. 

CiMOLIASAUEUS. 

Professor  Owen  figures  and  describes  (reptiles  of  the  Cretaceous,  Pal- 
eontogr.  Soc.)  a  vertebra  which  very  closely  resembles  the,  cervical  of 
Elasmosaurus.  He  considers  it  to  be  the  cervical  of  a  peculiar  Plesio- 
sanrus,  which  he  calls  P.  constr ictus,  remarking  at  the  same  time,  its 
remarkably  inferior  pleurapophyses.  This  I  believe  to  be  a  species  of 
Elasmosaurus  or  an  ally,  and  to  be  called  for  the  present  Elasmosaurus 
constrictus. 

ELASMOSAURUS  PLATYURUS,  (COPE.) 

Leconte's  Notes,  loc.  cit.    Proceed.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  1868,  1.  c.  92. 
Discosaurus  carinatus,  Cope.     Lecoute's  Notes,  1.  c. 

This,  after  Mosasaurus,  the  most  elongate  of  the  sea  saurians  yet  dis- 
covered, is  represented  by  a  more  than  usually  complete  skeleton  in  the 
Museum  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  in  this  city.  It  was  found 
by  Dr.  Theophilus  H.  Turner,  the  physician  of  the  garrison  at  Fort  Wal- 
lace, a  point  situated  three  hundred  miles  westward  from  Leavenworth 
on  the  Missouri  River,  and  some  distance  north  from  the  Smoky  Hill 
Fork  of  the  Platte  River.  Portions  of  two  vertebrie,  presented  by  him 
to  Dr.  Leconte  when  on  his  geological  tour  in  the  interest  of  the  United 
States  Pacific  Railroad  Company,  were  brought  by  the  latter  gentleman 
to  the  academy,  and  indicated  to  the  writer  the  existence  of  an  unknown 
Plesiosauroid  reptile.  Subsequent  correspondence  with  Dr.  Turner 
resulted  in  his  employing  a  number  of  men,  who  engaged  in  excava- 
tions, and  succeeded  iu  obtaining  a  large  part  of  the  monster.  Its  ver- 
tebrie were  found  to  be  almost"  continuous,  except  a  vacancy  of  some 
four  feet  in  the  anterior  dorsal  region.  They  formed  a  curved  line,  a 
considerable  part  of  whose  convexity  was  visible  on  the  side  of  a  bluff" 
of  clay  shale  rock,  with  seams  and  crystals  of  gypsum.  The  bones  were 
all  coated  with  a  thin  layer  of  gypsum,  and  in  some  places  their  dense 
layer  had  been  destroyed  by  conversion  into  sulphate  of  lime. 

The  scapular  arch  was  found  in  large  part  adhering  to  the  bodies  and 
neural  spiues  of  a  series  of  the  anterior  dorsal  vertebrae,  and  was  de- 
tached from  it  at  the  academy.  The  pelvic  arch  had  been  slightly 
crushed,  and  the  lumbosacral  vertebra?  forced  into  contact  with  the  ischia, 
where  they  remain.    A  broken  extremity  of  the  supposed  ilium  was 


394       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.  , 

forced  into  the  matrix  which  supports  the  ischia.  Many  of  the  dorsal 
and  caudal  vertehrse  were  sent,  and  remain  in  continuous  masses,  so  that 
the  succession  is  readily  traced,  and  the  true  relations  of  the  extremi- 
ties preserved. 

In  removing  the  matrix  from  beneath  the  vertebrae,  scales  and  teeth 
of  some  six  species  of  Physoclyst  and  Physostomous  fishes  were  found,' 
including  an  Mnchodus  and  a  Sphyraena,  the  latter  indicating  a  new 
species  which  I  have  called  S.  carinata.  These  animals  had  doubtless 
been  the  food  of  the  Elasmosaurus. 

The  end  of  the  muzzle  was  broken  from  a  part  or  the  whole  of  the 
cranium,  which  has  not  been  rediscovered,  though  Dr.  Turner  has  made 
careful  search.  It  was  found  in  front  of  the  vertebrae  here  regarded  as 
cervical,  at  some  distance  from  them. 

The  whole  skeleton  has  been  under  considerable  pressure,  so  that 
most  of  the  ribs  have  been  pressed  flat  on  the  vertebrae  ;  the  long  para- 
pophyses  of  the  cervicals  have  most  of  them  been  fractured  at  their 
bases  and  compressed,  those  of  opposite  sides  thus  approaching  more 
nearly  in  the  form  of  chevron  bones  than  they  otherwise  would  have 
done.  The  proximal  cervicals  are  obliquely  flattened  by  the  pressure  ; 
the  other  cervicals  have  the  bodies  naturallj^  flat,  with  the  articular 
surfaces  much  less  so  than  the  median  portion.  Some  of  the  caudals 
are  obliquely  distorted. 

Description — Vertebrw. — The  neck  may  be  safely  assumed  as  a  point 
of  departure,  as  it  consists  of  above  sixty  mostly  continuous  vertebrae, 
which  graduate  to  an  atlas  of  very  slender  proportions.  Most  of  them 
preserve  more  or  less  developed  parapophyses.  At  the  posterior  ex- 
tremity of  this  series,  sixteen  are  perfectly  continuous,  and  in  this  por- 
tion a  great  gradation  in  form  is  apparent.  The  anterior  are  narrow, 
compressed,  and  similar  to  the  more  distal  cervicals  in  the  elevated  po- 
sition of  the  lateral  angle ;  the  anterior  are  subquadrate,  thick,  and  with 
lower  lateral  rib,  and  stronger  (?)  pleurapophysis.  In  these  respects  the 
latter  resemble  the  dorsals  which  follow,  toward  what  I  believe  to  be 
the  tail.  Four  anterior  dorsals  are  in  one  mass  (figured  in  Plate  3  -,)  in 
this  series  the  lateral  angle  first  approaching  is  finally  lost  in  the  mar- 
gin of  the  rib-pit,  the  posterior  thus  resembling  other  dorsals.  There 
can  be,  so  far,  little  doubt  that  the  anterior  and  posterior  extremities  of 
the  masses  are  correctly  interpreted. 

In  a  series  of  four  anterior  dorsals,  which,  like  the  preceding,  are  in 
their  original  continuous  mass,  those  of  one  extremity  have  centra 
rounded  in  section,  with  inferior  rib-pits  ;  those  of  the  other  have  quad- 
rate centra  and  elevated  diapophyses  ;  the  former  have  the  character  of 
the  first  dorsals,  the  latter  of  the  median  dorsals.  The  posterior  dorsals 
and  anterior  caudals  form  in  like  manner  a  continuous  series  of  eleven 
vertebra,  fractured  in  four  places.  In  them  the  diapophyses  steadily 
descend,  reaching  the  inferior  plane  in  the  last,  thus  with  the  reduction 
of  the  venus  foramina  to  one,  at  the  seventh,  indicating  the  point  of  tran- 
sition from  dorsal  to  caudal  series.  The  zygapophy ses  preserve  the  usual 
arrangement,  but  are  much  compressed,  so  that  the  posterior  or  down- 
looking  are  confluent,  and  scarcely  separated  by  an  emargination. 

The  neural  spines  at  their  bases  have  a  slight  posterior  obliquity,  and 
the  superior  portion  leans  strongly  in  the  anterior  direction.  The  inferior 
limbs  of  the  cer vi cal  pleurapophy ses  appear  to  be  entirely  wantin g.  The 
articular  faces  for  the  chevron  bones  are  seen  at  the  extremity  of  the 
inferior  rib  of  the  candal. 

Of  the  cervicals  there  are  both  axis  and  atlas.  Of  the  caudals, 
probably  the  distal  half  at  least  is  lost.    A  single  vertebra  near  the 


GEOLOGICAL    SIJKVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 


395 


middle  does  uot  relate  to  either  of  those  anterior  or  posterior  to  it. 
There  are,  therefore,  at  least  four  lost  from  that  region  also. 

There  is  a  considerable  interruption  immediately  anterior  to  the  last 
dorsal  vertebra.  Three  large  vertebrae,  with  long  diapophyses  belong- 
ing here,  were  imbedded  in  the  hard  matrix  which  protected  the  iielvic 
arch.  These  are  far  from  relating  immediately  to  the  vertebra,^  preserved 
before  and  behind  them.  I  estimate  the  number  missing  as  follows: 
Seven  of  the  fourteen  dorsals  preserved  have  more  or  less  elongate  dia- 
pophyses. In  the  Plcsiosauri,  vertebrae  of  tli is  character  are  much  more 
numerous;  in  P.  Iiomalospondylus  Owen  gives  seventeen.  If  we  add 
ten  to  the  series  in  the  present  species  it  will  give  the  abdominal  space 
between  the  adjacent  margins  of  the  o.  o,  pubis  and  coracoidea  an  ex- 
tent equal  to  the  length  of  the  plevic  arch.  This  is  relatively  shorter 
than  in  the  PIcsiosanri.  Dr.  Turner  found  that  a  space  of  '•  three  or 
four"  feet  intervened  between  the  two  portions  of  the  skeleton,  which 
was  otherwise  continuous.  I  think  ten  an  average  number  to  represent 
safely  the  missing  dorsals. 

From  the  cervical  proximal  regions  probably  three  vertebrae  are  miss- 
ing from  two  interruptions.  The  remainder  of  the  servical  series  ex- 
hibits three  interruptions.  Most  of  the  proximals  have  been  broken 
medially,  leaving  the  articulations  solid,  an  advantage  in  determining 
their  continuity.  Three  vertebrae  and  one-half  are  thus  found  to  be 
missing  in  this  region. 

The  whole  number  of  vertebrae  preserved  and  lost,  with  the  relative 
lengths  of  each,  may  be  stated  as  follows : 


Present. 

Lost. 

Total 

No. 

Length  in. 

No. 

Length  in. 

lengths. 

Cranium .   . .   .....   ..  .         

24. 

22.3 

37.6 

60. 

24 

Cervicals 

68i 

14 

21 

257.5 
55.10 
60.4 

3i 
10 
30 

279  8 

Dorso-lunibars 

93  4 

Caudals 

120. 4 

Total 

103| 

43i 

517  6 

Of  this,  twenty-two 


This  gives  the  total  length  to  the  animal  of  forty-three  feet  two 
inches,  which,  increased  by  the  amount  taken  up  by  intervertebral 
cartilages,  will  give  roundly  about  forty-five  feet 
feet  must  be  reckoned  to  the  neck. 

The  cervical  nertehne  are  assumed  to  commence  w^here  the  rib  pits 
cease,  and  the  continuous  lateral  processes  commence.  This  point  is 
ascertained  with  difficulty  on  the  specimen.  It  is,  however,  perhaps 
the  same  point  where  the  longitudinal  lateral  ridge  leaves  the  upper 
margin  of  the  rib  pit;  and  it  was  to  the  series  of  vertebrae  which  pass 
this  point,  the  scapular  bones,  the  clavicle  and  coracoid,  were  found 
attached.  On  the  anterior  dorsals  the  inferior  margin  of  the  rib  pit  is 
most  prominent,  and  is  finally  produced  in  a  flat  thin  process  which  is 
directed  obliquely  downwards.  Both  these  and  the  posterior  ribs  are 
crushed  on  the  centra  and  project  obliquely  below  them ;  their  mode 
of  attachment  is  thus  rendered  rather  obscure.  A  similar  structure  ex- 
ists in  the  posterior  cervicals  of  Chnoliasaurtis,  while  on  the  anterior 
dorsals,  or  where  the  rib- origins  are  on  the  lower  plane,  short,  thick  dia- 


396  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

pophyses  support  the  ribs.  The  proximal  cervicals  are  remarkable  for 
their  compressed  aud  elongate  form.  They  are  for  a  considerable  dis- 
tance longer  than  any  dorsals.  The  lateral  longitudinal  ridge  rises  suc- 
cessively nearer  to  the  neural  arch  and  disappears.  The  articular  sur- 
faces are  vertically  oval,  flattened  above  and  below.  The  inferior  faces 
are  slightly  grooved  in  line  with  the  venous  foramina.  These  vertebrae 
diminish  in  length,  aud,  after  the  posterior  third  of  the  series,  materially 
in  depth.  They  diminish  to  terminal  ones  of  very  small  size.  In  most 
the  decurved  (?)  pleurapophyses  are  broken  near  the  base,  but  the  basal 
portion  of  various  lengths  generally  adheres.  They  are  as  wide  as  a 
rib  and  scarcely  half  as  thick.  On  some  of  the  most  anterior  vertebrte 
they  are  quite  short  and  broad  antero-posteriorly.  They  have  much 
greater  autero-posterior  extent  on  the  terminal  than  the  proximal  cervi- 
cal centra,  having  a,  base  five-sixths  the  length  of  the  latter.  The  zyga- 
l)ophyses  have  relatively  a  larger  size  on  these  than  any  other  vertebrae. 
In  such  the  centrum  is  less  compressed,  though  with  concave  sides,  and 
with  a  section  rather  quadrate. 

Measurements. — The  cervical  vertebroe  from  the  sixty-sixth  to  the 
thirty-ninth  are  all  longer  than  the  dorsals;  they  commence  four  inches 
in  length,  increase  to  five,  aud  diminish  to  four  again. 

Inches.         Lin. 

Length  of  sixty-third  cervical 4  9.  2 

Depth  articular  face  of  the  centrum 3  8. 

Width  articular  face  of  the  centrum 3  10.  2 

Total  elevation  ninth  do * . .  .2  9. 

Anterior-posterior  diam.  third  cervical 2  2. 

Transverse  diam.  third  cervical 2  11. 

Length  head  of  rib 1  9.  7 

Width  head  of  rib 1  3. 

Width  shaft  of  rib 1         10.  5 

Many  of  the  ribs  preserved  have  been  pressed  upon  the  vertebrae  and 
crushed. 

The  first  dorsal  is  that  vertebra  which  first  presents  a  distinct  articu- 
lation for  a  rib.  The  diapophyses  are  never  much  elevated  above  the 
centrum  and  are  longest  on  the  thirteenth,  (inserting  seven  supposed  to 
be  lost.)  Their  form  is  stout  and  much  depressed,  and  distally  expanded. 
They  diminish  gradually,  and  on  the  third  are  represented  hj  a  longi- 
tudinal, slightly-concave,  articular  surface,  somewhat  similar  to  those  of 
the  caudals.  This  surface  is  bounded  above  and  below  by  a  longi- 
tudinal angulation ;  the  superior  is  first  distinct  on  the  first,  and  bounds 
the  articular  surface  last  on  the  third.  They  give  the  transverse  section 
of  the  posterior  cervicals  a  pentagonal  form  ;  that  of  the  anterior  dorsals 
is  nearly  circular.  The  latter  are  strongly  constricted  medially,  aud  the 
articular  faces  are  slightly  concave.  The  external  surface  near  the  in- 
cluded angle  is  coarsely  ridged,  in  conformity  with  coarse  cellular  texture 
of  the  spongy  bone.  The  venous  foramina  gradually  become  more 
widely  separated,  approaching  each  other  again  on  the  posterior  cervi- 
cals. On  the  dorsals  they  occupy  the  bottom  of  a  more  or  less  pro- 
nounced concavity.  These  concavities,  on  the  posterior  dorsals,  are 
bounded  externally  by  a  strong  obtuse  longitudinal  angulation,  giving 
a  quadrate  outline  to  the  section  of  the  centrum  in  this  part  of  the  series. 

The  posterior  cervicals  are  not  readily  distinguished  from  the  anterior 
dorsals.  In  the  latter  the  ribs  appear  to  be  present,  of  reduced  length, 
judging  from  the  smaller  size  of  the  remaiuing  heads.  The  articular  pits 
continue  to  descend  till  their  lower  marginal  ridge  is  the  inferior  lateral 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       397 

angle  of  the  vertebra.  On  sucli  vertebrre  the  inferior  surface  is  flat. 
Tiie  neural  S]>ines  on  dorsals  and  posterior  cervicals  are  of  great  lieiglit 
as  ^yell  as  antero-posterior  width,  and  they  allow  a  very  narrow  interval 
between  them. 

Inches.  Lin. 

Antero-posterior  diameter  (?)  twelfth  dorsal 3  7.2 

Transverse  diameter  articular  surface 4  10. 

Vertical  diameter  articular  surface 4  2.  5 

Neural  canal  and  spine  (latter  broken) 5  3.  5 

Length  diapophysis  twelfth  dorsal 4 

"Width  diapoi)hysis  at  middle 1  10. 

Anteroposterior  diam.  (?)eleventh  dorsal 3  4.  5 

Transverse  posterior  of  articular  face 5  3. 

Vertical  posterior  of  articular  face 3  10. 

Transverse  posterior  of  neural  canal 10.  2 

Transverse  posterior  of  articular  face,  third  dorsal 5  2. 5 

Elevation  centrum,  arch  and  spine,  second  dorsal 11  9. 

Elevation  upper  edge  zygapopbysis,  second  dorsal 6 

Length  zygapopbysis,  upper  edge,  second  dorsal 1  10.  2 

Length  centrum,  last  cervical 4 

Width  centrum  articular  face  cervical 5  3. 

Elevation  neural  arch  and  spine  cer^^ical 7  9. 

Antero-posterioi;  width  neural  spine  of  cervical  at  zygapopb- 
ysis    3  7. 

The  caudal  vertebrm  have  slightly  concave  articular  surfaces,  which 
are  not  bounded  by  groove  or  ridge.  The  neural  arches  have  flat  sides, 
and  there  is  no  longitudinal  ridge  above  the  diapophyses.  The  neural 
spines  are  elevated,  the  margins  of  tbose  of  the  adjacent  vertebrae  close 
together.  The  diapophysis  is  very  short  and  wide,  terminating  in  a 
large  oval  concavity  for  the  pleurapophyses.  Each  limb  of  the  chevron 
bone  is  attached  to  an  articular  surface  on  the  lower  posterior  face  of 
the  vertebra,  at  the  extre^nity  of  a  strong  inferior  ridge.  These  inferior 
ridges  are  rather  close  together,  and  distinguish  the  vertebrie  from  those 
of  Cimoliasaurus  onagnus,  where  they  are  wanting. .  They  are  absent  on 
the  anterior  seven  of  the  caudal  series.  The  diapophysis  is  nearer  tbe 
anterior  than  the  j^osterior  face  of  the  vertebra.  The  venous  foramen  is 
single  and  median  on  all  but  the  last  six  cervicals. 

In.         Lin. 

Anteroposterior  diameter  of  fourth  caudal 2  4. 

Transverse-posterior 3  10.  5 

Total  elevation 8 

Vertical  diameter  centrum 3  1.5 

Anterior-posterior  diam.  diapophysial  pit. . 1  9.  2 

Length  ninth  caudal 1  7.5 

Transverse  diameter  articular  face 1  6. 

Vertical  diameter  articular  face  do 1  2.  7 

Heads  of  fourteen  ribs  are  preserved,  and  a  great  number  of  shafts. 
The  heads  are  simple,  with  elongate  oval  articular  face.  They  are  ob- 
lique in  the  narrow  direction,  and  frequently  in  their  length  also ;  tbe 
margins  are  somewhat  everted.  The  extremities  of  the  diapophj'ses  of 
the  larger  dorsal  vertebrae  are  transverse,  some  flattened,  the  others 
more  oval;  the  more  anterior  are  subtriaagular,  and  the  rib  pits  on  the 
first  dorsals  are  subround  or  vertically  oval.  Thus  the  heads  of  the  ribs 
also  vary.  The  shafts  are  all  flat,  probably  more  so  from  pressure. 
Tbey  are  frequently  curved  in  the  direction  of  the  compression,  which 


398        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

suggests  a  vertical  head.  They,  however,  are  probably  more  or  less  dis- 
torted, and  tbe  plane  of  compression  changed.  No  well-defined  distal 
extremity  of  a  rib  can  be  made  out,  nor  have  anything  like  abdominal 
ribs  been  i3reserved. 

The  scapular  arch  is  remarkable  for  its  large  clavicles  (or  procoracoids.) 
As  preserved,  the  latter  are  quite  convex  downwards,  both  autero-pos- 
teriorly  and  transversely,  while  the  coracoids  are  equally  concave  in 
both  directions.  The  clavicles  have  a  remarkable  external  tlat  projec- 
tion, which  is  separated  from  the  glenoid  cavity  by  a  deep  sinus.  The 
glenoid  cavity  is  bounded  by  an  elevated  ridge,  which  sends  a  branch 
along  the  claviculo-coracoid  suture  to  the  precoracoid  foramen.  This 
foramen  is^^elatively  of  small  size,  and  is  a  longitudinal  oval ;  the  two 
are  separated  by  an  isthmus  composed  equally  of  iJrocesses  of  clavicle 
and  coracoid.  The  coracoids  are  very  thin  except  in  a  transverse  por- 
tion, which  extends  across  behind  the  precoracoid  foramina ;  a  strong 
elevated  rib  extends  across  the  posterior  face  at  this  point.  The  outer 
margin  of  the  coracoid  is  thickened,  rounded,  and  slightly  concave. 

In.     Lin. 

Greatest  antero-posterior  length  scapular  arch 33  6 

Greatest  antero-posterior  length  clavicle 14  9 

Greatest  antero-posterior  length  glenoid  cavity. 6  9 

Greatest  antero-posterior  length  precoracoid  foramen 7  3 

Transverse  extent  of  claviculi 27 

Transverse  extent  of  coracoidea 16 

From  acetabulum  to  foramen 7  6 

The  form  of  the  posterior  margin  of  the  coracoidea  is  unknown,  and 
they  are  much  broken  on  the  inner  margin.  They  may  have  been  con- 
siderably longer  than  in  the  accompanying  cut. 

The  greater  part  of  the  pelvic  arch  appears  to  be  preserved.  From 
the  obliquity  of  the  median  suture  and  from  the  form  of  the  x>ubes,  as 
they  are  preserved  on  a  large  nodule  of  indurated  clay,  it  is  evident 
that  they  have  formed  a  boat-shaped  support  to  the  abdominal  viscera, 
with  an  obtuse  keel  on  the  median  line  below.  The  following  diagram 
will  explain  the  relation  of  its  parts  : 

In.     Lin. 

Greatest  antero-posterior  length 25 

Greatest  antero-posterior  length  pubis 13       6 

Antero-posterior  median  length  to  notch  of  ischia 7 

Length  coracoids  behind  notch 4       6 

Greatest  width  i)ubes 27       6 

Greatest  width  ischia 21 

The  anterior  and  lateral  portions  of  the  pubes  are  very  thin,  as  are 
also  the  median  posterior  portions  of  the  ischiadic  plates.  The  ,pubic 
bones  are  thickest  on  the  posterior  margin;  they  present  a  downward 
projecting  median  convexity  near  the  anterior  end.  Depth  of  the 
articular  face,  2  in.  8  lin. 

The  superior  surface  of  this  arch  was  brought  to  light  by  the  exer- 
tions of  my  friends,  B.  Waterhouse  Hawkins  and  William  M.  Gabb,  who 
removed  a  large  mass  of  matrix  which  fortunately  accompanied  and 
protected  it.  This  presents  a  transverse  thickening  extending  across 
it,  and  continuous  with  the  posterior  margin  of  the  clavicles.  A  median 
longitudinal  thickenmg  extends  from  this  to  the  anterior  emargiuation, 
embracing  in  its  angle  with  the  transverse,  a  shallow  concavity.  The 
posterior  projection  which  is  continuous  with  the  median  part  of  the 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEREITOEIES.       399 

iscliia  is  strongly  deflexed  behiud  the  transverse  rib,  and  is  continuous 
witli  the  basin-like  concavity  formed  by  the  united  i^ubes.  The  glenoid 
surface  of  the  pubes  is  a  sigmoid,  while  that  of  the  ischia  is  regularly 
convex.  The  articulation  of  the  ilium  has  been  exclusively  with  the 
former. 

Of  the  pleurapophysial  portion  of  the  two  arches  nothing  appears  to 
be  preserved  except  two  latefal,  symmetrical,  long  bones.  One  was 
found  imbedded  in  the  mass  carrying  the  pelvic  arch,  and  thej'  articu- 
late well  with  the  pubes ;  but  the  articular  extremity  is  too  short  to 
articulate  with  ischia  at  the  same  time.  Though  they  resemble  the 
inferior  view  of  the  procoracoids,  they  represent  the  ilia  of  PIcsiosaurus. 
The  head  is  subdiscoid,  rather  flat,  slightly  projecting  eccentrically 
with  a  ligamentous  pit.  The  articular  surface  is  very  oblique  to  the 
axis  of  the  shaft,  and  is  separated  from  the  surface  by  a  marked  angle 
all  around.    Nothing  like  a  trochanteric  ridge  is  apparent  in  this  bone. 

lu.      Lin. 

Length  in  middle  of  curve 9       9 

Diameter  at  head 3       3 

Diameter  distallj'  on  curve 6 

Diameter  distally  straight 4 

The  shaft  is  flattened  cylindric ;  mucli  flattened  nearest  the  proximal 
extremity.  The  latter  is  very  oblique  to  the  shaft  and  slightly  convex 
near  the  proximal  margin. 

The  end  of  the  muzzle  preserved  includes  also  the  symphysis  and  parts 
of  the  rami  of  the  mandible.  The  parts  have  been  crushed  together, 
and  the  ends  of  the  teeth  broken  ofl".  The  alveoli  of  the  two  jaws 
incline  at  a  narrow  angle  to  each  other;  hence  the  teeth,  which  alternate, 
cross  each  other  near  the  middles  of  the  crowns.  The  parts  preserved 
apijear  to  belong  to  the  inemaxillary  bone,  though  no  suture  can  be 
found  and  the  bony  walls  are  so  thin  as  to  render  their  obliteration  a 
probability.  There  is  a  keeled  ridge  along  the  middle  line  above,  which 
is  not  continued  to  the  margin  of  the  bone.  The  form  of  the  muzzle  is 
narrow,  the  sides  subparailel  near  the  tip,  which  is  elongate  rounded. 
The  mandibular  symphysis,  however,  is  not  very  elongate,  as  the  rami 
are  given  oft'  at  three  inches  from  the  tip.  The  latter  appear  to  have 
been  quite  slender  from  the  various  small  sections  or  pieces  sent  with 
the  muzzle.  The  premaxillary  border  of  4  in.  7  liu.  exhibits  eight  teeth, 
or  their  alveoli,  of  which  the  median  two  are  close  together,  and  not 
separated  by  any  mandibulars.  The  sections  of  the  teeth  are  round  or 
oval,  and  thefr  sizes  are  irregular,  probably  on  account  of  diflering  age 
and  degree  of  protrusion.  The  diameters  at  alveolar  margin  vary  from 
6  lines  to  3.  Their  form  is  slender  conic,  or  with  the  root  slender  fusi- 
form, and  the  pul})  cavity  is  small  and  median,  sometimes  cylindric,  and 
sometimes  narrowed.  The  surfiice,  from  a  short  distance  above  the 
alveolar  margins  to  the  tip,  is  marked  with  acute,  thread-like  ridges, 
which  are  sometimes  interrupted,  and  sometimes  furnished  with  short 
branchlets.  They  are  more  or  less  undulate,  and  do  not  unite,  but  sim- 
ply cease  as  the  tip  of  the  tooth  is  approached.  The  latter  is  smooth 
without  lateral  cutting  edges.  The  width  of  the  mandible  at  the  com- 
mencement of  the  rami  is  3  in.  .05  lin. ;  of  the  muzzle  of  the  seventh, 
tooth  3  in.  7.5  liu. ;  at  the  third  tooth  2  in.  4.2  lin. 

General  Bemarlcs. — The  tail  is  a  powerful  swimming  organ,  more  or 
less  compressed  in  life  ;  hence  the  specific  name,  which  means  flat-tailed. 

The  danger  of  injury  to  which  such  an  excessively  elongate  neck  has 
been  exposed,  would  render  the  recovery  of  a  x)erfect  specimen  like  the 


400        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  ^TERRITORIES. 

present  an  uunsual  accident.  The  neural  spines  of  the  dorsal  region  are 
so  elevated  and  closely  placed  as  to  allow  of  little  or  no  vertical  motion 
of  the  column  downwards,  while  those  of  the  cervical  and  caudal  region 
being-  narrower,  the  elevation  of  the  head  is  quite  possible,  and  an 
upward  flexure  easy. 

The  habit  of  this  species,  like  that  of  its  nearest  known  allies,  was 
raptorial,  as  evinced  by  the  numerous  'canine-like  teeth,  and  the  fish 
remains  taken  from  beneath  its  vertebrae. 

The  general  form  of  this  reptile,  whether  it  was  furnished  with  large 
posterior  limbs  or  not,  was  that  of  a  serpent  with  a  relatively  shorter, 
more  robust,  and  more  posteriorly  placed  body  than  is  characteristic  of 
true  serpents,  and  with  two  j)airs  of  limbs  or  paddles.  It  progressed 
by  the  strokes  of  its  paddles,  assisted  by  its  powerful  and  oar-like  tail. 
The  body  was  steadied  by  the  elevated  keel  of  the  median  dorsal  line, 
formed  by  the  broad,  high  neural  spines.  The  snake-like  neck  was 
raised  high  in  the  air,  or  depressed  at  the  will  of  the  animal,  now  arched 
swan-like  preparatory  to  a  j)lunge  after  a  fish,  now  stretched  in  repose 
on  the  water  or  deflexed  in  exploring  the  depths  below. 

Differences  from  other  Saurojyterygia. — The  only  genus  with  which  it  is 
necessary  to  compare  this  present  one  is  CimoUasaurus.  The  following 
may  be  noted  as  generic  distinctions  :  The  series  of  cervicals  rapidly 
diminishes  in  CimoUasaurus  in  absolute  size  and  in  relative  length  of 
the  vertebrte,  which  are  not  compressed.  In  the  present  genus  they 
maintain  a  similar  and  increased  length  for  a  considerable  distance, 
diminish  in  length  very  gradually  and  are  much  compressed.  The 
diapophyses  of  the  dorsal  vertebrae,  as  the}^  descend,  in  CimoUasaurus, 
continue  well  developed  until  they  attain  the  inferior  planes  of  the 
centrum,  and  liave  there  a  downward  ilirection.  In  Elasmosaurus  they 
cease  while  yet  on  the  middle  of  the  centrum  and  are  replaced  by  pits 
throughout  the  remainder  of  the  length. 

The  neural  canal  is  everywhere  markedly  larger  in  CimoUasaurus. 

As  the  characters  of  lesser  significance  may  be  added,  that  in  Cimo- 
Uasaurus  magnus  the  dorsals  with  elevated  diapoi)hyses  are  considerably 
larger  in  the  centra  than  those  in  which  they  are  situated  lower  down. 
In  E.  platyurus  these  vertebrae  are  of  relativelj^  equal  length. 

The  cervical  pleurapophyses  in  C.  magnus  are  anteriorly  considerably 
stouter  and  less  flattened ;  the  same  applies  to  more  anterior  vertebrae, 
where  they  are  flatter  in  both. 

In  comparing  this  species  with  the  CimoUasaurus  grandis,  Leidy,  from 
Arkan>-as,  we  observe,  first,  the  generic  character  of  the  strong  inferior 
diapophyses  in  the  latter.  That  species  marks  itself  als^  as  a  preemi- 
nently short-necked  form,  as  these  anterior  dorsals  are  even  shorter  than 
in  C.  magyius,  being  nearly  twice  as  wide  as  long.  The  depth  of  the 
articular  faces  is  also  relatively  greater  than  in  the  E.  platyurus. 

Localities. — This  species  has  been  found  in  various  parts  of  Kansas 
besides  that  whence  the  specimen  above  described  was  procured.  Pro- 
fessor B.  F.  Mudge  obtained  vertebrae  from  a  point  thirty  miles  east  of 
Fort  Wallace,  which  probably  belong  to  this  animal. 

PYTHONOMORPHA.^ 

This  order  is  more  extensively  represented  in  the  cretaceous  beds  of 
Kansas  than  any  other,  no  less  than  six  species  having  been  determined 
up  to  this  time.     A  seventh,  Liodon  dyspelor,  Cope,  has  been  discovered 

*  Foi'  the  defiuition  of  this  order  see  Trans.  Amer.  Philosoiih.  Society,  1869,  p.  175,  and 
Proc.  Boston  Soc.  N.  Hist.,  1869,  p.  253. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEKEITORIES.       401 

in  tlie  continuation  of  the  same  yellow  clialk  formation  in  the  Territory 
of  Kew  Mexico,  and  will  probably  be  found  in  Colorado  and  Kansas. 

The  genera  to  which  these  species  belong-  are  CUdastcs,  Cope,  Liodon, 
Owen,  and  ]\Iosasanr7(fty  Conybeare.  The  two  latter  occur  also  in  the 
cretaceous  strata  of  Europe.  While  Mosasaurus  is  most  abundantly 
represented  in  the  cretaceous  of  the  eastern  parts  of  the  CTnited  States, 
Liodon  abounds  much  more  in  the  central  regions. 

MOSASAURUS,   (CONYBEARE.) 

MOSASAURUS  MISSURTENSIS,   (HARLAN.) 

{Ichthyosaurus  do.,  Harlan,  Trans.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  IV,  405,  Tab.  XX,  1834.  Batra- 
chiosaurus,  Harlan.  Bairachiotherium,  Harlan.  ?  Mosasaurus  neovidii,  Mcjcv.  1  M. 
maxlmiUaiii,  Golclfuss.  21.  missourknsis,  Leidy,  Cretac.  Eept.,  1865.  PI.  VII,  figs.  15,  16, 
17,18.) 

The  centra  of  the  vertebrae  of  this  species  are  moderately  depressed.. 
The  centra  of  the  caudals,  posterior  to  the  disappearance  of  the  dia- 
pophyses,  are  as  wide  as  deep,  and  of  nearlj"  similar  length,  and  witli 
anchylosed  chevron  bones.  A  fine  cranium  figured  by  Goldfuss  shows 
the  croAvus  of  the  teeth  to  be  subcylindric,  incurved,  and  facetted  j. 
but  it  is  not  certain  that  it  belongs  to  this  species. 

An  unusually  perfect  sj^ecimen  of  this  species,  or  one  allied  to  it,  was 
recently  exhumed  b.y  W.  E.  Webb,  near  the  town  of  Topeka  in  Kansas. 
My  friend  Professor  J.  Parker,  of  Lincoln  College,  of  that  place,  informs 
me  that  it  is  seventy-five  feet  in  length,  and  the  gentleman  who  discov- 
ered it,  that  it  measures  eighty  feet.  Its  mandibular  rami  are  stated  by 
the  same  person  to  measnre  five  feet.  Measurements  of  the  vertebrae 
indicate  them  to  be  of  a  size  quite  similar  to  those  of  large  individuals 
which  have  been  discovered  in  the  green-sand  of  IS!"ew  Jersey.  They 
measure  as  follows,  as  stated  on  photographs  by  my  friend  W.  E.  Webb: 

Inches. 

Diameter  cervicals  centra  only 2.5 

Diameter  dorsals,  with  diapoi^hyses 7 

Diameter  lumbars 2 

These  proportions  illustrate  again  the  Ophidian  or  eel-like  form  of  this . 
genus,  and  the  relatively  large  size  of  the  head. 
The  teeth  resemble  in  size  those  of  large  specimens  of  M.  d^lcayi. 

LIODON,   (OWEN.) 

(Proceed.  British  Assoc.  Adv.  Science,  1841,  p.  144.    Cojie,  Trans.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc, . 

1869,  p.  200.) 

This  genus  is  characteristically  American ;  four  species  are  known  from 
the  western  cretaceous,  four  from  the  eastern,  {L.  mitcMlUi,  L.  validus,  L. 
sectorius^aiidL.  laevis,)  and  two  from  the  southern,  {L.2)eTlaUisa.ndL.cong- 
ro])s  ; )  one  species  {L.  anceps)  is  British.  Some  very  large  species  {L.  dysjje- 
lor,  L.  proriger)  belong  to  it,  while  L.  congrops  is  one  of  the  smallest  of  the 
order. 

LIODON  PEORIGER,  (COPE.) 

(Transactions  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  1869,  p.  202.  Tab.  XII,  Figs.  22-24.  Macrosaurus 
proriger,  Cope,  Proceed.  Ac.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phil.,  1869,"  p.  123.  Leidy,  Cre|ac.  Eept.  II, 
15, 16,  [caudal  vertebra.]) 

The  history  of  this  large  Mosasauroid  was  originally  based  on  material 
in  the  Museum  Comparative  Zoology,  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  brought 
26  G  "  • 


402       GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

# 

by  Professor  Louis  Agassiz  from  the  cretaceous  beds  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Fort  Hayes,  Kansas,  and  near  the  line  of  the  Southern  Pacijac  Rail- 
road. It  consists  of  the  greater  i)art  of  the  muzzle  from  the  orbits,  with 
the  right  dentary  and  left  pterygoid  bones  nearly  complete  j  one  cervical 
vertebra,  (with  hypapophysis,)  one  dorsal,  one  caudal  with  diapophysis, 
and  ten  caudals  without  diapophysis.  Smaller  portions  of  the  skeleton 
have  also  been  found  by  Dr.  F.  V.  Hay  den  and  Professor  B.  F.  Mudge. 

The  characters  presented  by  the  vertebral  column  indicate  an  exces- 
sively^ elongate  reptile ;  the  transverse  diameter  of  one  of  the  distal  caudal 
vertebrae  is  less  than  one-fifth  that  of  a  proximal  with  short  diapophysis, 
while  four  consecutive  ones  of  the  former  show  but  little  variation  in 
dimensions.  This  diminution  amounts  to  f  of  a  transverse  diameter  of 
the  larger  form.  With  this  ratio  as  a  basis,  fifty-three  §  vertebras  would 
form  a  complete  series  from  caudals  one-half  the  diameter  of  the  last  of 
the  four,  to  the  proximal  caudal  above  mentioned.  There  have  been,  no 
doubt,  several  caudals  in  advance  of  the  latter,  as  the  diapophyses  are 
small.  From  the  slow  rate  of  diminution  of  the  columns  of  other  species 
examined,  it  may  be  supposed  that  sixty  caudal  vertebrce  is  below 
rather  than  above  the  true  number. 

The  cervical  and  dorsal  vertebrte  have  been  slightly  crushed  as  they 
lay  on  the  side,  and  present  a  narrower  diameter  than  is  normal;  the 
cup  of  the  cervical  has  not  been  distorted,  and  is  deeper  than  wide, 
Ijresenting  the  character  of  Macrosaurus.  The  rudimental  zygospheu 
consists  of  a  continuation  of  the  roof  of  the  neural  canal  in  front,  to 
adapt  itself  to  the  inner  face  of  the  down-looking  zygapophysis  of  the 
l)receding  vertebra.  The  latter  is  thus  received  into  a  groove  on  the 
inner  side  of  the  up-looking  posterior  zygapophysis.  The  dorsals  and 
caudals  exhibit  with  the  cervicals  that  minute,  sharply-defined  rugosity 
which  characterizes  all  the  projecting  margins,  especially  those  of  the 
hypapophysis  and  diapophyses  in  this  genus  and  Clidastes.  The  whole 
surface  of  the  cervical  is  marked  with  either  inosculating  strise  or  im- 
pressed punctse.  The  same  character  marks  the  cranial  bones,  though 
they  do  not  present  such  rugosity  as  the  vertebrse. 

The  proximal  caudal  presents  a  subhexagonal  section,  of  which  the 
inferior  and  superolateral  sides  are  longest;  articular  faces  about  as 
broad  as  high.  A  broad,  smooth  sj^ace  between  the  chevron  bones. 
Diapophyses  with  broad,  ovate,  transverse  section. 

A  caudal  without  diapophyses,  anterior  to  the  middle  of  the  series, 
estimated  by  the  size,  is  but  slightly  deeper  than  long,  and  with  parallel 
lateral  outlines  of  the  articular  faces.  The  neural  arch  is  very  much 
narrowed  antero-posteriorly,  but  has  a  greater  transverse  extent  at  its 
lower  part ;  above  the  spinels  much  compressed,  but  not  widened.  The 
zygapophyses  remain  as  rudiments  just  above  the  small  neural  canal, 
but  do  not  probably  touch  each  other.  There  are  two  anterior  and  two 
posterior  narrow  ribs  on  the  upper  portion  of  the  neural  spine.  The 
more  distal  caudals  have  wider  neural  spines,  and  the  arch  also  has  a 
greater  anteroposterior  extent.  The  zygai^ophyses  are  scarcely  traceable 
and  the  neural  spine  is  strongly  striate.  The  reverse  arrangement  is 
observed  in  Clidastes  propytlion^  where  the  neural  spine  of  the  proximal 
caudal  has  considerable  extent,  while  those  of  the  posterior  and  distal 
vertebrae  are  almost  cylindric,  especially  the  neurapophyses. 

•  Dimensions. 

Inches. 

Dorsal,  length j». 3.35 

Dorsal,  width  cup 2. 5 

Dorsal,  depth  cup 2. 77 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY   OF   THE   TERRITORIES.  403 

Inches. 

Proximal  caudal,  length 2. 14 

Proximal  do.,  -width  cnp 3. 43 

Proximal  do.,  depth  cup 3. 23 

Caudal  without  diap.,  No.  1,  leugth 1.6 

Caudal  without  diap.,  No.  1,  depth  cup 2.65 

Caudal  without  diap..  No.  1,  width  cup 2.6 

Caudal  without  diap..  No.  1,  height  neural  canal 4 

Caudal  without  diap.,  No.  1,  antero-posterior  width  neural  spine 8 

Caudal  without  diap.,  No.  2,  length 1.2 

Caudal  without  diap..  No.  2,  depth  cup 2. 15 

Caudal  without  diap.,  No.  2,  width  cuj) 1.  86 

Caudal  without  diap..  No.  2,  width  neural  sp.  (antero-posterior) 1. 07 

Caudal  without  diap.,  distal,  length 5 

Caudal  without  diap.,  depth  cup '. .85 

Caudal  without  diap.,  width  cup 64 

Caudal  without  diap.,  distal;  diameter,  autero-posterior,  of  neural  spine 40 

The  points  of  attachment  of  the  chevron  bones  on  the  distal  vertebrae 
are  strongly-marked  pits ;  on  the  anterior,  the  anterior  margins  of  the 
I)its  are  raised  and  continnous  with  the  chevrons. 

The  muzzle  presents  the  usual  characters  of  the  large  Mosasauroids^ 
but  adds  a  peculiarity  in  the  prolongation  of  the  premaxillary  bone  into 
a  cylindric  mass  forming  an  obtuse  beak  beyond  the  premaxillary  teeth. 
The  bone  is  narrowed  anteriorly,  and  does  not  descend  regularly  as  in 
Mosasaurus  sp.,  but  continues  to  its  abrupt  and  narrow  termination  de- 
scribed. The  extremity  is  deeper  than  wide.  Immediately  in  front  of 
and  between  the  anterior  premaxillary  teeth,  a  short  acuminate  projec- 
tion interi^pts  the  surface,  and  in  front  of  this,  a  transverse  depression. 
Above,  the  surface  becomes  flattened,  and  i)resents  two  shallow  longi- 
tudinal depressions  continuous  with  the  nostrils.  Where  the  premax- 
illary rather  suddenly  contracts  into  its  spine,  it  is  materially  wider  than 
the  maxillary  on  each  side  of  it ;  in  M.  missuriensis  it  is  narrow^er,  accord- 
ing to  Goldfuss.  The  maxillary  border  of  the  nares  is  rather  suddenly 
concave  at  the  anterior  extremity  of  the  nares,  narrowing  the  maxillaries ; 
the  latter  gradually  widen  by  the  expansion  of  their  inner  margins. 

No  part  of  the  frontals  is  preserved,  but  a  considerable  part  of  the 
Ijre-frontal  remains.  It  unites  by  a  very  coarse  o"/erlappiug  suture  with 
the  maxillary,  whose  outline  forms  an  irregular  chevron  with  the  apex 
pointing  forwards  in  the  middle  of  the  maxillary  bone.  This,  it  will  be 
seen,  is  very  different  from  the  form  given  by  Goldfuss  in  the  M.  missiu^i- 
ensis,  where  the  most  anterior  point  of  the  suture  is  on  the  nareal  mar- 
gin. The  external  margin  of  the  bone  behind  is  contracted  considerably 
within  the  maxillary  border,  previous  to  its  outward  extension  toward 
the  orbit.  This  is  much  less  marked  in  the  GUdastes  projjython,  but  is 
distinct  in  M.  missuriensis. 

The  maxillo-premaxillary  suture  gradually  descends  to  the  alveolar 
border  to  the  extremity  of  the  maxillary  bone,  where  it  descends  abruptly, 
forming  an  interlocking  suture  quite  different  from  that  squamosal  type 
already  observed  in  other  species  of  the  order.  The  leugth  of  the  pre- 
maxillary anterior  to  this  point  is  three-fourths  the  length  of  the  same 
to  the  beginning  of  the  nares. 

The  number  of  teeth  on  the  maxillary  bone  was  probably  thirteen ; 
twelve  alveolae  and  bases  remain,  and  one  is  added  in  the  position  of  the 
posterior  of  M.  missuriensis,  if  such  existed;  this  may  be  questioned 
in  consideration  of  the  small  number  of  mandibular  teeth.  Premaxillary 
teeth  two  on  each  side,  the  anterior  with  bases  separated  onl.>"  by  a 
groove.  Throughout  the  whole  series  the  bases  of  the  teeth  are  con- 
siderably more  exi^osed  on  the  inner  than  the  outer  side. 

The  crowns  are  everywhere  sub-cylindric  at  the  base,  the  inner  face 


404  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

more  convex  than  tlie  outer.  Posteriorly  there  is  a  i)Osterior  cuttiiig 
ridge,  as  well  as  a  marked  anterior  one,  both  minutely  crenulate,  but 
the  former  disappears  till  in  the  anterior  teeth  there  is  only  an  anterior 
edge,  the  posterior  face  being  convex  and  continuous  with  the  inner. 
There  is  a  trace  of  cutting  edge  on  the  outer  portion  of  the  extremity  of 
the  crown  in  the  most  anterior  teeth.  The  anterior  ridge  remains  very 
strongly  marked.  The  surface  is  quite  rough  with  longitudinal  ribs,  of 
which  eight  may  be  counted  on  the  outer  aspect  of  the  second  maxillary. 
These  are  not  strongly  marked,  and  are  separated  by  concave  facets. 
The  basal  part  of  the  crown  is  marked  by  numerous  fine  sharp  strise, 
which  are  most  distinct  on  the  inner  face. 

The  external  face  of  the  maxillary  bone  presents  three  series  of  for- 
amina. These  rise  superiorly  on  the  premaxillary,  and  increase  in  num- 
ber and  become  irregular  on  its  extremity. 

The  ramus  of  the  mandible  is  massive,  and  differs  from  that  of  3£osa- 
saurus  giganteus  in  continuing  its  i)roportions  to  its  extremity.  •  Its 
depth  at  the  latter  point  is  as  great  as  the  sixth  tooth  from  the  front. 
It  is  prolonged  beyond  the  first  tooth  in  correspondence  with  the  pro- 
longation of  the  i^remaxillary.  This  extremity  is  compressed  and  obtuse ; 
its  inner  face  is  very  rugose,  as  though  there  had  been  a  closer  union  at 
the  symphysis  than  usual,  thongh  it  would  not  appear  to  have  been 
other  than  ligamentous.  The  groove  for  Meckel's  cartilage  is  very  large 
and  has  been  exposed  below  the  last  two  teeth,  as  the  spleuial  terminates 
at  the  third.  Two  series  of  foramina  on  the  external  face  of  the  ramus. 
There  are  alveoli©  and  bases  for  thirteen  teeth  on  the  dentary  bone. 
This,  it  will  be  observed,  is  one  more  than  in  M.  gracilis^  and  one  less 
than  in  other  species  of  Mosascmr^s.  The  i)osterior  extremity  of  the 
dentary  shows  its  marks  of  reception  into  the  notch  of  the  coronoid  ;  it 
is  more  compressed  and  less  club-shaped  than  the  corresponding  part  of 
3L  mitcMllii,  and  would  indicate  less  lateral  flexibility  than  in  some 
otber  types. 

The  right  pterygoid  is  of  less  elongate  form  than  in  some  other  species. 
It  presents  the  sutural  face  for  union  with  the  palatine  on  the  outer  an- 
terior extremity,  and'narrows  to  an  apex  a  little  in  advance.  The  den- 
tigerous  face  is  widest  at  the  anterior  third  the  length,  where  the  outer 
margin  is  expanded.  This  then  contracts  and  is  compressed  vertical  at 
the  tenth  tooth,  where  it  is  broken  off.  .  The  transverse  process  is  given 
off  a  little  anterior  to  the  ninth  tooth.  The  interior  face  of  the  bone  is 
a  vertical  plane,  without  projection,  except  a  slight  obliquity  at  the  an- 
terior extremity,  and  it  is  clear  there  has  been  some  interval  between 
this  pterygoid  and  its  fellow.    The  superior  margin  is  obtusely  rounded. 

The  bases  of  the  i)terygoid  teeth  are  exposed  for  two-thirds  their 
length,  on  the  outer  side  of  the  bone,  thus  approaching  the  Plafecarpus. 
The  autero-median  are  large,  and  the  anterior  most  closely  placed. 
Their  crowns  are  strongly  recurved,  round  in  section,  and  with  a  fine 
sculpture  of  straight  strise,  most  marked  near  the  base  and  on  the  inner 
side.  They  are  more  spaced  iDosteriorly  than  any  other  species  except 
31.  mitcMUii,  and  are  relatively  larger  than  in  any  except  the  same 
species.  They  have  not  the  com^^ressed  form  with  basal  shoulder, 
characteristic  of  the  31.  dekayi. 

Measurement  of  muzzle. 

Incites. 

Length  of  fragment 31. 

Length  from  end  muzzle  to  pre-frontal 21. 5 

Length  from  end  muzzle  to  nares 11, 75 

Leng-th  from  end  muzzle  to  maxillary 5. 75 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       405 

Iufhes. 

Length  from  eud  muzzle  to  first  tooth 2. 5 

Width  of  muzzle  at  end 1.5 

Width  of  muzzle  at  anter.  extremity  nares 8. 

Width  of  premaxillary  at  anter.  extremity  nares ^.  3. 3 

Width  of  maxillary  between  tenth  and  eleventh  teeth 3. 2 

Depth  mandible  at  extremity 2.5 

Depth  mandible  at  sixth  tooth 3.5 

Depth  pterygoid  at  transverse  jirocess 2. 5 

Width  pterygoid  at  transverse  process 1.4 

Width  pterygoid  in  front 2.2 

Length  pterygoid  anterior  to  transverse  process 7.2 

Length  crown  fifth  pterygoid  tooth 1. 

Length  crown  second  maxillary  tooth 1.9 

Diameter  crown  second  maxillary  tooth  at  base 1.1 

The  vomers  are,  as  usual,  separate  and  narrow.  They  are  in  close 
contact  from  the  second  maxillary  to  the  second  premaxillary  tooth. 
Thoughout  this  part  of  their  length  they  are  embraced  by  posteriorly 
produced  vertical  laminte  of  the  premaxillary  bone.  These  lamime  unite 
just  behind  the  second  premaxillary  teeth  and  form  a  single  prominent 
keel,  which  disappears  between  the  first  premaxillary. 

LIODON.  MUDGEI,   (COPE.) 
(Proc.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc.,  1870,  Dec.) 

I  am  not  quite  sure  whether  this  species  belongs  to  this  genus  or  to 
3Iosasaunis.  The  characters  of  its  quadrate  bone,  size,  &c.,  induce  me  to 
refer  it  in^ovisionally  to  the  former.  Its  determination  rests  on  a  series 
of  specimens  from  the  yellow  chalk  dt  a  point  six  miles  south  of  Sheridan, 
Kansas.  They  consist  of  three  vertebrre  and  fragments  of  atlas,  with 
numerous  portions  of  cranium  and  proximal  extremity  of  scapula.  The 
I)arts  of  cranium  preserved  are  the  frontal  bone  without  the  anterior 
extremity,  and  with  the  adjacent  parietal  almost  complete,  parts  of  the 
basisphenoid',  the  suspensorium,  the  ossa  quadrata,  and  the  greater  part 
of  the  articular.  The  frontal  is  flat,  with  thin  edge,  longitudinally  hol- 
lowed on  each  side  of  the  median  line,  which  is  marked  by  a  low  but 
acute  keel.  There  is  an  abundance  of  foramina  and  delicate  grooves 
on  the  surface,  and  posteriorly  elevated  stride,  which  converge  to  the 
median  keel.  The  median  square  projection  of  the  border  of  the  parie- 
tal is  in  advance  of  the  lateral  portion  of  the  same,  and  not  behind  it, 
as  in  Clidastes  irropython.  The  fontanelle  is  large.  A  marked  feature 
is  that  the  parietal  crests  unite  into  a  low  median  ridge  a  short  distance 
behind  the  fontanelle,  and  are  not,  as  in  Clidastes  propytlion,  separated 
by  a  horizontal  plane.  The  sutures  of  the  bones  forming  the  side  of 
the  brain-case  are  very  obscure.  Nevertheless,  it  appears  that  the  de- 
scending margin  of  the  parietal  does  not  descend  to  the  front  of  the 
alisphenoid,  but  is  margined  inferioiiy  by  the  latter  to  the  post-orbital 
expansion.  Xo  part  of  the  inferior  margin  of  the  alisphenoid  can  reach 
the  sphenoid,  as  it  terminates  in  a  thin  edge,  except  for  a  short  distance 
medially,  where  it  is  broken  off. 

The  inferior  aspect  of  the  parietal  and  frontal  bones  presents  a  fur- 
cate keel  corresponding  to  the  divergent  parietal  crests,  and  a  very 
large  funnel  for  the  epiphysis  of  the  brain.  The  olfactory  groove  is 
deep  and  regular. 

The  articular  bone  is  characterized  by  the  prominent  longitudinal 
crest  which  descends  on  the  inner  side  from  the  front  of  the  glenoid 
cavity  to  below  the  posterior  attachment  of  the  coronoid  bone,  where  it 
terminates  in  a  thin  edge.    Also  by  the  short  distance  between  the 


406       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

margin  of  the  glenoid  cavity  (cotylus)  to  commencement  (or  end)  of 
coronoid  suture,  indicating  a  shortening  of  the  posterior  part  at  least 
of  the  cranium.  The  bone  is  continued  forward  only  immediately  under 
the  corMioid,  (c.  /.  r.  L.  icterictis.) 

The  proximal  extremity  of  the  quadrate  is  characteristic,  and  exhibits 
features  intermediate  between  those  of  Liodon  ictericus,  Cope,  and  the 
typical  species  of  3£osasaurus,  as  M.  fulciatus^  M.  cleMyi,  &c.  Tlie  proxi- 
mal articular  face  is  much  like  that  of  M.  depressus,  (Trans.  Amer. 
Philos.  Soc,  1869,  p.  187,  Fig.  48,  No.  3.)  The  external  angle  is  much 
smaller  than  in  the  Liodons  and  more  anterior;  nevertheless  it  is  con- 
tinued distally  as  a  ridge-like  angle  separating  the  antero-lateral  from 
the  postero-lateral  faces,  as  in  them,  and  not  presenting  the  gradual 
blending  of  the  two  surfaces,  characteristic  of  the  genus  Mosasaurus. 
The  postero-lateral  face  is  thus  flat  proximally,  and  the  meatalpit,  which 
is  well  developed,  cannot  be  seen  from  the  antero-lateral  face.  .^  The 
distal  part  of  the  quadrate  is  lost  so  that  I  cannot  determine  the  char- 
acter of  the  ridges  there. 

The  basal  element  of  the  axis  bears  a  strong  hypapophysis  without 
articular  faces,  but  very  rugose  surfaces.  The  same  portion  of  the  atlas 
is  a  convex  i)arallelopipedon  with  median  rugose  tuberosity,  and  very 
rugose  extremities.  Its  surface  is  not  separated  from  its  body  anteriorly 
by  a  deep  groove  as  in  Liodon. 

The  articular  facets  of  the  scapula  are  much  broader  than  in  the  other 
species  here  described,  indicating  a  head  or  wider  articulation  of  the 
humerus.    No  limb  bones  were  preserved. 

The  vertebrae  are  too  much  injured  to  be  characteristic,  with  one  ex- 
ception. This  one  is  a  posterior  dorsal,  and  had  had  compressed 
centrum,  or,  at  least,  not  depressed.  The  inferior  face  is  convex  trans- 
versely, and  there  is  a  slight  concavity  below  each  diapophysis. 

Measurements. 

M. 

Parietal  length 0.074 

Parietal  width  between  anterior  and  crests 048 

Parietal  least  width 022 

Prontal  interorbital  width 092 

Quadrate  width  above 002 

Quadrate  length  from  pit  to  proximal  end .' 0.023 

Articular  length,  lower  edge 015 

Articular  depth,  in  front  of  cotylus 035 

Articular  depth  at  coronoid 055 

Posterior  dorsal  length 0.495 

Scapula,  proximal  width 051 

This  species  differs  from  all  those  of  Mosasaurus  and  Liodon,  in  which 
the  form  of  the  quadrate  is  known  in  the  character  of  that  bone.  From 
L.  Iwvis  and  L.  congrops,  in  which  that  element  is  unknown,  it  differs  in 
the  stouter  or  less  slender  vertebrae ;  from  L.  proriger  in  its  much  smaller 
size. 

Its  size  is  a  little  less  than  the  L.  ictericus  or  L.  validus.  It  is  dedi- 
cated to  Professor  Mudge,  in  recognition  of  the  valuable  results  of  his 
investigations  as  State  geologist  of  Kansas. 

LIODON  ICTERICUS,  (COPE.) 
(Proceed.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  December,  1870.) 

Characteristics :  External  angle  of  the  osquadratum  close  by  the  mea- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       407 

tns  and  continued  as  a  rounded  ridge,  separating  the  anterior  and  exter- 
nal faces  of  the  bone.  Median  posterior  ridge  not  prominent.  Centra  of 
dorsal  vertebrae  depressed.    Humerus  broad,  short. 

Description :  This  species  is  represented  by  portions  of  cranium,  as 
post  frontal,  susparsorial,  pterygoid  articular,  and  quadrate  bones;  by 
parts  or  wholes  of  seven,  vertebrte,  which  are  all  dorsals,  and  by 
scapula  and  coracoid,  with  many  elements  of  the  fore  limb.  The  latter 
includes  humerus,  radius,  a  carpal,  and  numerous  metacarpals  and  pha- 
langes. 

The  species  is  first  well  characterized  by  the  form  of  the  quadrate 
bone.  This  element  lacks  a  portion  of  the  ala,  and  the  postero-superior 
decurved  i^rocess,  but  is  otherwise  perfect.  Its  form  is  intermediate 
between  that  in  L.  validtis,  Cope,  and  Mosasaunis  depressus,  Cope.  Its 
external  angle  of  the  proximal  extremity  is  posterior  to  its  usual  posi- 
tion, as  in  the  former  species,  but  is  less  prominent  than  in  it.  It  ex- 
tends to  near  the  distal  end,  disappearing  between  the  extremities  of  the 
median  posterior  and  the  distal  longitudinal  angles.  The  former  of 
these  is  short  and  it  disappears  by  a  gradual  descent  distally,  in  a  very 
rugose  margin.  The  distal  longitudinal  is  short  and  acute,  not  promi- 
nent at  the  distal  extremity.  From  the  posterior  position  of  the  prox- 
imal external  angle,  the  alar  articular  surface  is  somewhat  elongate. 
The  i)ostero-external  face  above  the  meatus  is  proportionately  short. 
The  meatal  pit  is  scarcely  one-fifth  the  usual  size,  so  far  as  determinable 
from  the  present  surface,  but  it  is  possible  that  the  greater  part  is  filled 
by  an  impacted  mass  of  bone  derived  from  the  adjacent  ridge.  The 
margins  of  the  articular  extremities  and  of  the  ala  are  striate  and  papil- 
lose rugose.    No  meatal  knob. 

The  suspensorium  is  slender.  It  is  peculiar  in  the  great  extent  of  the 
exoccipital  element,  which  covers  the  whole  superior  surface,  and  ex- 
tends externally  over  the  opisthotic  to  the  squamosal,  concealing  the 
former,  except  its  anterior  margin.  The  prootic  sends  a  small  proximal 
portion  only  to  the  superior  face. 

The  pterygoid  has  been  free  from  its  fellow  medially.  A  distal  and 
median  portions  have  been  lost ;  the  remaining  portions  present  bases 
and  alveoliB  for  eleven  teeth.  The  fangs  are  rugulose  and  but  little 
swollen ;  probably  five  to  seven  stood  on  the  lost  portions.  The  bases 
of  the  crowns  are  circular.  The  external  process  of  the  bone  is  slender 
and  flat. 

The  portion  of  the  mandible  preserved  includes  much  of  the  articu- 
lar and  adherent  parts  of  the  angular.  The  laiter  forms  a  narrow  band 
on  the  lower  edge  of  the  external  face,  and  one  twice  as  wide  on  the 
inner  face.  The  only  characteristic  feature  is  the  lowness  of  the  ridge, 
which  descends  and  extends  anteriorly  from  the  anterior  margin  of  the 
cotylus  for  the  quadratum. 

Of  the  vertebrae  several  are  so  distorted  by  i)ressure  as  to  be  uncharac- 
teristic. Two  well-preserved  anterior  dorsals  have  transversely  oval 
articular  surfaces  excavated  openly  above  for  the  neural  canal.  One  is 
from  a  i)osition  anterior  to  the  other,  and  these  surfaces  are  less  oval, 
though  still  transverse.  The  centra  of  both  are  very  concave  in  profile 
below,  aird  expand  both  interiorly  and  laterally  to  the  edge  of  the  cup. 
A  deep  groove  surrounds  the  base  of  the  posterior  face.  In  the  ante- 
rior dorsal  the  neural  arch  is  preserved.  It  exhibits  an  approach  to 
a  zygosphen  articulation  more  marked  than  in  any  other  Liodon,  and 
is  hence  nearer  CUdastes  in  this  respect,  as  well  as  in  the  slender  ptery- 
goids. A  zygosphen  is  not  separated  from  the  zygapophyses,  owing  to 
their  connection  by  a  lamina  of  bone.    The  notches  at  the  posterior  end 


408       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

of  the  arch  for  this  prominence  are  marked.  The  nenral  spine  had  a 
strong  anterior  ala,  the  base  of  which  extends  to  the  summit  of  the 
neural  arch.  It  ijresents  a  fine  striation  vertical  to  the  centrum  and 
oblique  to  the  edge  of  the  bone,  as  is  seen  in  C.  irropifthon,  Cope.  The 
diapophysis  on  this  vertebra  looks  obliquely  upward  and  carries  a  ver- 
tical articular  surface  which  is  concave  behind.  The  line  of  its  lower, 
extremity  falls  the  depth  of  the  neural  arch  below  the  latter,  and  of  its 
upper  to  the  apex  of  the  canal  in  front.  The  more  posterior  vertebra 
has  as  usual  a  broader  articular  rib  surface,  the  diapophysis  being  flat- 
tened above  and  below.  The  marginal  and  angular  surfaces  arestriate- 
rugose  on  these  and  the  other  vertebme.  One  of  the  free  hypapophy- 
ses  of  a  cervical  is  preserved.  It  has  a  subtrigonal  section,  and  is 
longer  than  wide,  and  obtuse.     Its  posterior  tiices  are  exceedingly  rugose. 

A  cervical  rib  is  compressed  and  short.  Head  narrow,  long,  simple, 
the  adjacent  sides  striate-rugose.     Sides  with  a  shallow  groove. 

The  scapular  arch  is  represented  by  an  entire  right  scapula  and  prox- 
imal part  of  right  coracoid.  The  former  is  broader  than  in  any  of  the 
species  in  which  I  have  seen  it  (four  only)  and  is  flat,  and  above,  thin. 
Its  anterior  extension  is  greatest  below,  its  posterior  atjove,  at  the  supe- 
rior angle.  The  lower  posterior  margin  is  strongly  concave  and  thick- 
ened. The  antero-superior  margin  is  a  regularly  convex  arc  of  more 
than  180°.  The  lower  portion  in  front  is  on  a  diflerent  plane  and  is  the 
rudimental  acromion.  The  articular  surface  with  the  scapula  is  rugose, 
and  the  glenoid  cavity  not  less  so. 

The  proximal  portion  of  the  coracoid  is  flat.  It  presents  the  usual 
foramen  near  the  anterior  margin,  and  the  shorter  concavity  of  the  an- 
terior margin  leads  to  the  belief  that  the  anterior  extremity  of  the  bone 
is  the  more  prolonged,  as  in  Clidastes  propytJwn. 

The  glenoid  cavity  is  not  concave,  but  merely  two  adjacent  flattened 
rugose  surfaces. 

Consequently,  the  humerus  has  no  head,  but  merely  an  elongate  artic- 
ular surface,  which  exhibits  a  median  keel  and  a  short,  angular  expan- 
sion near  the  middle.  This  bone  is  of  remarkable  form,  more  resembling 
that  I  have  described  in  CUdastes  iwopytlion*  than  any  other,  and  very 
dilferent  from  that  described  by  Leidy  in  Platecarpus  tympaniticjis.  It 
is  a  broad,  flat  bone,  expanded  at  the  extremities  in  one  plane,  distally, 
so  as  to  be  as  wide  as  long.  In  the  present  individual  it  is  crushed  by 
pressure,  so  that  its  thickness  is  not  readily  determinable.  Its  external 
surface  rises  into  a  crest  medially  at  the  narrowest  portion,  which  con- 
tinues to  the  lateral  angle  of  the  proximal  end,  following  parallel  to  one 
of  the  borders.  A  moderate  thickening  exists  on  the  opposite  side,  a 
little  beyond  the  extremity  of  the  crest.  Strongly  rugose  strine  extend 
to  the  edges  of  the  articular  faces.  An  oval  rugose  muscular  insertion 
exists  on  the  least  prominent  of  the  distal  angles,  and  not  on  a  pro- 
cess, as  in  G.  proj)ytlion. 

A  bone  which,  from  its  analogy  to  the  radius  of  the  last-named  species, 
I  suppose  to  be  that  bone,  accompanies  the  others.  It  is  flat,  truncate 
proximally,  and  with  nearly  parallel  borders  on  the  proximal  half. 
Distally  it  is  obliquely  expanded,  the  outline  forming  a  segment  of  an 
ellipse  whose  axis  is  oblique  to  that  of  the  bone.  Its  extremities  are 
rugose  striate. 

One  carpal  remains ;  it  is  a  quinquelateral  bone,  one  side  being  mar- 
ginal and  concave.  Perhaps  it  is  the  intermedial.  There  are  several 
elements  which  are  probably  metacarpals.    The  general  structure  of  the 

*  See  Trans.  Arner.  Pliilos.  Soc,  1869,  219,  Tab.  XII,  Fig.  17. 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  409 

"whole  limb  may  be  determined  from  tliese  and  from  the  numerous  j;^a- 
langes.  The  former  are  flattened  and  with  oblique  extremities ;  the  latter 
more  cylindric  with  a  transverse  truncation.  Both  have  a  median  con- 
traction, which  becomes  less  marked  in  the  distal  ones ;  these  are  also 
more  cylindric,  entirely  so  at  the  distal  extremities,  which  are  concave. 
All  of  these  elements  are  rod-like,  much  more  slender  than  any  of  those 
figured  by  Cuvier  or  Leidy.  Those  immediately  following  ithe  meta- 
carpals are  flattened,  but  thicken  distally. 

The  number  of  digits  cannot  be  readily  determined,  but  four  may  be 
certainly  distinguished.  The  general  simiLarity  in  construction  of'  the 
manus  to  that  of  a  cetacean  mammal  is  noteworthy. 

Measiirements. 

M. 

Length  suspensorium  (anteriorly) 0.  Ill 

Width  suspensorium  medially 031 

Quadrate,  greatest  length 099 

Quadrate,  width  of  ala 066 

Quadrate,  thickness  behind 03 

Quadrate,  length  of  distal  extremity 043 

Pterygoid,  length  six  alveoli 055 

Anterior  dorsal,  length  centrum 059 

Anterior  dorsal,  width  cup ". 0515 

Anterior  dorsal,  depth 038 

Anterior  dorsal,  expanse  poster,  zygapophyses 0395 

Anterior  dorsal,  expanse  diapophyses 001 

Anterior  dorsal  with  neural  canal 0135 

Anterior  dorsal,  depth  neural  canal Oil 

Posterior  dorsal,  depth  ball 019 

Posterior  dorsal,  width  ball .  0125 

Posterior  dorsal,  length  centrum 0555 

Posterior  dorsal,  expanse  diapophyses 088 

Scapula,  length 145 

Scapula,  width  proximal 07 

Scapula,  width  median 112 

Coracoid,  width  i^roximal 066 

Humerus,  length 154 

Humerus,  width  proximal • 119 

Humerus  median 075 

Humerus,  distal  (restored  from  0.  propytlion) 158 

Radius,  length 115 

Eadius,  width  proximal 061 

Eadius,  width  distal  (oblique) 105 

Carpal,  length 04 

Carpal,  width .037 

Metacarpal,  length 095 

Metacarpal,  width  proximally 045 

Metacarpal,  width  medially 018 

Metacarpal,  width  distally 034 

Phalange  (medial)  length 085 

Phalange  (medial)  width  proximally 027 

Phalange  (distal)  length 059 

Phalange  (distal)  width  distally 0082 

Eamus  mandibuli,  depth  in  front  of  cotylus 056 

Cervical  rib,  length 074 


410  GEOLOGICAL   SUEVEY    OP   THE    TERRITORIES. 

The  total  length  of  the  anterior  limb  could  not  have  been  less  than 
0.90  m.,  which  allows  of  five  phalanges  in  the  longest  digit.  There  may 
have  been  more.  That  the  digits  were  of  unequal  lengths  is  indicated 
by  portions  of  two  in  the  matrix  accompanying  the  specimens,  where 
the  articulation  of  two  phalanges  falls  opposite  the  shaft  of  one  of  the 
adjoining  digits.  The  phalanges  were  separated  by  a  short  interval  of 
cartilage.  The  size  ©f  this  reptile  was  near  that  of  L.  validus,  perhaps 
thirty-five  to  forty  feet  in  length. 

The  affinities  of  this  species,  as  incidentally  pointed  out,  are  to  those 
Liodons  which  approach  Clidastes.  This  is  indicated  by  the  many  ptery- 
goid teetli,  the  rudimental  zygosphen  articuMion,  the  regular  striiE  of 
the  bones,  and  the  forms  of  the  limb  bones.  In  Mosasaurus  the  humerus 
is  shorter  and  the  phalanges  are  longer. 

The  specimens  on  which  this  species  rests  were  discovered  by  Profes- 
sor B.  F.  Mudge,  State  geologist  of  Kansas  and  professor  of  geology  in 
the  State  Agricultural  College  of  Kansas,  on  the  north  bank  of  the 
Smoky  Hill  Eiver,  thirty  miles  east  of  Fort  Wallace,  Kansas. 

Numerous  fragments  of  another  larger  individual  were  found  by  Pro- 
fessor Mudge  near  the  same  locality,  which  belong  i)robably  to  the  same 
species.  Among  them  are  a  portion  of  the  maxillary  bone  with  bases 
of  two  teeth ;  the  bases  of  the  crowns  where  broken  off  are  not  com- 
pressed, slightly  but  oval.  A  radius  is  a  flat  bone,  more  dilated  at  one 
extremity  than  that  of  Clidastes  propython. 

M. 

Length  radius 0. 108 

Width  radius,  narrower  extremity 064 

Width  radius,  wider  extremity 08 

Width  radius,  medially 042 

This  species  cannot  be  confounded  with  the  L.  proriger,  Cope,  and  L. 
congrop)s,  Cope,  owing  to  its  depressed  vertebral  centra ;  from  L.  mitcliil- 
lii,  De  Kay,  the  equal  and  numerous  pterygoid  teeth  separate  it  at  once. 

LIODON  DYSPELOR,  (COPE.) 
(Proceed.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  Dec,  1870,  p.  574.) 

This  species  is  represented  by  numerous  vertebrae  of  the  dorsal,  lum- 
bar, and  caudal  regions,  and  other  remains,  which  will,  at  a  future  time, 
be  more  fully  described  than  is  possible  at  present.  The  vertebrae  in- 
dicate the  largest  mosasauroid  reptile  known,  and  are  remarkable  for 
their  form  as  well  as  size. 

The  centra  of  the  dorsals  are  much  depressed,  quite  as  in  L.  perlatus, 
Cope,  and  Mosasaurus  hrumhyi,  Gibbes.  Their  articular  faces  are  of 
transverse  lenticular  form,  the  superior  arch  being  a  little  more  convex 
than  the  inferior,  and  obtusely  emarginate  for  the  floor  of  the  neural 
canal.  The  superior  outline  is  thus  bilobed ;  the  lobes  rounded.  The 
transverse  curvature  of  the  articular  ball  is  quite  regular,  and  not,  as  in 
Mosasaurus  maximus,  more  steeply  inclined  at  the  external  or  lateral  an- 
gles. A  rather  broad,  smooth  baud  separates  the  edge  of  the  ball  from 
the  surfaces  of  the  centrum  adjacent.  The  latter  are  rather  finely  striate- 
ridged  from  the  edge  of  this  band.  The  inferior  outline  of  the  centrum 
is  strongly  concave,  and  with  two  venous  foramina  separated  by  a  wide 
interval.  The  basis  of  a  diapophysis  on  a  lumbar  is  very  broad,  meas- 
uring more  than  half  the  length  of  the  centrum.  In  general  characters 
this  lumbar  resembles  the  dorsal,  including  the  emargination  for  the 
neural  canal,  but  is  shorter  in  relation  to  its  length. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       411 

The  depressed  form  of  tlie  lumbar  centra  gives  place  gradually  on 
the  caudals  to  a  more  elevated  pentagonal  outline,  which  is  still  more 
reduced  in  width  in  more  posterior  regions.  The  hoemal  arches  are 
articulated  and  on  the  anterior  caudals  to  slightly  elevated  bases ;  on 
the  more  posterior  the  bases  are  reduced  in  height,  but  more  widely 
and  deeply  excavated.  I  have  not  seen  the  most  distal  caudals,  and 
hence  cannot  determine  whether  their  chevron  bones  articulate  in  pits, 
as  is  the  case  with  those  of  L.  'perlatus,  L.  proriger,  dc.  On  a  caudal, 
where  the  depth  of  the  centrum  a  little  exceeds  the  transverse  diameter, 
the  iliapophysis  has  become  narrow  and  thick.  The  excavation  for  the 
•neural  canal  is  strongly  marked  on  the  more  anterior  caudal.  The 
smooth  border  of  the  articular  ball  is  here  narrow,  and  the  superficial 
nya3  are  fine  and  confined  to  the  anterior  part  of  the  centrum. 

Measurements. 

M. 

Transverse  diameter  ball  post-dorsal 0. 144 

Vertical  diameter 097 

Vertical  diameter  anterior  caudal 094 

Transverse  diameter  anterior  caudal .■ 107 

Length  centrum  anterior  caudal 071 

Transverse  diameter  neural  canal 0145 

Transverse  diameter  basis  diapophysis 032 

Transverse  diameter  basis  diapophysis  of  a  more  distal  caudal. .     .  0278 
Longitudinal  diameter  chevron  articulation  of  a  more  distal  caudal    .  023 

Length  centrum -  -     .  068 

Depth  ball  centrum 093 

Width  ball  centrum 091 

Length  centrum  of  a  lumbar 106 

Width  of  articular  ball 125 

In  instituting  a  comparison  between  this  and  other  known  mosasau- 
ridse  it  will  be  necessary  to  consider  species  referred  to  Mosasaurus,  as 
well  as  to  liodon,  from  the  fact  that  some  of  the  former  may  really  be 
liodons.  The  liodons,  with  compressed  or  round  dorsal  or  lumbar 
vertebrae,  may  be  dismissed  from  comparison.  Of  the  depressed  species 
L.  perlatus^  Cope,  is  known  from  specimens  of  one-third  or  less  the  size 
of  the  present  one,  which  are  further  peculiar  in  having  the  diapophyses 
of  the  lumbars  to  stand  on  the  anterior  half  only  of  the  centrum.  In 
L.  icterieus,  Cope,  the  centra  are  less  depressed  and  the  size  still  smaller 
than  in  the  last. 

Among  Mosasauri,  with  depressed  vertebral  centra,  it  is  to  be  noted 
that  none  present  so  great  a  degree  of  depression  and  lateral  extension, 
except  the  M.  hrumbyi  of  Gibbes.  They  are  all  also  much  smaller.  The 
M.  brumhyi  was  founded  by  Dr.  Gibbes  on  two  lumbar  vertebrae  from 
the  cretaceous  of  Alabama,  which  resemble  those  of  the  M.  dyspelor 
in  form  and  also  in  size.  It  is  probably  its  nearest  ally,  and  may  be  a 
liodon.  Dr.  Gibbes  established  the  genus  Amphorosteus  for  it,  but 
without  sufficient  evidence  to  support  it.  The  principal  point  of  dis- 
tinction between  it  and  the  L.  dyspelor,  which  I  observe,  is  the  lack 
in  the  former  of  the  strong  emargination  of  the  superior  margin  of 
the  articular  surface  for  the  floor  of  the  neural  canal,  which  is  so 
marked  in  the  latter.  I  have  only  the  figures  of  Gibbes  to  rely  on  for 
this  particular,  and  it  is  scarcely  probable  that  the  artist  would  have 
overlooked  it  had  it  existed.  Should  the  bounding  prominences  have 
been  worn  off,  then  the  restored  centrum  would  have  had  a  notably 


412       GEOLOGICAL  SUKVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

greater  vertical  diameter  than  in  the  L.  dyspelor,  in  the  same  portions 
of  the  vertebral  column.  As  a  second  character  I  note  that  (relying, 
as  before,  on  Gibbes's  figures)  the  external  angles  of  the  depressed  ball 
are  not  so  extended  laterally  in  31.  hrumbyi. 

In  size  the  vertebrse  of  the  present  animal  exceed  those  of  the 
31.  hnimbyi.  The  latter  has  been  hitherto  the  largest  known  species 
of  the  order  PytJioiio^norpJia,  exceeding  two-fold  in  its  measurements 
the  3f.  giganteus  of  Belgium.  So  the  present  saurian  is  twice  as  great 
in  dimensions  as  the  New  Jersey  species  I  have  called  31.  maximus. 
If,  as  is  not  entirely  certain,  the  31.  missuriensis,  discovered  by  Webb,  meas- 
ures 75  feet  in  length,  the  31.  maximus  measured  80,  and  the  3r.  dyspelor . 
would  not  have  been  less  than  100  feet  in  length.  This  would  be  the  long- 
est reptile  known,  .antl  approaches  very  nearly  the  extreme  of  the  mam- 
malian growth,  seen  in  the  whales,  though  of  course  without  their  bulk. 
Such  monsters  may  w^ell  excite  our  surprise,  as  well  as  our  curiosity,  in 
the  inquiry  as  to  their  source  of  food  supply,  and  what  the  character 
of  cotemporary  animals  preserved  in  strata  of  the  same  geologic  horizon. 

The  locality  whence  this  reptile  was  procured  is  near  Fort  McEae,  in 
New  Mexico.  It  was  discovered  by  Dr.  W.  B.  Lyon,  at  that  post, 
and  by  him  sent  to  the  Army  Medical  Museum  at  Washington,  whose 
director  placed  it  in  the  collection  of  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 
The  attention  to  the  i)aleontology  of  his  neighborhood  by  Dr.  Lyon 
will  always  be  cause  of  satisfaction  to  students,  and  his  name  will  be 
remembered  with  that  of  Turner,  (discoverer  of  the  JElasmosaurus  pla- 
tytirus,  Cope,)  Sternberg,  and  others. 

The  stratum  is  the  yellow  chalk  of  the  upper  cretaceous,  which  has 
yielded  the  L.  ictericiis,  L.  proriger,  PoTycotylus,  &c.,  in  Kansas,  and 
of  whose  western  extension  into  New  Mexico  the  present  species  is 
evidence. 

CLIDASTES,  (COPE.) 

(Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  1868,  233 ;  Proc.  Bost.  Soc.  Nat.  Hist.,  1869,  258 ;  Transac. 
American  PMlos.  Soc,  1869,  211.) 

This  genus  is  only  known  from  the  American  cretaceous,  though  I 
have  little  doubt  that  it  will  be  discovered  in  other  parts  of  the  world. 
It  is  distinguished  from  all  other  genera  of  the  order  by  the  presence  of 
the  zygosphenal  articulation  of  the  vertebrae.  The  humerus  is  of  the 
most  remarkable  form,  recalling  slightly  that  of  the  mole  among  mam- 
mals, and  indicates  a  most  powerful  swimming  paddle  or  flipper  in  the 
position  of  the  fore  limb.  The  species  do  not  average  so  large  a  size 
as  those  of  the  two  i)receding  genera ;  the  largest,  G.  cineriarum,  did  not 
exceed  35  feet  in  length.  There  are  four  species  known,  of  which  two 
occur  in  the  cretaceous  beds  of  Kansas.  They  are  C.  cineriarum,  Cope, 
Kansas ;  C.  iguanavus,  Cope,  New  Jersey ;  G.  intermedins.)  Leidy,  Kansas 
and  Alabama;  and  G.propytJion,  Cope,  Alabama. 

CLIDASTES  INTEIllMEDIUS,  (LEIDY.) 

(Proceed.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  January,  1870,  p.  4.) 

This  species  is  established  on  several  cervical  and  dorsal  vertebrae,  with 
portions  of  mandibular  rami  and  other  bones,  from  Alabama,  discovered 
by  Dr.  Nott,  of  Mobile. 

They  indicate  a  species  intermediate  in  size  between  the  two  others  here 
described.  The  dorsal  vertebrae  are  rather  slender,  more  so  than  in  G. 
iguanaviis^  and  with  articular  faces  with  cup  and  ball  remarkably 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       413 

oblique  to  the  axis  of  tlie  vertebra.  The  dense  layer  of  the  bone  is 
thrown  into  numerous  rugosities  and  ridges,  as  in  C.  propython. 

What  is  more  characteristic  is  the  robust  and  even  swollen  form  of 
the  crowns  of  the  teeth,  and  their  slightly  rugose  enamel  for  the  basal 
three-fourths  the  height.  There  are  no  facets.  In  the  Kansas  speci- 
men there  are  twelve  teeth  in  the  dentary  bone. 

Eotten  limestone  upper  cretaceous,  of  Pickens  County,  Alabama, 
and  yellow  chalk  of  Kansas. 


CLIDASTES  CrNEEIARUM,  (COPE.)  I 

(Proc.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  Dec,  1870,  p.  583.)  ' 

The  largest  species  of  this  genus,  as  indicated  by  the  zygosphen  artic- 
ulation of  the  vertebroe. 

The  locality  where  it  was  found  furnished  also  the  L.  mtidr/er,  but  the 
specimens  were  taken  from  the  gray  bed,  perhaps  the  same  that  produced 
the  Masmosam'us  platyurus^  Co)5e.  They  consist  of  vertebra;  and  a  ptery- 
goid tooth.  There  are  tw^o  anterior  dorsals,  three  lumbars,  and  one 
caudal.  The  articular  faces  of  the  dorsals  are  broad  vertical  ovals. 
They  increase  in  width  on  the  lumbars  till  on  the  last  of  these  they  as- 
sume the  sub-pentagonal  form  characteristic  of  many  species,  and  which 
is  still  more  marked  on  the  caudal.  The  centrum  of  the  anterior  dor- 
sal is  much  compressed;  inferiorly  slightly  concave  longitudinally  reg- 
ularly and  prominently  convex  transversely.  Conversely,  the  rims  of  the 
cup  and  ball  are  strongly  expanded,  the  latter  with  surrounding  groove. 
The  diapophyses  of  the  lumbars  are  of  considerable  length,  exceed- 
ing in  this  respect  those  of  Mo'sasaurus  we  possess,  where  these  parts  are 
l^reserved.  On  the  median  of  the  lumbars  the  inferior  surface  of  the 
centrum  first  becomes  truncate  or  i^lane,  and  separated  from  that  below 
the  diapophyses,  which  become  slightly  concave.  The  expansion  for  the 
ball  becomes  more  abrupt  and  striking  on  these  vertebrae.  The  caudal 
is  a  little  more  compressed  than  the  lumbars,  and  presents  the  charac- 
ter of  coossifled  chevron  bones.  These  are  slender  and  longitudinally 
grooved. 

A  single  pterygoid  tooth  was  found  in  the  matrix  on  one  of  the  dorsals. 
The  basis  is  short  and  much  swollen ;  the  crown  curved,  acute,  a  little 
compressed,  and  with  an  obuse  cutting  edge  posteriorly. 

Measurements, 

Vertebrse,  &c.,  from  gray  bed : 

M. 

Anterior  dorsal,  length  of  centrum 0.  0608 

Anterior  dorsal,  depth  pf  articular  ball 038 

Anterior  dorsal,  width  of  articular  ball 038 

Anterior  dorsal,  diameter  behind  diapoj)hyses 029 

Anterior  dorsal,  depth  of  articular  face  for  rib 022 

Lumbar,  length  of  centrum 06 

Lumbar,  depth  of  ball 037 

Lumbar,  width , 039 

Lumbar,  length  of  remnant  of  diapophysis 046 

Lumbar  Ko.  2,  length  of  centrum 055 

Lumbar  1:^0.  2,  width  of  zygosphen    0182 

Caudal,  length  of  centrum 041 

Caudal,  depth  of  cup 04 

Caudal,  width 04 


414       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

M. 

Caudal,  width  of  basis  diapopliysis 0245 

Caudal,  width  between  chevron  rami 0115 

Pterygoid  tooth,  height  of  crown , 0125 

Pterygoid  tooth,  diameter  of  pedestal 013 

This  species  was  found  by  Professor  Mudge,  near  the  locality  of  the 
Liodon  inudgei^  six  miles  south  of  Sheridan,  Kansas. 

It  is  only  necessary  to  compare  this  species  with  G.  intermedius,  Leidy,* 
as  the  (J.  iguanavus  and  C.  propython  have  depressed  vertebral  centra. 
Those  of  the  first  are  round,  of  the  present  compressed.  The  C.  mter- 
medius  also  agrees  with  the  two  others  in  the  obliquity  of  the  articular 
faces  to  the  transverse  i)lane  of  the  centrum ;  in  'the  present  species 
these  planes  are  parallel.  This  species  is  also  larger  than  the  C.  iguan- 
avus^ Cope;  the  C.  intermedius  is  smaller. 

There  is  another  species  from  New  Jersey  to  which  it  is  more  nearly 
allied,  a  vertebra  of  which  I  have  described  under  the  head  of  Liodon 
Icevis  (Trans.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  1869,  p.  205,)  and  figured  1.  c.  Tab. 
V,  Fig.  5,  under  the  erroneous  name  of  Macrosaurus  validus.  This 
probably  does  not  belong  to  the  Liodon  Icvvis, '  which  does  not  possess 
the  zygosphen  articulation,  but  is  most  likely  allied  to  the  present 
species,  and  a  true  Clidastes.  When  comj)ared  with  a  vertebra  from 
the  same  position  in  the  column,  as  determined  by  the  i^ositiou  of  the 
diapophyses,  the  articular  faces  are  still  more  compressed,  and  the  in- 
ferior surface  of  the  centrum,  instead  of  being  regularly  convex,  forms 
a  i)lane  separated  from  lateral  concavities  by  an  obtuse  angle.  There 
is  less  expansion  of  the  margins  of  the  cup  and  ball.  The  size  is  also 
greater.  I  jiropose  to  distinguish  this  species  as  Clidastes  antivalidus^ 
Cope.  It  is  from  the  darker  stratum  of  the  green  sand,  near  Medford, 
New  Jersey. 

TELEOSTEI. 

Physostomi. 

SAURODONTIDiE,   (COPE.) 

(Proceed.  Amer.  Philosopli.  Soc.,  November,  1870,  p.  529.) 

The  genus  Sauroceplialus  of  Harlan  and  its  allies  have  been  referred 
to  the  neighborhood  of  the  Acanthopterygian  family  of  the  SpliyrcenidcB 
by  Professor  Agassiz  in  his  Poissons  Fossiles,  after  having  been  re- 
garded by  Harlan  and  Hays  as  rei^tiliau.  This  was  an  imi;)ortant  step 
in  the  right  expression  of  its  affinities ;  but  I  take  the  present  oppor- 
tunity of  making  another  progress  in  the  true  interpretation  of  its  rela- 
tions, favored  as  I  am  by  the  opportunity  of  examining  new  material 
not  accessible  to  former  authors.  My  conclusion,  it  will  be  observed, 
differs  widely  from  that  heretofore  maintained. 

Some  years  after  Harlan's  description  of  Saurocephalus  lanciformis 
appeared.  Dr.  Hays  described  a  second  species  under  the  name  of  Sau- 
rodon  leanus.  This  I  believe  to  represent  a  genus  distinct  from  the  for- 
mer.   A  third  genus  more  remote  is  characterized  in  the  present  article. 

The  characters  of  first  importance  which  may  be  assigned  to  these 
genera  are:  Yertebrse  short,  numerous;  their  neural  arches  united  with 
centrum  by  persistent  suture.  Tail  vertebrated  or  heterocercal.  Supe- 
rior arch  of  the  mouth  formed  by  the  short  premaxillaries  and  long 

*  Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  PhiladelpMa,  1870,  p.  4. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       415 

maxillaries.  Teetli  one-rowed,  with  fangs  received  into  alveoli  more  or 
less  confluent  at  their  openings.  Anal  or  caudal  radii  with  complex 
segmentation. 

These  characters  are  most  of  them  entirely  contradictory  of  any 
affinity  to  the  Siyhyrwnidcc,  those  presented  by  the  vertebra?  indicating 
a  nearer  approach  to  Amia.  The  structure  of  the  mouth  is  not  that 
of  any  acanthopterygian  fish,  and  with  the  complex  segmentation 
of  some  of  the  radii  approaches  nearer  such  types  as  the  Characinidce. 
The  form  of  the  vertebral  centi'a  is  utterly  different  from  that  of  the 
Splujnvnidcc ;  in  the  SaurodontkJcc  they  are  short,  little  contracted 
medially,  and  deeply  grooved  on  the  sides ;  in  the  Sphijncnidcc,  excep- 
tional among  teleosts  in  being  elongate,  much  contracted,  smooth,  and 
grooveless ! 

The  characters  presented  by  the  teeth  and  vertebrae  of  Sanrocephaliis 
remind  one  much  of  Scrrasalmo,  though  the  genus  is  no  doubt  in  other 
respects  widely  removed  from  that  group.  On  the  characters  above 
enumerated,  I  propose  the  family  Saurodoniida'.  Its  precise  position  I 
am  not  prepared  to  determine  at  present,  though  I  have  little  doubt 
that  it  is  related  to  the  ISalmonidw,  and  chipeidcv.  With  the  remains 
of  species  of  this  group  occur  numerous  scales,  which  maj' belong  to  the 
former.    They  are  cycloid  and  without  ganoine. 

The  three  genera  are  distinguished  by  the  form  of  their  jaws  and 
teeth :  in  Saurocephalus  the  crowns  are  shortened,  much  compressed, 
and  with  sharp  edges;  in  Saurodon  the  crowns  are  elongate,  subcylin- 
dric,  and  slightly  curved  near  the  apex.  In  IchtJiyodectes  the  teeth  are 
similar  to  those  of  Saurodon,  but  the  margins  of  both  jaws  are  without 
the  large  foramina  so  j)rominent  in  both  the  other  genera.  There 
appear  to  be  some  important  differences  also  in  the  vertebrae,  which 
will  be  mentioned  below. 

In  the  Transactions  of  the  American  Philosophical  Society  for  1856, 
Dr.  Leidy  treats  Saitroccjihalus  as  a  sphyrsienoid  fish,  and  regards  Smi- 
rodon  as  a  synonyme.  He  corrects  the  erroneous  references  of  some 
European  authors,  showing  the  Saurocephalus  of  Dixon  to  be  a  Xiphias, 
and  the  Saurodon  of  Agassiz  to  be  some  other  genus  which  he  calls 
CimoUchtJiys^  without  characterizing  it.  This  form  is  supposed  to  be 
established  on  i)alatine  teeth,  and  if  so,  is  well  distinguished,  as  it  will 
be  seen  below  that  Saurocephalus  has  no  teeth  on  the  palatine  bones. 
He  also  refers  two  other  species  of  supposed  Saurocephalus  of  Agassiz 
to  a  new  genus  caUed  Protospkyrcena,  without  characters.  This  I  think 
rests  on  mandibular  teeth  of  true  Saurocephali. 

SAUKOCEPHALTJg,  (HARLAN.) 

(Joum.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,Phila.,  111,337.    f  XiphactimiSj'Leidj,  Proc.  Ac.  Nat.  Sci.,  Pliila., 

1870,  12.) 

SAUROCEPHALUS  LANCIFORlNnS,  (HARLAN,)  1.  C. 

(Med.  and  Phys.  Researches,  362.    Leidy,  Trans.  Amcr.  Philos.  Soc,  1856,  Tab.    Saiiro- 
don  lancifonnis,  Hays,  Trans.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  1830,  476.) 

Established  on  a  right  superior  maxillary  bone  from  a  locality  near 
the  Missouri  River.     It  differs  from  that  of  the  other  species  in  having 
a  very  elongate  superior  suture  with  the  premaxillary  bone,  and  in  the  ' 
very  short  dental  crowns,  which  are  as  wide  as  deep.    The  largest 
species ;  known  from  the  jaw.  ^ 


416  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

SAUEOCEPHALUS  PHLEBOTOMXJS,  (COPE.) 
(Proceed.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc.,  Nov.,  1870,  p.  530.) 

Established  on  some  vertebrae  and  portions  of  tbe  cranium,  the  latter 
iucludiug  the  dentary,  maxillary,  part  of  the  premaxillary,  the  palatine, 
and  vomerine  bones,  compressed  into  a  mass  by  pressure,  the  separate 
pieces  preserving  nearly  their  normal  relations.  From  the  latter  the 
followiug  characters  may  be  derived : 

Palatine  bones  toothless ;  teeth  of  both  maxillary  and  dentary,  with 
compressed  crowns,  which  are  longer  than  wide  at  base,  and  closely 
placed,  those  of  the  deutary  twice  as  large  as  those  of  the  maxillary. 
Maxillary  bone  proximally  deep ;  dentary  shallower,  the  maxillary  with 
elongate  suture  with  the  premaxillary  behind. 

The  teeth  are  equilateral,  withont  intermarginal  groove  or  barb,  and 
with  smooth  enamel  surface,  or  only  minutely  striate  under  the  micro- 
scope. A  series  of  larger  foramiua  extends  along  the  alveolar  margin  of 
the  maxillary  and  dentary  bones,  one  foramen  to  each  tooth.  The  alve- 
oloe  are  continent  as  they  approach  this  margin. 

There  are  three  vertebrae,  which  present  two  pairs  of  deep  longitudinal 
grooves,  viz :  two  on  each  side,  t\YO  on  the  inferior,  and  two  on  the  su- 
perior face  of  the  bone  ;  the  last  receives  the  basal  articulation  of  the 
haemapophyses.  The  centra  are  crushed ;  their  measurements  with 
those  of  the  jaws  are  as  follows : 

M. 

Length  centrum 025 

Long  diameter  (crushed) 035 

Short  diameter  (crushed) 0175 

Depth  maxillary  bone  anteriorly 031 

Depth  dentary  bone  anteriorly ,  015 

Length  crown  inferior  tooth .  006 

Number  crown  inferior  tooth  in  .01m „ 3 

Number  crown  superior  tooth  in  .01m 4.  5 

Length  crown  superior  tooth  in  .01m 0046 

The  vertebrae  are  about  as  large  as  those  of  a  fully  grown  "  drum  fish," 
Fogonias. 

From  the  yellow  chalk  of  the  upper  cretaceous  of  Kansas,  found  on 
the  Solomon  or  Nepaholla  Eiver,  Kansas,  at  a  point  160  miles  above  its 
mouth,  by  Professor  B.  F.  Mudge,  professor  of  natural  science  in  the 
State  Agricultural  College  of  Kansas. 

I  append  a  description  of  some  caudal  vertebrae  of  a  species  i)robably 
different  from  the  8.  iililebotomus.  It  is  indicated  by  three  consecutive 
caudal  vertebrae  which  resemble  those  of  S.  prognathus  and  S.  iliaumas, 
but  which  differ  also  considerably  from  both  ;  the  several  arches  and 
spines  are  of  very  great  width ;  in  8.  tliaumas  they  are  narrow,  and  in 
8.  prognathus  as  wide,  but  here  their  width  exceeds  the  depth  and 
equals  the  length  of  the  centrum.  As  in  the  other  caudals,  the  lateral 
grooves  are  Avanting  and  the  inferior  pair  remain  separated  by  a  lamina. 
The  neural  suture  is  very  distinct,  and  not  two-angled  as  in  8.  prognathus, 
but  with  a  median  decurvature  and  rise  anteriorly.  The  neural  spines 
are  twice  as  wide  as  deep  and  lie  on  each  other.  The  third  vertebra  is 
shorter  than  the  others  and  contracted  distally ;  it  is  probably  the  pen- 
ultimate of  the  series;  neural  canal  minute.    Surface  striate-ridged. 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY   OF   THE   TERRITORIES.  417 

Measurements. 

M. 

Length  of  centrum  anterior  vertebra 0.021 

Depth  of  centrum  (at  middle)  anterior  vertebra 015 

Width  of  neural  arch  at  base  of  spine 010 

Depth  of  spine 0072 

Length  of  third  vertebra. 0135 

Width  of  neural  arch 014 

Width  of  neural  spine 0176 

From  a  i^oint  twenty  miles  east  of  Fort  Wallace,  Kansas.  Professor 
Mudge's  collection. 

In  this  species  the  vertebrse  in  question  are  longer  in  proportion  to 
their  other  dimensions  than  in  those  described,  besides  carrying  wider 
neural  arches  and  spines. 

SAUKOCEPHALUS  PEOGNATHUS,  (COPE.) 

(Proc.  Arner.  Pliilos.  Soc,  Nov.,  1870.) 

This  species  is  represented  by  premaxillary  and  attached  proximal 
portion  of  the  maxillary  bones  of  the  right  side,  and  by  a  large  number 
of  vertebrre  and  other  bones.  These  portions  were  associated  ^iu  the 
collections  placed  in  my  hands  by  Professor  Mudge,  and  relate  to  each 
other  in  size,  as  do  those  of  the  preceding  species  and  the  Ichthyodectes 
ctenodon. 

The  premaxillary  is  characterized  by  its  great  depth  as  compared  with 
its  length,  and  by  the  shortness  of  its  union  with  the  maxillary.  The 
palatine  condyle  of  the  maxillary  reaches  a  point  above  the  middle  of 
the  alveolar  margin  of  the  premaxillary.  The  latter  contains  alveoles 
of  seven  teeth,  the  anterior  of  which  only  presents  a  perfect  crown. 
This  is  still  more  elongate  than  the  crown  of  the  teeth  of  *S'.  plilebotomus. 
It  is  compressed,  equilateral,  smooth,  and  acute.  Its  direction  is  even 
liiore  obliquely  forward  than  the  anterior  outline  of  the  bone,  which 
itself  makes  an  angle  of  50°  with  the  alveolar  border. 

The  vertebrte  consist  of  cer^•icals,  dorsals,  aud  caudals,  to  the  num- 
ber of  about  sixty,  most  of  which  are  supposed  to  have  been  derived 
from  the  same  animal.  The  grooves  are  as  in  8.  plilehotomus,  there  being 
two  below,  two  on  each  side,  and  two  above.  The  latter  receives  the 
bases  of  the  neurapophyses,  which  are  in  many  cases  preserved.  The 
inferior  pair  of  grooves  becomes  more  widely  separated  as  we  approach 
the  cervical  series,  leaving  an  inferior  plane,  which  is  longitudinally 
striategrooved.  This  jjlane  widens  till  the  grooves  bounding  it  disap- 
pear. The  inferior  lateral  groove  becomes  widened  into  a  pit  which 
some  of  the  specimens  show  to  have  been  occupied  by  a  plug-like  para- 
l)ophysis,  as  in  ElojJS,  &c.,  or  a  rib-head  of  similar  form.  The  neura- 
pophysial  articular  grooves  become  pits  anteriorly,  and  these  onl}'  of 
all  the  grooves,  remain  on  the  anterior  two  vertebra3  in  the  collection. 
Some  of  the  posterior  caudals  preserve  large  i)ortious  of  the  neural 
arches  and  spines.  They  form  an  oblique  zigzag  suture  with  the  body, 
consisting  of  two  right  angles,  one  projecting  upward  anteriorly,  another 
downward  behind.  The  neural  spines  are  very  wide  and  massive  and 
in  close  contact  antero-posteriorly ;  these  probably  support  the  caudal 
fin.  They  are  deeply  and  elegantly  grooved  from  the  basis  upward. 
The  centra  exhibit  no  lateral  grooves. 

An  unsymmetrical  fin  ray  accompanied  these  remains,  and  from  its 
mineralization,  color,  size,  and  sculpture,  probably  belongs  to  them. 
The  anterior  margin  is  thinned,  and  with  obtuse  denticulatious  j  the 
27  G 


418       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

posterior  truncate.  The  section  is  lenticular,  -with  a  deep  rabbet  on  one 
side  of  the  posterior  edge ;  section  at  the  base  circular,  apex  lost.  The 
sculpture  consists  of  fine  longitudinal  raised  striae,  which  bifurcate  and 
send  numerous  similar  ridges  to  the  teeth  of  the  anterior  margin.  It  is 
probably  a  spine  of  a  pectoral  fin.  It  is  identical  in  form  and  sculpture 
with  that  described  by  Leidy  as  Xi^hactinus  audax,  but  differs  in  spe- 
cific details. 

M. 

Long  diameter  of  spine 0.0245 

Basal  diameter  of  spine 019 

Length,  to  cervicals,  (not  distorted) ()33 

Diameter  of  the  anterior 021 

Length  of  a  dorsal 016 

Length  of  a  caudal - 014 

Width  of  neural  spine  of  caudal,  at  base -012 

Length  of  alveolar  margin  premaxillary 022 

Length  of  anterior  margin  i)remaxillary 02 

Depth  from  condyle  of  maxillary 02G 

Length  of  crown  premaxillary  tooth 0042 

Diameter  of  crown  premaxillary  tooth 002 

A  fragment  of  a  large  flat  bone  exhibits  very  delicate  radiating 
grooves,  which  are  marked  by  spaced  impressed  dots. 

From  the  upper  cretaceous  of  Kausas,  six  miles  south  of  the  town  of 
Sheridan.  Professor  B.  F.  Mudge.  This  species  was  about  two-thirds 
the  size  of  the  species  last  described. 

SAUKOCEPHALTJS  AUDAX,  (LEIDY,)  Sp. 

{Xipliactinus  audax,  Leidy.    Proc.  A.  N.  Sci.,  Phil.,  1870,  12.) 

Established  on  a  pectoral  spine,  supposed  by  Leidy  to  be  that  of  a 
siluroid.  According  to  the  description,  it  does  not  differ  from  that  of 
8.  prognathns  in  more  than  specific  characters.  Thus  the  anterior  mar- 
gin is  weakly  serrate  in  the  latter,  a  feature  not  described  by  Leidy  in 
the  former.  In  8.  audax  the  posterior  i)ortions  of  both  sides  are  said  to 
be  grooved ;  in  that  part  of  the  spine  of  8.  prognathus  preserved,  one 
surface  only  exhibits  the  groove  in  question,  one  of  whose  edges  is  ob- 
liquely ridged,  as  in  S.  audax.    From  Kansas;  museum  Smithsonian. 

SATJEOCEPHALUS  THAUIVIAS,   (COPE.) 
(Proc.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  Nov.,  1870.) 

This  is  larger  than  any  of  the  species  here  described.  It  is  represented 
by  wholes  or  parts  of  from  seventy  to  eighty  vertebrae,  with  numerous 
neural  and  haemal  spines  and  fin  radii,  and  perhaps  some  ribs.  Tliere  are 
no  teeth  nor  cranial  fragments.  The  bulk  of  the  vertebrae  is  double  that 
of  those  of  8.  pJdehotomus,  and  appropriate  to  an  animal  of  the  size  of  the 
8.  lanciformis.  It  may  be  ultimately  found  to  be  identical  with  that 
species ;  but  there  is  no  evidence  conclusive  of  such  a  view  at  i^resent 
in  my  possession. 

The  vertebrae  present  the  usual  two  inferior,  two  lateral,  and  two 
superior  grooves — the  last  for  the  neural  arch.  There  are  no  cervical 
vertebrae,  for  these  characters  show  them  all  to  be  dorsals  and  caudals. 
The  suture  for  the  neurapophyses  forms  a  regular  angulate  convexity 
projecting  downward.  The  arch  is  not  closed  above  anteriorly,  and  is 
expanded  laterally,  while  the  spine  is  directed  very  obliquely  backward. 
The  concavities  of  the  articular  extremities  are  equal  in  the  dorsals ;  but 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  419 

in  tlie  caudals  one  surface  is  much  more  deeplj^  concave  than  the  other, 
one  beiug"  funnel-shaped,  And  the  other  nearly  plane  in  a  fevr. 

A  number  of  consecutive  vertebrie  are  preserved,  uhich  represent  the 
posterior  portion  of  the  caudal  series.  One  of  these  is,  fortunately,  the 
very  extremity,  aud  they  demonstrate  the  tail  to  have  been  vertebrated 
or  heterocercal,  less  extensivelj'  than  in  Amla.  On  the  anterior  series  of 
three,  the  lateral  <;rooves  have  disappeared  from  the  centra ;  the  neural 
canal  is  very  small,  aud  the  spines  are  very  massive  and  curved  back- 
Avards,  but  much  less  than  in  the  more  posterior  parts  of  the  column ; 
they  are  flattened,  wider  than  deep,  and  in  close  contact  with  each  other. 
The  anterior  of  the  three,  on  the  other  hand,  presents  a  narrowed  edge 
forward.  The  hiemapophyses  are  thin,  and  suturally  united  by  a  flat 
gomphosis.  The  terminal  series  embraces  six  vertebrje,  which  have  a 
minute  or  obsolete  neural  canal,  but  haemal  canal  distinct,  but  ai)par- 
ently  interrupted.  The  htemal  arches  are  united  to  the  centra  by  a 
rather  smooth  suture. 

The  general  direction  of  these  vertebrie  forms  a  light  upward  curve. 
The  hasmal  spines  are  flat  and  laminar,  and  their  margins  in  contact; 
they  decrease  in  width  and  length  to  the  end  of  the  series.  The  neural 
spine  lies  obliquely  backward,  and  has  a  narrowed  anterior  ridge,  but 
stout  shaft. 

An  anterior  hnemal  spine  in  place  exhibits  a  subglobular  base,  like  an 
articulation,  and  its  shaft  is  wider  than  those  posterior  to  it.  The  first 
hiEmal  spine  is  a  sub-triangular  flat  bone,  with  neck  and  subglobular  ex- 
tremity, applies  very  well  to  a  concavity  between  the  anterior  pair  of  pleu- 
rapophyses,  but  does  not  in  that  j^osition  preserve  contact  with  the  ante- 
rior margin  of  the  second  spine.  One  margin  of  the  bone  is  thin  and  di- 
vergent; the  other  expanded  laterally  and  straight.  The  latter  gives  ofl 
a  transverse  prominence  like  half  a  globular  knob  before  reaching  the  ex- 
tremity. Just  within  the  latter  are  two  large  foramina,  which  are  con- 
nected with  the  extremity  by  a  groove  on  each  side,  wluch  meets  in  a 
notch  where  the  thin  edge  passes  into  the  knob. 

Botli  sides  of  the  neural  and  hsemal  spines  are  concealed  in  this  species 
and  in  the  8.  p^'ognafhus  by  numerous  jjarallel  osseous  rods,  which  are 
somewhat  angulate  in  section.  They  lie  along  the  centra  of  the  anterior 
serias  of  caudal  vertebrae,  but  are  not  to  be  found  on  vertebrae  of  any 
other  part  of  the  column.  ISTumerous  loose  and  fragmentary  rods  of  the 
same  character  accompany  the  loose  and  attached  caudal  vertebra^,  and 
all  of  them,  according  to  Professor  Mudge,  belong  to  the  "  posterior  swim- 
ming organ"  of  this  animal.  There  is  also  a  collection  of  these  rods  from 
the  anterior  region  of  the  body,  which  Professor  Mudge  thought  occu- 
pied the  position  of  an  interior  limb.  They  do  not  any  of  them  present 
a  segmentation  such  as  would  be  exhibited  by  the  cartilaginous  radii  of 
caudal  and  pectoral  fins,  and  their  nature  might  have  remained  doubtful 
but  for  the  explanation  furnished  by  the  anterior  compound  ray  or  spine 
of  the  posterior,  probably  caudal  fin.  This  ray,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
pectoral  spine  and  first  anal  rays  of  some  existing  siluroid  or  loricariid 
fishes,  is  composed  of  a  number  of  parallel  rods  closely  united.  These 
are  in  their  distal  portions  remarkably  and  beautifully  segmented,  of 
which  a  very  simple  form  has  been  figured  by  Kuer,  as  existing  in  the 
pectoral  spine  of  the  siluroid  genus,  Paiujasius.  This  segmentation 
becomes  more  obscure  proximally,  and  finally  disappears  altogether, 
leaving  the  spine  and  rods  homogeneous.  This  portion  of  them  is  quite 
identical  with  the  rods  found  in  the  positions  of  fins  already  described, 
and  I  therefore  regard  these  as  fin  radii  of  the  attenuated  form  presented 
by  cartilaginous  rays  of  most  fishes,  but  ossified  sufficiently  to  destroy 


420  GEOLOGICAL    SUEVEY    OF   THE    TEKRITORIES. 

the  segmentation.  They  are  thus  in  the  condition  of  the  anterior  rays 
of  the  dorsal  fin  of  some  of  the  large  Catostomidw  where  they  are  prox- 
imally  homogeneous  and  bony,  distally  segmented  and  cartilaginous. 
This  is  an  important  character  when  found  in  pectoral  and  caudal  fins, 
and  such  as  I  have  not  found  described.  It  adds  another  feature  to  the 
definition  of  this  group. 

The  segmentation  above  alluded  to  presents  the  following  characters: 
The  spine  consists  of  four  principal  parallel  rods,  of  which  the  external 
on  each  side  thins,  the  one  to  an  obtuse,  the  other  to  a  thin  edge.  The 
more  obtuse  edge  presents  a  groove  on  one  side,  which  is  occupied  by  a 
very  slender  rod,  and  a  shallow  rabbet  along  the  flat  edge  is  occupied  by 
a  slender  flat  rod.  Of  the  four  principal  rods  the  two  median  are  the 
most  slender,  and  the  flat  marginal  the  widest.  Of  the  two  median,  that 
next  the  last  is  the  wider.  The  stout  marginal,  or  probably  anterior 
rod,  is  segmented  en  chevron,  the  angle  directed  forwards  and  lying 
near  the  free  margin.  The  suture  of  the  segments  is  entirely  straight, 
except  when  returning  it  approaches  the  margin,  where  it  suddenly 
turns  to  the  margin  at  right  angles  to  it.  The  next  rod  is  segmented 
without  chevron  obliquely  backward  and  inward  5  where  it  leaves  and 
reaches  the  margins,  it  is  at  right  angles  to  them,  and  the  margin  pro- 
jects obtusely  at  those  points.  Between  them  the  suture  is  very  irreg- 
ular and  jagged,  sending  processes  forward  and  backward.  The  seg- 
mentation of  the  next  rod  is  similar,  but  more  regularly  serrate;  distally 
it  becomes  as  irregular  as  in  the  last.  The  transverse  marginal  termini 
of  the  sutures  are  serrate  in  both.  The  inner  and  widest  rod  presents 
a  still  more  regularly  serrate  suture,  with  the  truncate  extremities;  but, 
owing  to  the  width  of  the  rod,  the  near  approximation  of  the  sutures 
continues  for  a  longer  distance.  When  broken,  the  suture  appears 
step-like. 

This  remarkably  beautiful  segmentation  is  paralleled  remotely,  as  has 
been  stated,  by  some  siluroids,  but  much  more  nearly  by  the  external 
caudal  rays  of  elops.  Much  more  like  the  recent  type  are  the  seg- 
mented rays  of  the  carboniferous  genus,  JEdesfus  of  Leidy,  regarded 
variously  by  authors  as  a  jaw  or  a  ray,  but  now  generally  regarded  as  a 
ray. 

• 

Measurements. 

M. 

Length  of  fragment  of  (?)  caudal  spine 0.25 

Width  of  fragment  at  proximal  fracture 06 

Greatest  thickness  at  proximal  fracture 013 

Width  of  posterior  rod  at  proximal  fracture 0245 

Length  of  six  distal  caudal  vertebrse 10 

Width  of  haemal  spine  of  second  of  series 024 

Vertical  diameter  of  centrum,  first  series -     .025 

Length  of  neural  spineaud  centrum  of  anterior  caudal 108 

Transverse  diameter  of  neural  spine  of  anterior  caudal  at  base. .  .0235 
Antero-posterior  diameter  of  four  anterior  caudal  neural  spines 

in  contact 069 

Length  of  centrum  of  a  dorsal 04 

Vertical  diameter  of  a  dorsal 0615 

Transverse  diameter  of  a  dorsal,  (crushed) 041 

These  remains  were  found  in  place  by  Professor  B.  F.  Mudge.  He 
states  that  their  extent  was  eight  feet.  As  they  embrace  no  cervical 
vertebrsB,  nor  portions  of  cranium,  two  feet  are  probably  to  be  added, 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       421 

j:jiviiigf  a  total  of  near  ten  feet  for  the  length  of  this  fish.  It  was  dis- 
covered at  a  point  on  the  bank  of  the  Solomon's  or  Nepaholla  River,  in 
Kansas,  IGO  miles  from  its  point  of  junction  with  the  Kansas  Eiver. 

SAURODON,  (HAYS.) 
(Transac.  Amor.  Pliilos.  Soc,  1830,  476.) 
SAUKODON  LEANUS,  (HAYS.) 
(Loc.  cit.  Tab.  xvi.    Leicly,  Trans.  Am.  Pliilos.  Soc,  1856.) 

From  the  cretaceous  green  sand  of  New  Jersey. 

ICHTHYODECTES,  (COPE.) 

(Proceed.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  November,  1870.) 

In  this  genus  t*be  teeth  are  subcylindric  and  slender,  without  cutting 
edges.  The  inner  margins  of  the  maxillary  and  dentary  bone  exhibit 
no  dental  foramina,  which  are  in  Sauroce^phalus  and  tSaurodon  of  large 
size. 

lOHTHYODECTES   CTENODON,  (COPE.) 
(Loc.  cit.) 

This  species  is  established  on  one  complete  maxillary  bone,  and  three- 
fourths  of  the  other,  a  large  part  of  the  dentary  bone,  with  the  entire 
dental  series;  numerous  portions  of  cranial  bones,  with  thirteen  verte- 
brie.  These,  according  to  Professor  Mudge,  were  found  together,  and 
to  all  appearance  belong  to  the  same  animal. 

The  dental  characters  difiter  from  those  of  Saurocephaliis,  as  above 
pointed  out,  and  in  this  species  more  than  in  S.  leanus.  The  crowns  of 
the  teeth  are  more  exserted  and  slender.  The  inner  face  of  the  crown  is 
more  convex  than  the  outer;  but  there  is  no  angle  separating  the  two 
aspects.  The  apex  is  moderately  acute,  and  directed  a  little  inward, 
owing  to  a  slight  convexity  of  the  external  face.  Enamel  smooth.  The 
alveoli  are  very  close  together,  and  are  probably  only  separated  in  their 
deeper  portions.  There  are  forty-two  teeth  and  alveoli  in  the  maxillary 
bone.  The  palatine  condyle  is  low,  and  its  anterior  border  falls  opposite 
to  the  last  tooth,  or  the  indented  surface  which  was  occupied  by  the  pre- 
maxillary  bone.  The  more  proximal  part  of  the  maxillary  curves  inward 
and  backward  behind  the  position  of  the  premaxillary  more  than  in  S. 
prognathus.  The  maxillary  is  a  rather  thin  and  narrow  bone,  with  a 
broad,  obtus'e  and  thi)med  extremity.  Its  superior  margin  is  marked  with 
one  or  more  acute  ridges,  which  look  as  though  it  had  a  contact  with  a 
large  preorbital  bone.  Two  fractured  bones  with  an  elongate  reniform 
condyle  on  a  wide  peduncle,  look  like  the  articular  extremity  of  an  oper- 
culum, which  view  is  confirmed  by  their  application  to  some  flat,  coarsely- 
rugose  bones  which  resemble  parts  of  the  latter. 

The  dentary  bone  is  remarkable  for  its  straightness  and  laminar  char- 
acter, and  for  the  depth  of  the  symphysis.  The  length  of  the  latter  is 
preserved,  while  posteriorly  to  it  the  lower  margin  of  the  dentary  is 
broken  away.  The  alveolar  margin  is  slightly  concave,  and  unites  ^v^ith 
the  symiDhyseal  at  an  angle  of  Gij^.  There  are  twenty-seven  teeth  and 
alveolae,  which  grow  a  little  larger  to  the  posterior  extremity  of  the 
series ;  anteriorly  the  alveoli  are  confluent  externally,  but  posteriorly  the 
septa  are  frequently  complete,  though  thin.  In  neither  this  bone  nor  the 
maxillary  are  to  be  found  the  formina  along  the  bases  of  the  teeth,  char- 


422       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIEB. 

acteristic  of  SaiirocepJmlus  or  Smirodon  leanus,  as  pointed  out  by  Harlan 
and  Hays.  The  vertebrte  form  a  series  of  13.4  inches  in  length,  embrac- 
ing thirteen  caudals.  This  is  indicated  by  the  close  approximation  of 
the  inferior  r)its  and  inserted  pleurapopliyses,  and  absence  of  lateral 
grooves.  There  are  important  differences  from  what  has  been  described 
as  characteristic  of  Sauroceplialus.  The  neural  arches,  whose  bases  only 
are  preserved,  are  much  lighter  and  narrower  than  in  it,  and  its  sutural 
union  with  the  centrum  is  less  distinct.  Their  bases  issue  from  pits ; 
but  their  anterior  portions  appear  in  some  case  at  least  to  be  cotjssified. 
They  exhibit  a  longitudinal  rib  near  one  side.  There  are  no  heavy  neural 
spines  preserved.  The  sides  of  the  centra  are  longitudinally  rugose- 
striate ;  inferiorly  they  are  rugose  with  exostoses. 

Measurements.   • 

M. 

Length  of  maxillary  bone 0. 158 

Depth  at  condyle * 031 

Depth  at  extremity 022 

Length  of  crown  of  a  tooth 0061 

Diameter  of  crown  at  base 0038 

Length  of  alveolar  border  of  dentary lOG 

Depth  of  symphysis  border  of  dentary 047 

Length  of  opecular  condyle 018 

Length  of  centrum  anterior  caudal 024 

Width  of  centrum,  (crushed) 0278 

Depth  of  centrum,  (crushed) .  047 

Specimens  from  six  miles  south  of  Sheridan,  Kansas,  on  the  north 
fork  of  Smoky  Hill  Eiver,  near  its  mouth. 

GENERAL  CONSIDERATIONS. 

There  have  been  described  above  remains  of  three  species,  which 
include  jaws  with  teeth,  and  associated  vertebrae.  In  two  of  these 
cases  the  jaws  and  teeth  were  found  together;  in  the  third  they  came 
in  the  same  small  box  without  special  indication  of  locality;  but  the 
vertebrae  are  of  precisely  the  same  size,  sculpture,  mineralization,  and 
color,  as  a  large  series  whose  locality  is  exactly  known,  to  which  they 
probably  belong.  Moreover,  the  jaws  and  vertebrte  bear  the  same  rela- 
tion of  size  to  each  other  in  all  three  series.  These  facts  render  it  highly 
probable  that  the  remains  are  in  each  case  rightly  referred  to  the  same 
animal.  That  no  mixture  has  occurred  is  also  probable  from  the  fact 
that  the  large  and  small  series  {Ichthyodectes  and  ti.  prognatlius)  came  from 
the  same  locality,  (Sheridan,)  while  the  species  of  intermediate  size  was 
discovered  one  hundred  and  sixty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Solomon 
Eiver,  a  long  distance  off.  The  pectoral  spine,  accompanying  and  be- 
longing to  tbe  S.  proguathus,  I  have  shown  to  be  the  same  as  the  Xipliac- 
tinus  of  Leidy,  but  probably'  not  of  the  species  X.  audax. 

The  fourth  series  described  above  as  S.  thaumas  exhibits  precisely  the 
vertebral  characters  of  the  two  other  species  of  Saurocephalus  and  I 
cannot  resist  the  evidence  that  it  belongs  to  that  genus  or  the  same 
family.  Its  remains  pertain  to  one  animal,  as  asserted  by  Professor 
Mudge,  and  their  color  and  condition,  coated  with  a  chalkj'  deposit  of 
a  ferruginous  yellow  color,  lend  great  probability  to  the  statement,  to 
say  nothing  of  more  important  reasons.  ]N^o  remains  of  pectoral  spine 
are  preserved ;  but  instead,  the  remarkable  segmented  ray  described. 
This  comes  from  the  posterior  region  of  the  vertebral  column,  and  con- 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  423 

sists,  I  believe,  of  the  adjacent  rays  or  compouud  ray  forming  tbe  mar- 
gin of  the  caudal  fin.  Tliis  finds  support  in  tlie  analogous  structures 
already  luentioued  as  occurring  in  Elops,  and  the  ejrtinct  genus  Prym- 
nefes*  Siluroids,  &c.,  and  the  resemblance  of  the  pectoral  spine  to  the 
same  weapon  of  the  latter  group  adds  to  the  probability  of  the  correct- 
ness of  this  conclusion. 

These  remarks  are  made  because  Professor  Agassiz,  in  the  Poissons 
Fossiles,  has  referred  several  spines  to  the  Cestraciont  geuusPtychodus, 
Avhich  are  very  similar  in  character  to  that  described  above  as  the  anal 
or  caudal  support  of  Sanrocejyhalus  thawnas.  These  were  derived  from 
the  upper  cretaceous  chalk  of  Kent,  England,  where  Ftychodus  teeth 
also  occur.  The  SaurocephaJus  teeth,  described  by  Professor  Agassiz 
in  the  same  work,  were,  however,  derived  from  the  same  chalk  and  the 
same  locality,  and,  from  what  has  preceded,  I  believe  the  segmented 
spines  should  be  referred  to  the  latter  genus  rather  than  to  Ftychodus. 
This  is  the  more  probable,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  Professor  Mudge  did. 
not  procure  a  single  Ftycliodus  tooth  during  his  exploration. 

APSOPELIX,  (Cope.) 

Established  on  the  remains  of  a  fish  preserved  on  a  block  of  clay.  It 
l^reseuts  its  ventral  aspect,  and  displays  i>ectoral,  ventral  and  anal  fins, 
with  the  series  of  interneural  spines  to  which  the  dorsal  radii  were  ar- 
ticulated. 

The  scales  are  large  and  cycloid.  They  do  not  present  a  trace  of  ra- 
dii, but  are  marked  with  fine  and  close  concentric  grooves.  These  as- 
sume a  vertical  direction  on  the  exposed  surface,  and  are  there  more 
irregular  ;  the  more  marginal  ones  terminating  above  and  below.  But 
few  and  central  grooves  are  truly  circular.    No  abdominal  carina. 

The  two  pelvic  bones  are  together  truncate  heart-shaped,  the  acumi- 
nate apex  presented  forward.  Their  posterior  portion  is  a  strong  trans- 
verse rib;  anteriorly  each  is  a  thin  plate,  with  thickened  outer  edge, 
uniting  with  its  fellow  on  the  median  line.  The  median  portion  is  so 
thin  as  to  be  readily  broken  away.  The  ventral  fins  are  short  and 
wide,  with  numerous  rays.  The  coracoid  bone  is  a  broad  lamina,  and 
the  pectoral  fin  evidently  had  the  support  of  rod-like  humeral  bones  of 
no  great  length,  after  the  type  of  most  Fhysostomous  fishes,  but  their 
form  cannot  be  made  out.  Pectorals  not  elongate.  The  anal  fin  origi- 
nates but  a  short  distance  behind  the  ventrals,  and  was  not  armed 
with  an  anterior  spine ;  its  length  cannot  be  made  out.  Immediately 
above  it  a  dorsal  fin,  with  slender  rays,  is  represented  by  the  bases  of 
these  rays.  From  above  the  ventrals  to  above  the  distal  portion  of  the 
pectorals  a  line  of  projecting  i^oints  appears  in  the  specimen,  which  I 
am  disposed  to  ascribe  to  the  articular  portions  of  the  interneural  spines 
and  attached  fin  rays  of  a  first  dorsal,  but  of  this  I  cannot  be  entirely  sure. 

The  vertebrie  are  longer  than  deep,  and  present  the  two  deep  lateral 
grooves  frequently  seen.  The  number  in  the  cervico-abdominal  series 
is  twenty-six.     The  ribs  are  delicate,  and  supernumerary  ribs  are  present. 

In  comparing  this  genus  with  forms  already  known,  points  of  distinc- 
tion from  all  of  them  may  be  detected.  Thus,  the  lack  of  pectoral  spine 
will  distinguish  it  from  the  known  genera  of  Saurodontidcc  at  least.  The 
character  of  the  dorsal  fin  distinguishes  it  from  Characinidce,  Sahno)iidce, 
&c.,  which,  with  the  scales,  point  toward  Chipcidce  and  Mojndcc.  From 
these  the  form  of  the  pelvic  bones  distinguishes  it. 

The  ends  of  both  muzzle  and  caudal  region  are  destroved.     The  latter 


Copd  Proc.  Am.  PliU.  Soc,  March,  1871. 


424       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

evidently  contracts  from  tlie  anal  fin,  and  was  not  probably  very  elon- 
gate, but  more  as  in  Eloj)s  or  Sauriis. 

APSOPELIX  SAUEIFORMIS,  (COPE.) 

Scales  large,  ten  longitudinal  series  to  be  counted  across  the  obliquely 
depressed  body.  No  lateral  line  visible.  About  seventeen  transverse 
series  between  pectorals  and  ventrals.  Ventral  broad,  when  laid  back- 
ward nearly  reaching  anal,  but  far  behind  the  pectoral ;  anal  i^robably 
rather  short,  but  this  is  not  entirely  certain.  (Radii,  D.  % — 12,  P.  16, 
V.  12.) 

M. 

Length  from  basis  P.  I.,  to  V.  12 0. 083 

Length  from  basis  P.  I.,  to  A.  1 0985 

Length  of  ventral  fin 0178 

Width  of  ventral  fin,  distally 013 

Length  of  basis  D.  2 ' 0108 

Width  of  body   047 

Width  of  pelvic  bones  together 010 

Length  of  pelvic  bones  together OIG 

The  size  of  this  species  is  about  that  of  a  one-pound  brook  trout. 

From  the  bed  No.  2  of  the  cretaceous  of  Meek  and  Hayden.  Found 
in  digging  a  well  at  Bunker  Hill  Station  on  the  Pacific  Railroad  of 
Kansas. 

SPHYR^NID^. 

SPHYR^NA  CARINATA,   (COPE.) 

(Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Pliila.,  1868,  92;  Proc.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc.,  1869,  241.) 

Founded  on  a  shed  examj^le  of  one  of  the  long  teeth,  taken  from  the 
matrix  attached  to  the  dorsal  vertebrae  of  the  Elasmosaiirus  lilatyuriis. 
The  tooth  is  more  elongate  in  outline  than  that  of  the  S.  speciosa, 
Leidy,  i.  e.,  more  than  twice  as  long  as  wide  at  the  base.  The  anterior 
margin  is  the  more  oblique,  and  its  smooth  face  is  margined  by  a  faint 
line  posteriorly,  and  is  continued  to  the  extremity.  The  convex  inner 
face  of  the  tooth  behind  is  sculptured  with  five  deep  grooves,  which  are 
separated  by  acute  ridges,  which  do  not  extend  over  more  than  half  the 
length  of  the  tooth.     Length  three  lines. 

From  the  ux)per  cretaceous  of  the  neighborhood  of  Fort  Wallace, 
Kansas. 

Enchodus,  sp. 

A  premaxillary  tooth  of  rather  small  size  for  the  genus.  The  length 
about  one  inch  from  the  matrix  attached  to  the  under  side  of  the  dorsal 
vertebrae  of  Elasmosaurus  platyurm.  It  has  two  cariure  separating 
very  unequal  facets.  Section  of  base  subround.  The  specimen  is  im- 
perfect.   Near  Fort  Wallace. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       425 

VII.— ON  THE  FISHES  OF  THE  TERTIARY  SHALES 
OF  GREEN  RIVER,  WYOMING  TERRITORY. 

By  Professor  Edward  D.  Cope. 
Physoclysti. 
.  ASINEOPS,  (Cope.) 

(Proc.  Amer.  Phil.  Soc,  1870,  p.  380.) 

• 

Branchiostegal  radii,  seven ;  ventral  radii,  1. 6-7.  Opercular  and  other 
crnuial  bones  unarmed;  scales  cycloid.  Spinous  and  cartilaginous  dor- 
sal tins  continuous;  caudal  rounded;  anal  with  two  spines.  Lateral 
line  distinct.  Operculum  with  regularly  convex  posterior  border.  Teeth 
coarsely  villiform,  without  canines.  Both  spinous  and  soft  portions  of 
dorsal  and  anal  fins  moderately  scaly. 

This  well-marked  genus  is  established  on  the  remains  of  fifteen  indi- 
viduals, in  various  states  of  preservation,  so  that  the  characters  undis- 
tinguishable  in  one,  can  be  discovered  in  another.  Thus  the  lateral  line 
is  preserved  in  one  only,  and  the  teeth  in  another.  In  none  can  I  be 
entirely  sure  that  I  see  the  vomer. 

The  scales  are  preserved  in  many  specimens,  and  I  cannot  find  a 
ctenoid  margin  in  any,  nor  any  radiating  sculpture,  but  delicate  concen- 
tric ridges  continued  around  the  central  point  proximally,  distally  form- 
ing parabolic  curves,  the  less  median  not  completed  but  interrupted  by 
the  margin  of  the  scale.  Near  the  margin  all  the  ridges  become  gently 
zigzagged. 

There  is  no  depression  between  the  two  portions  of  the  dorsal  fin, 
tliough  the  cartilaginous  portion  is  the  more  elevated.  Laid  backward, 
the  latter  is  in  line  with  the  extremity  of  the  anal,  and  both  it  and  the 
anal  extend  beyond  the  basis  of  the  caudal. 

The  affinities  of  this  genus  are  rather  obscure,  but  are  in  some  degree 
related  to  that  aberrant  family  of  Physoclysti,  the  AphredodirifJce.  This 
is  indicated  by  the  increased  number  of  ventral  radii,  the  slender  sepa- 
rated pubes,  and  the  reduced  number  of  interneural  spines.  The  Aphre- 
dodiridce  betray  a  physostomous  tendency  in  the  same  characters,  with 
still  greater  redaction  of  the  spinous,  dorsal,  and  anal  fins,  though  its 
ctenoid  scales  and  spinous  orbital  and  preopercular  bones  are  of  phy- 
soclyst  significance.  In  Asineops  the  scales  are  cycloid  and  the  cranial 
bones  unarmed.  The  ventral  fins  occupy  nearly  tbe  same  position  as  in 
the  extinct  genus  Erismatopterus,  Coi)e,  which  accompanies  it,  and  which 
is  nearly  allied  to,  if  not  one  of  the  Cyprinodontidcc.  There  is  at  least 
in  these  genera  another  illustration  of  the  approximation  of  forms,  now 
very  distinct,  in  T)ast  periods.  The  pubes  are,  however,  supported  by 
the  clavicles  in  Asineops,  by  the -post-dnvicles  in  Erismatopter us,  though 
the  latter  bones  are  very  long  in  Asineops  also.  Asineops  and  will  thus 
constitute  a  family,  Asineopidm  differing  from  the  Aphredodiridai  in  the 
simple  pubes.  I  suspect  that  the  genus  Pygcmis  of  Agassiz  will  be 
found  also  to  belong  to  it,  though  no  such  increased  number  of  ventral 
radii  is  assigned  to  it  in  the  Poissons  Fossiles.  Some  of  its  species  may 
even  be  found  to  belong  to  Asineops.  Nine  are  described  by  Professor 
Agassiz,  all  from  Monte  Bolca,  in  Italy,  from  an  upper  eocene  stratum. 
The  presence  of  so  near  an  ally  as  Asineops  in  the  Green  Eiver  beds 
suggests  an  approximate  identity  of  age. 


426  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

ASINEOPS  SQUAMIFROIs'S,  (COPE ;)  1.  C,  p.  381. 

General  form  is  snboblong,  the  greatest  cleptb  jast  behind  the  head, 
and  contained  two  and  a  half  times  in  the  length,  exclusive  of  caudal  fin. 
Eadii  D.  VIII,  14  -,  A.  II,  9 ;  C.  14 ;  V.  I,  7 ;  P.  ?  11  ?  13.  Scales  5—?  30—10, 
A^ertical  line  counted  a  little  behind  the  ventral  fins.  The  line  of  the  ex- 
tremities of  the  second  dorsal  and  anal  lius  marks  the  basal  third  of  the 
caudal  tin.  The  dorsal  spines  are  subcylindric,  slightly  curved,  and  of 
nearly  equal  length;  the  length  equals  the  depth  of  the  body  at  the 
middle  of  the  second  dorsal  fin. 

The  external  series  of  villiform  teeth  are  stout  of  their  kind,  conic, 
and  a  Ijttle  incurved.    I  cannot  see  the  pharyno;eal  bones  or  teeth. 

The  number  of  vertebra3  which  extend  between  the  caudal  tin  and 
the  superior  margin  of  the  operculum,  where  one  or  more  are  concealed, 
is  twenty-five,  of  which  fifteen  are  of  the  caudal  portion;  (in  two  I  can 
only  count  fourteen.) 

The  mouth  is  directed  obliquely  upwards  and  is  rather  large;  the 
mandible,  when  closed,  does  not  project  beyond  the  premaxillary  border. 
The  maxillary,  where  preserved,  is  narrow  distally,  and  does  not  project 
beyond  the  posterior  line  of  the  orbit.  The  latter  is  rather  small,  and 
though  not  well  defined  in  any  specimen,  is  not  more  than  one-eighth  the 
length  of  the  head,  and  1.5  to  1.75  times  inside  of  muzzle.  The  margins 
of  all  the  opercular  bones  are  entire  and  smooth.  The  interoperculum 
is  narrow,  and  lies  obliquely  upward,  narrowing  the  operculum.  The 
greatest  width  of  the  latter  is  more  than  two-thirds  its  depth.  The 
l)elvic  supports  of  the  ventral  fins  are  simj)le,  slender,  and  in  contact 
anteriorly,  their  length  about  half  that  of  the  fin.  The  pectorals  are 
not  elongate. 

The  scales  extend  over  the  top  of  the  head  to,  or  beyond,  the  orbits. 
They  also  extend  along  the  ramus  of  the  under  jaw.  Those  of  the  fins 
are  quite  small ;  they  extend  to  a  considerable  distance  on  the  unpaired, 
and  on  the  caudal  tin. 

Total  length  of  the  largest  specimen '. 0.19 

Do.  No.  2,  smaller  example  (with  caudal) 12 

Length  of  head  of  do 044 

Depth  of  do.  posteriorly  about 036 

Length  of  base  of  spinous  dorsal 0265 

Length  of  posterior  spinous  ray 017 

Length  of  operculum 0125 

Length  of  maxillary  bone  about 0145 

Depth  No.  3,  at  base  first  dorsal 045 

Depth  No.  3  at  base  anal,  first  ray 0325 

Length  of  basis  anal=basis  caudal 0162 

Length  of  caudal  fin .034 

Tertiary  strata  of  Green  Eiver,  Wyoming ;  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden,  Coll. 
Mus.  Smithsonian. 

ASINEOPS  VIRLDENSIS,  (COPE;)  Sp.  nOV. 

This  species  is  represented  by  an  incomplete  specimen,  which  lacks  the 
pectoral  region  and  the  end  of  the  muzzle.  It  indicates  its  distinctness 
from  A.  squamifrons  in  the  increased  number  of  anal  radii.  The  ray 
formula  is,  D.  IX,  14;  A.  II,  12.  There  is,  therefore,  one  dorsal  spine 
more  than  in  A.  fi(piamifrons,  though  a  single  sijecimen,  apparently  of  the 
latter,  has  the  same  number.    Vertebrae  25,  of  which  17  or  18  extend 


GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  427 

from  tlie  vertebra  which  supports  the  last  dorsal  spine.  The  scales  are 
of  about  the  same  size  as  those  of  the  A.  sqmmifrom.  Dorsal  region 
scarcely  convex,  (in  the  specimen  concave  through  slight  distortion.) 

M. 

Length  of  vertebral  column  to  operculum 0.07 

Depth  at  last  anal  ray 019 

Length  of  last  dorsal  spine 017 

Another  specimen  lacks  the  head  and  caudal  fin,  but  displays  charac- 
ters at  variance  vrith  those  of  Asineops  squamisfrons  as  above  noted.  The 
interueural  bones  of  the  anal  spines  are  fasciculate,  the  median  longer 
than  those  in  front  and  behind. 

The  ventral  outline  is  convex,  and  the  general  form  shortened.  Eadii 
A.  ?  II,  14;  D.  "^  12-13.  There  are  only  13  vertebrae  behind  the  last 
anal  spine. 

Length  of  vertebral  column  from  vertebra  supporting  last  A.  spine. 0.033 

Depth  at  second  soft  A.  ray 027 

From  the  Green  River  shales;  from  the  collection  of  Lucius  E.  liick- 
secker. 

ERISMATOPTERUS,  (Cope;)  genus  nov. 

Dorsal  and  anal  fins  with  two  strong  supporting  spines  in  front ;  no 
other  interhaimal  spines  than  those  supporting  them.  Dorsal  fin  above 
the  anterior  median  or  posterior  abdominal  region.  Veutrals  origin- 
ating in  front  of  or  opposite  to  the  origin  of  the  dorsal.  Pubes  sending 
a  limb  upward,  which  is  in  contact  with  the  inferior  post-clavicle. 
Teeth  minute  or  ?  wanting.     Caudal  fin  bifurcate. 

I  originally  referred  a  species  of  this  genus  to  the  Cyprinodontidce 
and  provisionally  to  the  genus  Cijprinodon.  The  species  may  belong  to 
that  family,  as  the  characters  are  generally  similar.  The  arc  of  the 
mouth  is  formed  by  the  premaxillary  bone,  and  the  ventral  fins  have  a 
rather  anterior  position,  and  the  caudal  is  furcate ;  the  scales  are  cycloid. 
The  strength  of  the  spinous  fin  radii  and  supporting  interhogmal  spines 
attracted  my  attention,  and  on  careful  examination  I  observe  other 
approximations  to  the  type  of  Asineops  and  the  Aphredodiridcc.  The 
inferior  post-clavicle  is  very  long  and  styliform,  as  in  the  latter  genus, 
and  the  pubic  bones  are  slender  and  directed  upward  so  as  to  reach 
the  post-clavicles.  In  one  specimen  there  appears  to  be  an  anteriorly 
directed  pubic  limb,  but  this  does  not  .exist  in  other  specimens.  The 
pubes  do  not  reach  the  clavicles  as  in  true  Phijsochjsti.  As  the  genus  is 
thus  difierent  from  Gyprinodon,  Fimdulus,  &c.,  I  name  it  as  above. 

ERISMATOPTERUS  RICKSECKERI,  (COPE;)   Sp.  nOV. 

Length,  three  to  four  inches ;  head,  large.  Vertebrae,  D.  13,  C.  16= 
29,  ten  between  the  interneui'al  bone  supporting  the  first  dorsal  ray,  and 
the  first  interhffimal  supporting  the  first  anal  ray.  There  are  only 
seven  in  this  position  in  JE.  lecatus.  Anterior  dorsal  ray  anterior  to  the 
point  half  way  between  end  of  muzzle  and  end  of  vertebral  column. 
Branchiostegal  radii,  five  distinguishable.  Head  stout,  mouth  terminal,^ 
orbit  equal  length  of  muzzle;  maxillary  bone  reaching  line  of  middle  of 
orbit.  Scales  small  with  numerous  concentric  and  no  radiating  grooves. 
Fin  radii  D.  VII,  8,  (last  split;)  C.  8—10—8;  A.  II,  9;  V.  7;  P.  15. 


428       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

^  M. 

Total  length  No.  1 0.0743 

Crauium  to  supra-claTicle ! ! !         ]oi8 

Length  to  base  D.  I ........[.....  ]o29 

Length  to  end  vertebral  column 06 

Length  of  A.  II 008 

Length  of  cranium  No.  2 .'...'..'.......   .0175 

Length  to  preoperculum 012 

Length  to  D.  1 0275 

Length  to  A.  I ]o43 

Five  more  or  less  complete  specimens  of  this  fish  were  obtained  by 
Lucius  E.  Ricksecker  from  the  Green  River  shales,  and  I  dedicate  it  to 
him  in  recognition  of  his  interesting  discoveries  in  this  department. 

Its  difterence  from  E.  levatus  is  seen  in  the  more  anterior  position  of 
the  dorsal  fin,  more  numerous  vertebrae,  &c. 

ERISMATOPTERUS  LEVATUS,  (COPE.) 
(Cyprinodon  levatus,  Cope;  Proceed.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  1870,  p.  382.) 

Anterior  margin  anal  fin  commencing  a  little  behind  opposite  the 
posterior  margin  of  the  dorsal.  Vertebra?  11—14—5,  seven  between  the 
interneural  and  iuterhsemal  bones  of  the  dorsal  and  anal  fins.  Radii  D. 
8;  A.  II,  8;  V.  8.  Caudal  fin  deeply  furcate;  first  anal  ray  strono-* 
General  form  elongate,  the  greatest  depth  contained  three  times  in  the 
length  between  the  scapular  arch  and  the  basis  of  the  caudal  fin.  Scales 
preserved,  small :  seven  longitudinal  series  above,  and  seven  below  the 
vertebral  column,  probably  two  rows  concealed  by  it.  The  caudal  peduncle 
IS  but  little  contracted.  Length  from  scapular  arch  to  extremity  of 
caudal,  M.  .0335 ;  depth  at  origin  dorsal  fin,  M.  .008. 

Total  length  No.  2 q  O55 

Length  of  cranium \\ q^^ 

Length  to  basis  D.  I o*^'"' 

Length  to  basis  A.  I ......'.  (f^ 

Length  to  basis  V.  I W. . . .  \ .       .0205 

Length  to  basis  caudal oigg 

Depth  at  D.  I ..V...V..       !oi 

Depth  of  caudal  peduncle .0058 

There  are  many  individuals  on  the  slabs  of  slate,  some  of  them  per- 
fectly preserved.  Many  of  these  slabs  represent  that  portion  of  the 
stratum  Avhich  is  highly  carbonaceous,  portions  of  it  thrown  into  the 
fire  burning  freely.  Dr.  Hayden,  who  has  brought  numerous  specimens 
trorn  this  locality,  informs  me  that  the  lamina?  exhibit  great  numbers 
ot  these  little  fishes.  No  doubt  the  carbonaceous  character  of  the  shales 
IS  due  to  the  decomposition  of  their  bodies.  The  nature  of  the  deposit 
and  mode  of  preservation  remind  one  stronglv  of  the  Cyprinodon 
meyeri  ol  Agassiz,  from  the  neighborhood  of  Frankfort  a.  M.  That 
species  differs  specifically  from  this  one  in  presenting  18  anal  radii. 

Some  of  the  specimens  above  described  were  obtained,  and  i)reserved 
for  scientific  study,  by  L.  E.  Ricksecker. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  429 

Fhysostomi. 
CLUPEA,  (Linn.) 

CLUPEA  HUJIILIS,  (LEIDY.) 
(Proceedings  of  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  1856,256.) 

Vertebrae,  34.  Depth,  2J  to  2f  lines  iu  length,  exclusive  of  caudal  fin, 
(2^  times,  Leidy.)  Scales  large ;  1.  transverse  11-12.  A  very  abun- 
dant species  iu  the  shales,  distinguished  by  its  corpulent  ibrm. 

CLUPEA  PUSILLA,  (COPE.) 
(Proceed.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  1870,  p.  382.) 

Greatest  depth  contained  four  times  in  the  total  length,  or  3.5  times 
to  basis  of  caudal  fiu.  Length  of  head  3.2  to  basis  caudal.  This 
measurement  may  require  revision,  as  the  end  of  the  muzzle  is  slightly 
injured.  Orbit  large,  contained  twice  iu  length,  and  about  over  the 
origins  of  the  ventrals.  D.  II,  11 ;  V.  7.  Pectoral  extending  half  way 
to  ventrals.  Vertebrae,  29-30 ;  dorsals,  19-20.  Ventral  keeled  ribs,  18. 
Anal  fin  lost.  Caudal  peduncle  slender;  caudal  fiu  deeply  furcate.  Length, 
M.  041;  greatest  depth,  M.  .011. 

A  second  specimen  exhibits  the  character  of  the  species  more  dis- 
tinctly in  some  respects.  There  are  30  vertebrae,  of  which  13-14  are 
caudal.    The  general  shape  is  regularly  fusiform,  and  the  head  rather 

acuminate. 

M. 

Total  length 0.054 

Length  to  iireopercular  edge 01 

Length  to  opercular  edge 013 

Length  to  j^osterior  margin  dorsal - 0255 

Length  to  anterior  margin  anal 034 

Length  to  base  caudal 044 

Depth  at  occiput Oil 

Depth  at  middle  of  dorsal 0115 

Depth  at  caudal  peduncle 0046 

This  species  is  therefore  much  niore  lanceolate  in  outline  than  C.  Jim- 
milis;  and  has  fewer  vertebra3.  It  is  half  the  size,  and  not  nearly  so 
abundant. 

OSTEOGLOSSUM,  C.  V. 

The  discovery  of  this  genus,  or  a  close  ally,  in  the  Green  River  shales, 
by  Lucius  Ricksecker,  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  the  history  of 
this  department  of  paleontology  which  has  been  lately  made. 

Osteoglossum  has  hitherto  been  known  only  in  a  recent  state,  and 
with  a  range  of  distribution  quite  unparalleled  among  teleostean  fishes. 
Thus  one  species — 0.  hicirrhosum,  Yaml,,  occurred  in  Brazil;  0.  formo- 
sum,  Schl.  MiilL,  in  Borneo,  &c.,  and  0.  leichardtii,  Gthr.,  in  New  Zea 
land ;  all  in  the  southern  hemisphere  or  near  the  equator.  Two  other 
genera,  Vasfres  and  Heterotis,  have  been  associated  with  it,  and  these 
belong  to  the  same  hemisphere,  or  to  those  faunae  which  characterize 
it,  in  their  extensions  north  of  the  equator.  It  is  therefore  interesting 
to  note  that  the  first  representative  of  the  type  found  in  any  of  the 
northern  faunal  regions  belongs  to  an  age  apparently  eocene. 

The  specimen  representing  the  type  species  is  not  sufficiently  perfect 
to  justify  a  final  reference,  but  the  squamation  is  much  more  that  of 


430  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

this  genus  than  of  either  of  the  others  above  mentioned.  It  belongs  in 
any  case  to  the  same  family  group.  The  structure  of  the  scales  is  suf- 
ficient to  determine  this  i^oint.  The  \rliole  of  tbe  scale  is  composed  be- 
tween the  inferior  and  superior  surface  layers,  of  sub-hexagonal  or 
diamond-shaped  cells,  which  are  arranged  in  spirals  tending  to  the 
center.  Their  contents  are  more  thoroughly  calcified  on  the  exjjosed 
than  in  the  concealed  portion  of  the  scale.  jS^o  radial  grooves.  Tube 
of  the  lateral  line  issuing  by  a  round  i)ore. 

OSTEOGLOSSUM  ENCAUSTUM,  (COPE;)  Sp.  nov. 

Represented  by  a  portion  of  the  side  of  a  large  individual,  including 
the  series  of  scales  bearing  the  lateral  line,  and  three  series  above  and 
three  below  it,  more  or  less  perfectly  preserved.  The  longitudinal 
extent  of  the  fragment  includes  seventeen  transverse  series.  These 
scales  are  of  large  size,  the  included  portions  are  smooth  to  the  naked 
eye,  but  rugose  under  the  microscope,  and  with  but  few  and  faint  traces 
of  concentric  lines.  Exposed  portions  with  entire  margin,  bearing  a 
large  lenticular  rugose  surface.  This  rugosity  consists  of  elevated 
portions  of  an  enamel-like  material,  between  small  pits  and  grooves. 
The  septa  between  the  cells  are  distinctly  visible  on  the  smooth  i)art  of 
the  scale ;  on  the  rugose  surface  they  are  represented  by  grooves.  The 
cells  are  in  curved  series,  which  extend  to  the  center  of  gTowth,  growing 
smaller  as  they  converge.  The  rugose  part  of  the  exposed  surface 
diminishes  in  relative  extent  towards  the  anterior  i>art  of  the  body. 
The  tabes  of  the  lateral  line  are  in  this  species  concealed  beneath  the 
external  layer  of  the  scale.  Tbe  opening  is  nearer  the  margin  than  the 
center  of  the  scale,  is  round,  and  is  frequently  accompanied  by  a  smaller 
cue  above  and  in  front  of  it. 

luclies. 

Length  of  fifteen  consecutive  scales 0.23 

Depth  of  six  longitudinal  series  scales 127 

Vertical  diameter  of  a  scale 035 

Transverse  diameter  of  a  scale 025 

Diameter  of  a  submarginal  scale  cell 003 

Width  of  rugose  area  of  scale    ". Oil 

As  compared  with  the  species  of  the  genus  whose  scales  have  been 
figured,  the  present  ofi'ers  clear  distinction.  In  0.  bicirrhosimi,  figured 
in  Agassiz  and  Spix  Brazilian  fishes.  Tab.  XXV,  the  scales  have  distinct 
concentric  grooves,  and  the  rugosity  consists  of  a  few  points  or  pro- 
jections. In  0.  formosnm,  figured  in  Solomon  Miiller's  travels  in  Borneo, 
«&c.,  the  rugosity  is  uniform  on  the  exposed  surface  and  very  minute, 
and  there  are  no  concentric  grooves ;  the  cells  are  smaller.  In  Vastres 
the  exposed  surfaces  are  still  more  rugose — in  large  examples,  quite 
honeycombed. 

The  specimens  represent  an  individual  of  three  or  four  feet  in  length, 
discovered  at  the  fish-slate  cut  on  the  Green  Eiver,  on  the  line  of  the 
Union  Pacific  Railroad,  by  Lucius  E.  Eicksecker,  civil  engineer. 

GENERAL   OBSERVATIONS. 

The  laminated  rock  from  which  the  above  species  were  obtained  is 
similar  in  general  appearance  to  the  clay  beds  of  Mount  Lebanon  and 
Mount  Bolca.  The  first  indication  of  the  existence  of  this  deposit  was 
brought  by  Dr.  Juo.  Evans,  who  obtained  from  it  a  clupeoid,  which  was 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       4dl 

described  by  Dr.  Leidy  as  Cliipea  Jmmilis,  (Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Pbila., 
1S5G,  p.  250.)  One  of  the  blocks  contains  the  remains  of  t^vo  small 
shoals  of  the  fry,  probably  of  C.  JuimiltK,  wliicli  were  canglit  suddenly 
by  a  slide  or  fall  of  calcareous  mud,  and  entombed  for  the  observation 
of  future  students.  They  must  have  been  taken  unawares,  since  they 
lie  with  their  heads  all  in  one  direction  as  they  swam  in  close  bodies. 
One  or  two  may  have  had  a  moment's  warning  of  the  catastrophe,  as 
they  have  turned  a  little  aside,  but  they  are  the  exceptions.  The  fry 
are  from  one-half  to  three-quarters  of  an  inch  long  and  upward. 

True  herring-,  or  those  with  teeth,  are  chiefly  marine,  but  they  run 
into  fresh  waters  and  deposit  their  spawn  in  the  spring  of  the  year,  and 
then  return  to  salt  waters.  The  young  run  down  to  the  sea  in  autumn 
and  remain  there  till  old  enough  to  spawn.  The  size  of  the  fry  of  the 
Eocky  Mountain  herring  indicates  that  they  had  not  long  left  the 
spawning  ground,  while  the  abundance  of  adults  suggests  they  were  not 
far  from  salt  water,  their  native  element.  To  believe,  then,  that  the 
locality  from  which  these  specimens  were  taken  was  neither  far  from 
fresh,  nor  far  from  salt  waters,  is  reasonable  ;  and  this  points  to  a  tide, 
or  brackish  inlet  or  river.  The  species  of  Cyprinodontidw  inhabit  also 
tide  and  brackish  waters.  Most  of  the  species  of  the  family,  as  well  as 
of  the  genus,  are  inhabitants  of  fresh  water ;  but  they  generally,  espe- 
cially the  cyprinodons  proper,  prefer  still  and  muddy  localities,  and 
ofte;i  occur  in  water  really  salt.  This  habitat  distinguishes  them  espe- 
cially from  Cyprinidcc  (minnows  and  suckers)  and  pike.  Lastly,  the 
known  species  of  Osteoglossum  inhabit  fresh  waters. 

The  material  which  composes  the  shales  indicates  quiet  water,  and 
not  such  as  is  usually  selected  by  herring  for  spawning  in ;  while  the 
abundance  of  adult  clupeas  indicate  the  proximity  of  salt  water. 

This  is  far  from  a  satisfactory  demonstration  of  the  nature  of  the 
water  which  deposited  this  mass  of  shales,  but  is  the  best  that  can  be 
obtained  with  such  a  meager  representation  of  species. 

As  to  geological  age  the  indications  are  rather  more  satisfactory. 
The  genus  Clupea  ranges  from  the  upper  eocene  upward,  being 
abundant  in  the  slates  of  Lebanon  and  Monte  Bolca,  while  Cyprinodon 
has  been  found  in  neither,  but  first  appears  in  the  middle  or  lower 
miocene  in  Europe.  The  Asineops  resemble  very  closely,  ftnd  I  believe 
essentially,  the  Pygreus  of  Agassiz  of  eocene  age,  from  Monte  Bolca. 
The  peculiarities  presented  by  the  genus  found  by  Dr.  Hayden  are  of 
such  small  significance  as  to  lead  me  to  doubt  the  beds  in  question  being 
of  later  than  eocene  age,  though  the  evidence  rests  chiefly  on  this 
single,  new,  and  peculiar  genus. 

The  position  of  these  fishes,  seven  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of 
the  sea,  furnishes  another  illustration  of  the  extent  of  elevations  of 
i-egions  once  connected  with  the  ocean,  and  the  comparatively  late 
period  of  geologic  time  at  which,  in  this  case,  this  elevation  took  place. 


432  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF    THE   TERRITORIES. 


VIIL— RECENT  REPTILES  AND  FISHES. 

KEPORT   ON   THE   EEPTILES    AND   FISHES   OBTAINED   BY 
THE  NATURALISTS  OF  THE  EXPEDITION. 

By  E.  D.  Cope,  A.  M. 

Twenty-two  species  of  fislies  and  eight  of  reptiles  are  embraced  in 
this  collection.  Among  these  the  i)rincipal  interest  attaches  to  the  fish- 
fauna  of  the  Colorado  River  of  the  West,  and  its  system.  Isolated  as 
are  its  w'aters  from  the  systems  of  the  Columbia  on  the  north,  of  the 
Platte  on  the  east,  of  the  Rio  Grande  on  the  southeast,  and  of  the  Pa- 
cific Coast  streams  on  the  west,  an  inquiry  into  the  character  of  its  fauna 
becomes  desirable.  This  has  been  entered  on  with  much  success  by  our 
distinguished  ichthyologists,  Messrs.  Baird  and  Girard,  who  have  deter- 
mined the  existence  of  at  least  one  type  as  peculiar  to  it ;  I  allude  to 
the  genus  or  group  Gila.  They  have  also  shown  that  nearly,  if  not  all, 
of  the  species  belonging  to  it  differ  from  those  of  the  other  basins — 
a  conclusion  which  the  collections  of  Dr.  Hayden  confirm.  The  num- 
ber of  species  from  the  heads  of  the  Colorado  included  in  the  i^resent 
collection  numbers  13,  none  of  which  have  been  found  in  other  waters, 
if  we  include  in  this  basin  those  which  empty  into  the  lakes  of  Utah — 
and  of  which  five  are  new  to  science. 

Beyond  the  possession  of  peculiar  species  and  one  peculiar  genus  this 
river  basin  does  not  difi'er  from  others  except  in  what  it  lacks.  This 
want  of  forms  may  be  owing  to  the  poverty  of  our  collections,  or 
to  their  real  absence.  It  is  enough  to  mention  Siluroids,  Hyoclo7i, 
JEsox,  Leindosteiis,  Amia,  and  Fhysoclysti,  in  general,  to  express  the  im- 
perfection of  our  knowledge  and  the  probability  that,  when  examined, 
an  interesting  faunal  combination  may  be  discovered.  Not  the  least  in- 
teresting fact  is  the  occurrence  of  a  Coregonus  in  the  Green  River  and 
other  upper  waters  of  the  basin. 

The  other  fishes  obtained  by  Dr.  Hayden  are  from  the  upper  tributa- 
ries of  the  Platte.  As  pertaining  to  the  same  great  Missouri  drainage 
area,  a  few  species  from  the  neighborhood  of  St.  Joseph,  Northwestern 
Missouri,  are  added.  These  were  submitted  to  me  by  Dr.  William  Stimp- 
son,  secretary  of  the  Chicago  Academy  of  Sciences. 

REPTILIA. 

Caudisona  confluenta,  Say,  {Crotalus.) — Utah,  Colorado,  Wyo- 
ming, &c. 

Heterodon  nasicus,  Baird  and  Girard. — Head-waters  of  the  Platte. 

EuT^NiA  PARETALis,  Say,  {Tropidonotus,  Halb.) — Head- waters  of  the 
Platte. 

EuT^NiA  VAGRANS,  Baird  and  Girard. — Utah,  Wyoming,  and  Col- 
orado. 

HoLBROOKiA  MACULATA,  Baird  and  Girard.— Head-waters  of  the 
Platte. 

Phrynosoma  douglassii,  Bell. — Head- waters  of  the  Platte. 

BATRACHIA. 

Rana  nALECiNA,  Bosc. — Common  along  all  the  streams. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  TOE  TERRITORIES.       433 

TELEOSTEI. 

Cottidcc. 

TJranidea  Punctulata,  Gill,  {Potamocottus',)  Proc.  Boston  Soc. N. H., 
1861,  40. — Head- waters  of  Greeu  Kiver.  • 

Salmonidcc. 

Saxmo  (Salar)  viRGiNALis,Girard ;  United  States  Pacific  Railroad  Sur- 
vey, Vol.  X,  p.  320,  PI.  LXIII,  figs.  1-4.— This  species  is  well  figured 
by  Girard  as  above.  An  error  occurs  in  the  enumeration  of  rays,  where 
the  branchiostegals  are  said  to  number  9-9 ;  they  are,  I  find  in  three 
specimens,  11-11.  The  species  is  distinguished  from  S.  iridca,  Girard,  by 
its  more  slender  form  and  fewer  aual  and  dorsal  radii.  When  the  spe- 
cimens were  first  received  they  exhibited  short,  broad,  longitudinal  red 
bars  along  the  lateral  line. 

Seven  specimens,  two  from  Henry's  Fork  Green  River,  and  two  from 
near  Fort  Bridger. 

SALMO  (salar)  stomias,  (COPE  ;)  sp.  nov. 

Salmo  {Trutta)  lewisii^  Cope.  Proceed.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phila.,  1865, 
nee.  Girardii. 

General  form  short  and  stout,  the  head  large  and  wide,  with  wide  mandi- 
ble and  mouth.  The  length  of  the  head  enters  four  times  to  near  the  emar- 
gination  of  the  caudal  fin,  and  the  depth  at  the  first  dorsal  ray  four 
times  in  the  length  to  the  end  of  the  basal  scales  of  the  caudal. 
The  base  of  the  first  dorsal  ray  is  nearly  equidistant  between  the  end  of 
the  muzzle  and  base  of  caudal  fin,  or,  more  exactly,  rather  nearer  to  the 
base  of  the  marginal  caudal  ray  than  to  the  muzzle.  Radii,  B.  10,  D.  II. 
12,  A.  II.  10,  V.  9.  The  end  of  the  maxillary  extends  half  the  eyes 
diameter  behind  the  margin  of  the  eye.  InterorlDital  width  3.o  times  in 
length  of  head ;  eye,  4.6  times  in  the  same,  and  equal  to  the  length  of 
the  muzzle.  Symphysis  of  mandible  equal  to  or  shorter  than  muzzle; 
gape  wide.  Forty-two  longitudinal  scales  above  the  laternal  line.  Max- 
illary bone  of  nearly  uniform  width. 

There  are  indistinct  brown  blotches  on  the  sides,  and  numerous  black 
spots  on  the  posterior  dorsal  region,  the  entire  caudal  peduncle  and  the 
two  dorsal  and  caudal  fins ;  anal  unspotted;  spots  few  in  front  of  dorsal. 

M. 

Total  length  of  smaller  specimen 0. 227 

Length  of  head 0515 

Length  to  ventrals 106 

Length  ta  anal 15 

Width  lower  jaw,  at  orbits 0168 

This  species  is  an  ally  of  the  H.  Icioisii,  S.  virgi)iaUs,  and  S.  iridea. 
From  the  last  of  these  the  fewer  anal  radii  distinguish  it.  From  8.  vir- 
ginalis  the  stouter  form,  wider  head  with  shorter  muzzle,  and  one  less 
branchiostegal  ray,  separate  it.  Thus  in  that  species  the  head  enters  the 
length  to  the  end  of  the  caudal  scales  four  times,  and  the  depth  4. 5 
times.  -The  dorsal  is  considerably  nearer  the  end  of  the  muzzle  than  the 
basis  of  the  caudal.  The  eyes  and  interorbital  widths  are  less.  The  /S'.  lew- 
isii,  like  6'.  stomias,  from  Mississippi  waters,  is  more  like  S.  virglnaUs  in  all 
the  respects  mentioned,  according  to  both  the  description  and  figures  of  . 
Girard,  but  adds  the  peculiarity  of  only  10  branchiostegals  instead  of  11. 

Two  specimens  from  the  Platte  River,  from  near  Fort  Riley,  Kansas. 
Discovered  by  William  A.  Hammond,  M.  D. 

CoREGONUS  williamsonii,  Girard;    United  States  Pacific  Railroad 
Reports,  X,  p.  326,  PI.  LXVL— The  Rocky  Mountain  white  fish. 
28  G 


434        GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

With  the  Salmo  virginalis,  probably  from  near  Fort  Bridger,  from  the 
head- waters  of  the  Green  Eiver  or  Western  Colorado. 

CatostomidcG. 

I  have  proposed  to  adopt  as  valid  (Proc.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  1870, 
480)  seven  genera  of  this  family.  I  would  now  add  an  eighth,  which 
embraces  species  which  •  combine  wdth  the  characters  of  Catostomiis 
proper,  a  complete  union  of  the  i)arietal  bones,  which  obliterates  the 
fontanelle  so  universal  among  the  suckers.  The  only  other  exception  is 
seen  in  Cycleptus,  Eaf.,  as  I  have  already  mentioned.  In  all  the  members 
of  the  family  where  I  have  examined  it,  this  fontanelle  is  quite  open  and 
of  no  doubtful  proportions,  and  nowhere  reduced  to  the  slit  often  seen  in 
the  Sihiridcc.  In  searching  for  the  characters  of  Girard's  so-called 
genera  Minomus  and  Acomus,  I  find  that  the  type  of  the  former,  M. 
insiffnis,  B.  G.,  presents  the  character  above  mentioned.  1  therefore 
adopt  his  name  for  the  new  genus,  and  add  two  new  species,  31.  delpln- 
nus  and  M.  tardus.  Whether  his  two  other  species,  31.  plebeius  and  3L 
clarhii,  belong  to  it  is  uncertain  as  yet,  but  they  have  the  same  physi- 
ognomy. 

CATOSTOMUS,  (LES.) 

Several  species  of  this  genus  were  procured  by  Dr.  Hayden.  For 
their  fuller  elucidation  the  following  table,  embracing  also  those  of 
Minomus,  is  appended. 

I.  Scales  of  the  posterior  part  of  the  body  materially  1 
larger  than  those  of  the  anterior.  j 

a  Anterior  dorsal  ray  nearly  equidistant  between  end  of 
muzzle  and  base  of  caudal  flu.  I  ^   ariseum 

Head  five  and  a  half  times  in  length  to  end  of  caudal ;  '     '  '^ 
muzzle  projecting,  upper  lip  r)endent,  very  short,  with 
two  rows  tubercles  ;  smooth  margins  narrow  ;  scales 
1.  tr.  28  ;  eye  i-i  head ;  V.  10. 

As  the  last,  but  the  lips  much  larger ;  upper  with  three  ^ 

rows  tubercles,  and  both  with  wide  smooth  margin ;  >  C.  discobolus. 
eye,  5.5  in  head,  V.  9 ;  isthmus  wider.  ) 

II.  Scales  of  body  subequal. 
a  Origin  dorsal  nearer  origin  of  caudal  fin  than  end  of 

Upper  lip  not  pendent  •,  head  one-fifth  length  to  end  of  |       "       ^  ^ 
caudal ;  upper  lip  wide,  D.  11,  V.  10  ;  scales  tr.  1. 30 
ventral  fins  small. 

;aa  Origin  of  dorsal  fin  nearer  end  of  muzzle  than  basis '} 
of  caudal. 

Bead  five  and  a  half  times  in  length  with  caudal;  upper  >  31.  bardus. 
lip  wide,  not  pendent;  isthmus  wide;  eye,  one-fifth, 
head ;  1.  tr.  30 ;  D.  11,  V.  10  :  a  light  band  on  side.      3 
CAT0ST03IUS  siTCKLii,  Girard ;  United  States  Pacific  Eailroad  Eeport, 

X,  p.  22(3,  PL  LI.— Waters  of  the  Platte. 

Catostomus  latipinne,  Baird  and  Girard ;  Pr.  A.  N.  Sci.,  Phil.,  1853, 

.388 ;  United  States  JMexican  Boundary  Survey,  III,  39,  PI.  XXIV,  1-6. 

{Acomus,  Girard.) — Two  heads  from  the  Green  Eiver. 
Catostomus  geiseum,  Girard ;  Pr,  A.  X.  Sci.,  Phil.,  1856, 171 ;  United 

States  Pacific  Eailroad,  X,  222,  PI.  XLIX,  figs.  5-9.— Two  specimens 

from  Horse  Creek,  (waters  of  the  Platte,  August  27th,)  one  from  Bed 

<Jloud  Creek,  and  three  from  other  waters  of  the  Platte. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  4dO 

CATOSTOMUaDISCOBOLrS,  (COPE;)   sp.  UOV. 

Remarkable  for  its  very  large  lips,  especially  the  upper.  In  general 
it  is  allied  to  the  C.  grlsetim,  being  of  tlie  same  cylindric  form.  The 
upper  lip  is  pendent,  and  somewhat  expanded  all  round.  Its  margin 
extends  outside  of  that  of  the  lower  lip,  where  it  joins  it,  tlius  forming 
an  entering  right  angle  witli  it.  Tlie  commissural  margins  of  both  are 
wide  and  abruptly  sei)arated  from  the  tuberculated  portions.  Tubercles 
subequal;  those  of  the  lower  Jaw  projecting  in  a  convex  enlargement, 
concentric  with  the  lower  conunisure;  behind  deeply  incised.  ^Muzzle 
projecting  a'little  beyond  upper  li[);  head  wide,  flat  above;  eye  superior, 
small,  entering  length  of  head  d.~j  times;  three  times  in  muzzle, 
rhryngeal  bones  expanded  below ;  teeth  delicate  laminar,  with  acute 
inner  cusp.  Length  of  head,  entering  total  to  end  of  caudal  scales, 
four  and  a  half  times  ;  ventral  tins  originating  opposite  posterior  third 
of  dorsal,  barely  reaching  vent ;  pectorals  well  separated;  isthmus  very 
wide.  Radii,  D.  11 ;  A.  8;  V.  9.  Scales  iu  3S— 10,  longitudinal  series 
between  dorsal  and  ventral  tins ;  (tolor,  olive  brown  above,  black  on 
head,  passing  into  light  yellow  below,  gradually  on  the  body,  abruptly 
on  the  head. 

M. 

Total  length 0.153 

Length  to  orbit 016 

Length  to  opercular  border 029 

Length  to  dorsal  fin 065 

Length  to  ventral  fin 0095 

Length  to  anal   097 

Width  of  frontal  bones - Oil 

Length  of  ventral  fins 022 

Two  specimens,  one  certainly,  the  other  probably,  from  the  Green  River, 
"Wyoming.     This  striking  species  was  discovered  by  Cam.  Carriugtou. 

This  species  may  be  compared  with  the  C  pleheius,  Girard,  and  G. 
generosus,  Girard.  In  the  first  the  eye  is  larger  and  more  median,  the 
scales  are  subequal,  and  there  are  only  eight  ventral  rays.  In  the  second 
the  eye  is  also  larger.  In  neither  is  the  great  development  of  the  lip 
seen, 

MINOMUS  DELPHINUS,  (COPE,)  Sp.  nOV. 

The  subequal  size  of  the.  scales  of  this  species  would  refer  it  indif- 
ferently to  the  true  group  Catostomus  of  Girard,  or  his  group  Minomus, 
which  he  did  not  distinguish  clearly.  The  preceding  species  would 
enter  his  Acomus,  which  is,  however,  only  an  undefined  group  of  species, 
to  which,  by  the  way,  the  type  of  Catostonms,  C.  teres  belongs. 

This  species  is  especially  distinguished  from  those  heretofore  de- 
scribed by  the  shortening  of  the  caudal  part  of  the  vertebral  column, 
and  the  consequent  posterior  j)Osition  of  the  dorsal  fin.  Add  to  this  a 
short,  wide  head,  and  thick  body,  and  its  physiognomy  is  expressed. 

The  dorsal  outline  is  arched,  the  head  flat  above,  but  elevated  behind, 
and  much  depressed  on  the  muzzle.  The  muzzle  is  wide  and  does  not 
l)roject  beyond  the  upjier  lip,  which  is  appressed  to  its  lower  face  and 
l3ears  four  rows  of  warts  ;  its  smooth  commissural  part  is  narrow.  On 
the  lower  lip  the  tubercles  advance  nearly  to  the  commisure;  this  lip 
is  deeply  emarginate  posteriorly ;  the  eye  enters  the  length  of  the  head 
five  times,  two  and  one-half  times  measuring  the  muzzle,  and  twice  the 
interorbital  region.  Head  four  and  two-thirds  times  in  length  to  end 
of  caudal  basal  scales. 


436  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

Scales  iu  thirty  longitudinal  series,  between  dorsal  and  ventral  fins  ; 
ventrals  remarkably  short,  extending  little  more  than  half  way  to  vent, 
originating  under  posterior  third  of  dorsal.  Pectorals  well  separated. 
Radii,  D.  11 ;  A.  8,  V.  10.    Isthmus  wide. 

Color  above  blackish,  with  a  strong  inferior  marginal  shade  on  the 
lower  part  of  the  sides,  and  lighter  tint  above ;  a  brown  spot  just  above 
axilla,  is  cut  off  from  it  by  a  band  of  the  yellow  color  which  covers  the 
belly  and  head  below. 

M. 

Total  length 0. 149 

Length  to  orbit -  - .     .  013 

Length  to  opercular  border 0295 

Length  to  dorsal  fin 069 

Length  to  ventral  fin 07-1 

Length  of  ventral  fin 015 

Length  to  anal  fin 097 

Interorbital  width 0115 

The  only  species  concerning  which  any  doubt  can  arise  in  the  nomen- 
clature of  this  one  is  the  C.  hernardini  of  Girard.  Tliat  writer  states 
that  the  latter  possesses  15  D.  radii ;  this,  with  the  ascription  of  a  slen- 
der form  and  other  jDeculiarities,  will  always  separate  them. 

Three  specimens  in  Professor  Hayden's  collection  without  locality. 
This  should  be  probably  a  tributary  of  Green  River. 

MINOMUS  BARDUS,  (COPE ))  sp.  nov. 

This  species  is  distinguished  by  its  very  short  head,  and  marked  col- 
oration, resembling  in  that  respect  the  C.  guzmaniensis  of  Girard;  with 
this  species  it  has,  however,  nothing  else  in  common. 

Head  wide,  muzzle  not  projecting  beyond  upper  lip ;  latter  not  pend- 
ent, with  narrow,  smooth  commisure  and  three  or  four  rows  of  tubercles. 
Lower  lip  deeply  incised,  tubercular  to  near  inner  edge.  Eye  5.25  times, 
in  length  of  head,  twice  in  interorbital  width.  Head  five  times  to  end 
of  basal  caudal  scales.  Form  stout;  body  cylindric  anteriorly.  Dorsal 
fin  nearer  end  of  muzzle  than  end  of  caudal  scales.  Scales  of  body 
subequal,  iu  thirty  longitudinal  rows  between  dorsal  and  ventral  fins  ; 
latter  originating  beneath  hinder  border  of  dorsal,  not  quite  reaching 
vent.  Pectorals  well  separated ;  isthmus  wide,  narrower  than  in  M. 
delphinus.    Radii  D.  11,  A.  8,  V.  10. 

Color,  blackish  above,  a  broad  olive  band  from  upper  part  of  oper- 
cular border  along  upper  half  of  caudal  peduncle,  and  a  broad  black  band 
below,  narrowing  to  a  line  along  the  middle  of  the  peduncle.  Below, 
yellowish,  a  band  of  the  same  cutting  off  a  blackish  area  above  the 

axilla,  as  iu  the  last  species. 

'  M. 

Total  length ^ 0.128 

Length  to  orbit - 01 

Length  to  opercular  border '. 0235 

Length  to  dorsal  fin 059 

Length  to  ventral  fin 0695 

Length  of  ventral  fin 017 

Length  to  anal  fin 086 

Interorbital  width 0095 

From  the  same  locality  as  M.  delj)liirms. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES.  437 

PTYCHOSTOilUS  BUCCO,  (COPE  })  Sp.  UOV. 

A  stout  species,  with  a  head  short  and  particularly  wide  through  the 
opercula.  Lips  thin,  the  inferior  cousistiug-  of  lateral  lobes  iuclosiug  a 
V-shaped  interval.  Superior  lip  narrow,  not  pendent.  Muzzle  slightly 
projecting,  subtruncate  in  jirotile.  Eye  larg6,  3.5  times  in  length  of 
head,  1.2  in  muzzle,  and  nearly  .75  of  interorbital  width.  Front  and 
vertex  flat;  width  behind  orbits  1.75  times  in  length  of  head.  Head 
one-fourth  length  without  caudal,  and  equal  to  depth.  Scales,  0-40- 
5.  Eadii,  D.  II.  13  ;  A.  II.  7 ;  V.  9.  Dorsal  nearly  median  on  superior 
outline.  Pharyngeal  teeth  typical,  i.  e.,  pectiniform,  with  slightly  prom- 
inent inner  angle. 

Color  uniform ;  dorsal  fin  dusky.  Total  length  of  young.  M.  .117  ;  to 
opercular  margin  .0255 ;  to  ventral  fins  .0545.  From  St.  Josephs,  Mis- 
souri. 

This  species  is  allied  most  closely  to  the  P.  colla2)siis,  Cope.  This  is  a 
still  stouter  species,  the  depth  entering  the  length  only  3.5  times ;  the 
eye  is  smaller,  being  .2  of  the  head's  length.  The  Catostoimis  suckleyi 
resembles  it,  but  is  more  slender,  and  belongs  to  another  genus.  The 
P.  hucco  is  named  from  the  interopercular  width  of  the  head. 

Cyprimdce. 

(CAiiPOSTOMA  ANOMAI.ITM,  Eaf.  Icth.  Ohiensis.)  (Rutilus.J  Agas- 
siz,  Cope;  Trans.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  1866,  396. — Probably  from  "the 
head- waters  of  the  Platte  Eiver. 

coLiscus  PAKiETALis,  {COPE ;)  gen.  et.  sp.  nov. 

Cliar.  gcnericus :  Group  IV.  of  the  tribe  Epicysti,  (Trans.  Amer.  Phil. 
Soc,  1866,)  and  therefore  with  cultriform  teeth  arranged  4-4,  and  elon- 
gate alimentary  canal,  coiled  many  times  below  the  swim  bladder.  The 
lateral  line  is  almost  entirely  wanting,  and  the  dorsal  fin  originates 
above  a  point  in  front  of  the  ventrals.  The  lips  are  exceedingly  atten- 
uated, and  the  mouth  directed  ui)wards.     Allied  to  HybognatJms,  Agass. 

Char,  specijicus  :  Head  wide  ;  especially  behind,  contained  4.25  times 
in  the  length  without  caudal  fin.  Muzzle  obtuse ;  lips  equal ;  mouth 
descending  obliquely,  the  end  of  the  maxillary  not  quite  reaching  the 
line  of  the  anterior  margin  of  the  orbit.  Eye  3.6  times  in  length  of 
head ;  7  times  into  mtizzle,  and  1.5  times  into  interorbital  width.  Scales 
small;  1.  tr.  14;  1.  long.  42;  seven  behind  operculum,  bearing  tubes  of 
the  lateral  line.  Eadii  D.  I.  7 ;  A.  1. 8 ;  V.  9.  General  form  moderately 
elongate;  dorsal  fin  intermediate  between  end  of  muzzle  and  basis  of 
caudal.  Depth  at  dorsal,  4.6  times  in  length  without  caudal.  Subor- 
bital bones  slender.  Color  everywhere  white,  silver  on  the  sides  of  the 
head.  Length,  M.  .0432.  From  the  Missouri  Eiver  near  to  St.  Josephs. 
(Mus,  Chicago  Acad.  Sciences,  No.  575.) 

HYBOPSIS  MISSURIENSIS,  (COPE  ;)  sp.  UOV. 

Belonging  to  group  B,  i.  e.,  with  teeth  4-4,  and  mouth  inferior 
Form  stout,  with  large  head  and  thick  caudal  peduncle.  Head  3.75 
times  into  length  without  caudal  fin;  scales,  5 — 31-2 — 3. 

Dorsal  outline  a  little  arched;  depth  4.5  times  in  length,  without 
caudal  fin.    Eye  three  times  in  length  of  head,  equal  muzzle,  four-fifths. 


438  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

interorbital  width.  Profile,  plane ;  parietal  region  wide ;  muzzle  de- 
scending; upper  "lip  projecting  a  little  beyond  lower;  end  of  maxil- 
lary bone  reaching  line  of  orbit.  Twelve  scales  in  front  of  dorsal  fin. 
Least  depth  of  caudal  peduncle  two  and  a  half  to  three  times  in  length 
from  first  anal  ray.  Eadii,  D.  I.  8  ;  V.  8.  Pectorals  nearly  reach  ven- 
trals ;  ventrals  reach  vent.  Dorsal  nearer  end  of  muzzle  than  basis  of 
caudal.    Length,  M.  .05. 

Light  olivaceous,  below  paler ;  a  silver  lateral  band  and  small  dark 
dot  at  base  of  caudal  fin.    No  dark  dorsal  band. 

From  near  St.  Joseph,  Missouri.  From  the  Miis.  Acad.  Sciences, 
Chicago. 

This  Hybopsis  is  near  the  H.  procne^  Cope,  from  the  Easl«.  It  differs 
in  the  generally  stouter  form,  the  larger  head  and  thicker  caudal 
peduncle. 

HYEOPSIS  SCYLLA,  (COPE  J )  Sp.  UOV. 

Belonging  to  the  group  B.  (Trans.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  18G6,  380)  of 
this  genus,  and  therefore  Rallied  to  H.  stramineus  and  M.  lyrocne,  Cope. 
It  differs  from  the  former  in  its  more  slender  form,  and  from  both  in  the 
increased  number  of  longitudinal  series  of  scales. 

Head  4.5  times  in  length  without  caudal  fin;  eye  3.5  times  in  head; 
scales  6-34-4.     A.  I.  7. 

This  species  has  a  short  head  with  obtuse  muzzle.  The  lips  are  equal 
and  the  mouth  slopes  a  little  downward,  the  end  of  the  maxillary  reach- 
ing the  line  of  the  interior  margin  of  the  orbit.  Length  of  muzzle  .75 
diameter  of  ej'e,  which  is  little  less  than  interorbital  width ;  teeth  4-4 ; 
depth  of  body  at  first  dorsal  ray  4.G  times  in  length  to  basis  of  caudal ; 
at  caudal  peduncle  equal  from  orbit  to  opercular  border.  Ventral  fin 
originating  below  D.  I.  Rays,  D.  I.  8,  A.  I.  7,  Y.  8;  lateral  line  slightly 
decurved  medially.  Total  length,  0  M.  .0545.  •  Color  silvery  with  silver 
lateral  band,  marked  with  black  points,  which  are  especially  abundant 
on  the  side  of  the  muzzle.  From  Eed  Cloud  Creek,  a  tributary  of  the 
Platte. 

HYBOPSIS  EGEEGIUS,  (GIRAKD.) 

(Tigoma.)  United  States  Pacific  Railroad  Reports,  X,  291. 
What  I  suppose  to  be  this  species  i)resents  a  well-marked  grinding 
surface  on  one  tooth  (the  second)  on  each  side.  There  is  nothing  to  dis- 
tinguish Girard's  Tigomcv,  with  this  surface  develi)ped,  from  my  section 
D  of  Hyhoims.  (Trans.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  186G,  382.)  These  species 
are  his  T.  gibljossa,  T.  nigrescens,  T.  pulclira^  and  T.  crassa.  The  teeth 
are  4.1(2)-1(2).4,  and  the  mouth  more  or  less  oblique.  They  cannot  be 
separated,  as  a  genus,  from  Hyhopsis.  The  Tigojuw,  Avithout  mastica- 
tory surface,  are  closely  allied  to  the  Clinostomij  from  which  they  differ 
in  having  the  teeth  4.2-2.4  instead  of  4.2-2.5.  Some  of  Girard's  Tigomce 
appear  to  be  true  Clinostomi.    Five  specimens  from  Green  Eiver. 

.      PHOTOGENIS  PIPTOLEPIS,    (COPE ;)  sp.  UOV. 

This  species  has  much  the  physiognomy  of  Ceratichfhys  dissimiUs,  Kirt., 
and  is  allied  to  the  same  genus.  Dorsal  region  alongside  and  in  front 
of  the  dorsal  fin,  scaleless ;  scales  at  dorsal,  3-4 — 36 — 2-3.  Eadii,  D.  1.7, 
A.  1.8,  V.  7.  Teeth,  4.1-1.4 ;  head,  one-fourth  length  without  caudal ; 
depth,  4.66  times  in  the  same ;  eye  oval,  diameter  a  little  less  than 
length  of  muzzle,  3.5  times  in  length  of  head  and  a  little  less  than  in- 
terorbital diameter;  the  mouth  is  nearly  horizontal,  and  the  muzzle 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       439 

descends  gradually  to  it  without  projecting;  maxillary  extending  beyond 
tlie  line  of  the  orbit ;  iuterorbital  region  convex. 

In  general  proportions  this  species  is  rather  elongate,  with  elongate 
head  and  small  mouth.  Length  0  M.  .07.  First  ventral  and  dorsal  radii 
opposed  and  a  little  nearer  the  end  of  the  muzzle  than  the  base  of  the 
caudal  fin.  Color  above  olive,  below  silver ;  a  broad  silver  lateral  band 
with  black  dots  on  each  side  of  the  lateral  line,  and  a  band  of  specks  on 
the  side  of  the  head.  A  strong  black  dorsal  baud.  From  the  North 
Platte. 

In  two  smaller  specimens,  apparently  of  this  species,  there  are  some 
peculiar  diiferences.  In  one  the  back  is  half  scaled,  the  other  entirely 
scaled,  and  the  count  is  G-3G-4.  The  caudal  peduncle  is  a  little  shorter, 
so  that  the  dorsal  fin  has  a  median  position  ;  and  the  head  enters  the 
length  (without  caudal)  37  times.    From  theEed  Cloud  Creek. 

Hypsllepis  coenutus,  Mitchell,  Cope,  Proceed.  Acad.  ^at.  Sci., 
Phila.,  1867,  158.— Eed  Cloud  Creek. 

CYPRINELLA  BILLINGSIANA,  (COPE;)  Sp.  UOV. 

A  rathe»  stout  fusiform  species,  having  the  depth  .25  of  the  length 
without  caudal  fin.  Length  of  head  the  same ;  eye  contained  in  it  3.5 
times,  .75  of  iuterorbital  width.  Parietal  and  frontal  regions  convex 
transversely.  ,  hips  equal ;  mouth  slightly  descending ;  maxillary  bone 
reaching  line  of  orbit.  Muzzle  nearly  equal  to  orbit's  diameter.  Scales, 
6-31-3.  Eadii,  D.  I.  8 ;  A.  I.  8  (9 ;)  V.  8  ;  originating  considerably  in  ad- 
vance of  line  of  dorsal  fin ;  not  reaching  vent.   Pharyngeal  teeth  4.1-1.4. 

Color  in  alcohol  reddish  above,  i.  c,  transparent  in  life;  sides  and 
operculum  silvery.  A  faint  median  dorsal  shade  ;  no  spots  on  fins  or  at 
base  of  dorsal.  Total  length,  M.  018  ;  end  of  muzzle  to  dorsal  fin,  .021. 
From  St.  Joseph,  on  the  Missoujl  Eiver;  Dr.  William  Stimpson. 

This  fish  differs  from  all  those  referred  to  Cyprinella  by  Girard,  in 
proportions,  radial  or  scale  formula,  excepting  the  C.  lugiibris,  Girard. 
This  species  differs  in  having  the  dorsal  fin  above  the  ventrals,  and  in 
the  upper  regions  of  the  body  being  dark  brown.  Dedicated  to  Joshua 
Billings,  author  of  original  observations  on  "The  Briny  Codfish." 

MONTANA  JIJGALIS,  (COPE  ;)  Sp.  nOV. 

Form  stout,  back  much  elevated,  descending  steeply  to  the  end  of 
the  muzzle.  Head  one-fifth  of  total  with  caudal  fin ;  depth  one-third 
without  caudal  fin.  Eye  4.3  and  four  times  in  head's  length,  .6  of  iuter- 
orbital space.  Upper  lip  a  little  more  prominent  than  lower ;  end  of 
maxillary  bone  falling  behind  the  line  of  the  margin  of  the  orbit. 
Pharyngeal  teeth  4-4  in  adults ;  4.1-1.4  in  small  specimens.  Scales 
with  narrow  exposed  surfaces,  7-34(3)-4(3.)  Eadii,  D.  I.  8  ;  A,  1. 9  ;  V.  8, 
reaching  anal,  and  originating  well  in  front  of  line  of  first  dorsal  spine. 
Pectorals  nearly  attaining  ventrals.  Total  length,  M.  .0665  ;  to  dorsal 
fin,  .03 ;  depth  at  last  anal  ray,  .009. 

Sides  and  ventral  and  anal  fins,  milky  white ;  a  median  dorsal  shade, 
a  broad  vertical  bar  behind  the  head,  and  an  undefined  shade  on  the 
side  between  origins  of  ventral  and  aiml  fin,  of  a  sooty  color.  From 
St.  Joseph,  in  Northwestern  Missouri ;  Mus.  Chicago  Academy  Sciences. 

This  species  is  well  distinguished  from  those  described  by  Girard  in 
the  reports  of  the  United  States  commissions  on  the  Pacific  Eailroad 
and  Mexican  boundary  survej's.  Thus,  in  the  allied  AL  leonina,  Girard, 
the  depth  is  .25  the  length  ;  in  M.  laetahilis  and  M.  deliciosa,  Girard,  the 


440       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEREITORIES. 

eyes  are  .3  of  the  head  only ;  in  M.  tristis,  the  anal  radii  are  I.  .7  ;  in  M. 
coucJdi,  perhaps  the  closest  ally,  the  depth  enters  the  length  3.5  times; 
the  transverse  scales  are  7-3,  anal  rays  I.  .8. 

The  affinities  of  this  species  are  plainly  with  such  species  as  Hypsile- 
pis  analostanus,  Girard,  and  Photogenis  pyrrhomelas.  It  is  interesting 
to  observe  that  in  its  young  state  it  possesses  the  single  tooth  of  the 
inner  row  which  characterizes  the  genus  Cyprinella,  which  thus  presents 
an  exact  parallelism*  to  the  immature  stage  of  Montana,  as  no  other  char- 
acters exist  to  distinguish  the  genera.  I  may  add  that  Heckel  and 
Kner  have  shown  that  the  young  teeth  of  the  carnivorous  type  in  Euro- 
I}ean  Cyprinidce  are  pectinated.  That  the  same  is  true  of  American 
genera  I  have  often  had  occasion  to  observe.  Cyprinella,  then,  in  this 
respect  presents  an  exact  parallelism  to  Photogenis,  or  such  species  as 
P.  pyrrliomelas,  which  only  differ  geuerically  in  the  lack  of  this  pectina- 
tion at  maturity. 

M.  jiigalis  in  youth  is  thus  a  Cyprinella,  and  resembles  no  little 
the  C.  biUingsiana,  Cope,  from  the  same  locality.  The  latter  has  occa- 
sionally nine  anal  radii,  and  rarely  the  ilf.  jugalis  losing  a  row  of  scales 
above  the  lateral  line,  causes  a  still  nearer  approach.  The  smaller  eye, 
deeper  body,  and  color  will  always  distinguish  the  young  of  the  latter 
from  that  of  the  former. 

ALBURNELLUS  PERCOBROMUS,  (COPE  ;)  sp.  nov. 

A  small  species  of  moderately  elongate  form,  and  acuminate  muzzle. 
Ventral  fins  reaching  to  line  of  last  dorsal  ray,  not  anal;  pectorals 
nearly  reaching  ventrals.  Scales  7-37-3 ;  radii  D.  I.  8,  the  first  orig- 
inating opposite  the  middle  of  the  ventral  fins;  A.  I.  11  (10.)  Head 
3.75  times  in  length  without  caudal  fin ;  depth  of  body  4.75  times 
into  the  same.  Eye  3.5  times  into  hea^l,  equal  length  of  muzzle.  Mouth 
oblique,  lips  equal  when  closed,  end  of  maxillary  extending  beyond  line 
of  orbit.  Pharyngeal  teeth  4.2-2.1.  Seventeen  rows  of  scales  in  front 
of  dorsal  fin.    Length,  M.  .05 ;  to  origin  dorsal  fin,  .023 ;  to  origin  of  anal. 

.0263. 

Color  pale,  with  lateral  silver  band.  Dorsal  scales  minutely  punctu- 
late;  basis  of  caudal  the  same,  but  without  black  spots.  From  St. 
Joseph,  Missouri. 

In  technical  characters  this  species  approaches  the  A.  matutimis.  Cope, 
but  that  is  much  more  slender  in  all  respects  and  has  smaller  dorsal 
scales.  Twenty-five  of  these  cross  the  back  in  front  of  the  dorsal  fin  in 
A.  matutinus,  seventeen  in  A.  percobromus.  For  an  analysis  of  the  species 
of  this  genus  see  Proceedings  Amer.  Phil.  Society,  1870, 464. 

In  the  same  collection  occurred  the  percoid  fishes  Xepomu  anagallinus, 
Cope,  and  Boleosoma  hrevipinne.  Cope. 

SARCiDiUM  scopiFERUM,  (COPE ;)  sp.  et  gen.  nov. 

Char,  genericus. — Teeth  4-4,  hooked,  prehensile ;  alimentary  canal 
short.  No  barbels,  upper  lip  projectile ;  lower  jaw  without  lip  except 
below  the  canthi,  where  is  a  fleshy  lobe  on  each  side.  Lateral  line 
present;  dorsal  fin  anterior  to  the  ventrals. 

This  genus  is  allied  to  Exoglossum  and  to  Photogenis.  Its  appearance  is 
quite  that  of  the  former,  especially  in  the  mouth ;  when  examined  the  rami 
of  the  mandible  are  not  found  to  be  united  or  in  contact  throughout,  as  is 
the  case  with  Exoglossum,  but  they  form  the  usual  arc,  but  with  a  more 

*  See  origin  of  genera,  p.  7. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  441 

than  usually  stout  symphysis.  The  form  of  the  lower  lip  and  anterior 
position  of  the  dorsal  tin  separate  it  from  Photogenis.  As  the  dorsal  fin  is 
imniediatelv  above  the  veutrals  in  Exofjlossinn  maxiUingua,  aiwl  as  Cri- 
rard  represents  its  position  to  be  the  same  as  in  Sarcidmm  ni  his  i-^-  wi- 
rabile  from  Texas,  (United  States  Pacific  Eailroad  Report,  X,  plate  L\  1,) 
I  suspect  that  the  latter  will  be  found  to  be  a  species  of  Sarcuhim. 

Char  .weciiicu^:  General  proportions  medium,  the  back  nearly  . 
strai'^ht;  the  caudal  region  stout ;  the  head  rather  small,  with  long  and 
prominent  but  obtuse  muzzle;  mouth  entirely  inferior,  the  end  ot  the 
maxillary  about  reaching  the  line  of  the  anterior  nares ;  length  ot 
head  into  total,  without  caudal  fin,  four  times ;  depth  at  dorsal  into 
same  4  75  times ;  origin  of  dorsal  nearer  end  of  muzzle  than  basis  ot 
caudal  fin  ;  eve  4.2  times  in  length  of  head ;  l.G  times  in  muzzle,  nearly 
equal  interorbital  width;  vertex  nearly  plane;  profile  slightly  convex 
to  a  point  opposite  front  nares ;  here  it  descends  into  a  deep  trans- 
verse notch,  which  is  caused  by  a  failure  of  the  spines  of  the  pre- 
maxillary  to  reach  the  nasal  bones  ;  preorbital  bone  long  and  narrow  ; 
lateral  line  nearly  straight ;  scales  6-44-5 ;  fin  radii,  D.  1.  8  ;  A.  I.  i ; 
y  8 ;  pectorals  not  reaching  veutrals  ;  veutrals  reaching  vent,  wliicli  is 
a  little  in  advance  of  the  anal  fin ;  length,  M.  .0545 ;  depth  at  last  anal  ray, 

Color  olivaceous,  (reddish  in  alcohol,)  with  a  straight  silver  lateral 
band ;  this  terminates  in  a  strong  black  spot  at  the  middle  of  the  base  of 
the  caudal  fin.     No  dark  dorsal  band. 

This  peculiar  little  fish  was  taken  in  the  Missouri  Eiver,  near  bt. 
Joseph,  Missouri.     (Mus.  Chicago  Acad.  Sciences.) 
•  Gila  elegans,  Baird  and  Girard,  Sitgreaves's  Expedition.    Zuui  and 
Colorado,  1853, 140,  Fishes,  PI.  II.— Fort  Bridger,  two  specimens ;  Forks 
of  Green  River,  two  specimens.  .     .  c.  .     \r     ■        -o        ^ 

Gila  grahamii,  Baird  and  Girard  ;  United  States  Mexican  Boundary 
Survey  Report,  Fishes,  p.  CI,  PI.  XXIV,  figs.  7-12.— Fort  Bridger,  one 
specimen;  Henry's  Fork,  one  specimen.  ^  -.oro  -in  -di 

Gila  gracilis,  Baird  and  Girard;  Sitgreaves's  Report,  18o3,lol,Pl. 
III.— Fort  Bridger,  one  specimen ;  Henry's  Fork,  two  specimens ;  Forks 
of  Green  River,  five  specimens. 

GILA  NACREA,  (COPE  ;)  sp.  nOV. 

Allied  to  G.  graliamiL  Baird  and  Girard.  Radii,  D.  2. 9  ;  C.  G.  10. 11.  6 ; 
A  2  10  •  Y.  9  •  P.  14.  Scales,  21—13.  Length  of  head  four  times  m 
total  to  basis  of  median  caudal  radii ;  depth  at  dorsal  flu  four  and  three- 
fifths  times  in  the  same.  Veutrals  originating  in  advance  of  dorsal  fin, 
not  reached  by  the  pectorals.  Least  depth  of  caudal  peduncle  2.5  times 
into  the  depth  at  ventral  fins.  Profile  and  interorbital  region  gently 
convex ;  width  of  latter  3.1  times  in  length  of  head  ;  diameter  of  eye 
five  times  in  length  of  head,  and  1.25  times  in  length  of  muzzle,  end  of 
maxillarv  not  reaching  line  of  orbit.  Teeth  4.2-2.5.  Total  length,  :\I. 
0  130 ;  depth  of  head  at  orbit,  .015 ;  width  of  head  behind,  .012o  ;  length 
of  head,  .028;  depth  caudal  peduncle,  .007.  Color,  silver- white ;  back 
narrowlv  dark  shaded ;  pectoral  fin,  pink.  From  the  fork  of  the  Cxi^een 
River  near  Fort  Bridger,  Wyoming  Territory;  collected  by  Cam. 
Carrington,  of  Dr.  F.  V.  Haydeirs  expedition. 

This  species  is  near  the  G.  grahamii  in  nujubor  of  anal  rays  and  gen- 
eral proportions,  but  has  a  less  depressed  form  of  cranium  and  much 
larger  eye.  The  head  is  more  like  that  of  Ceratichihys  and  ordinary 
Cyj^rinidaz. 


442  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

Semotilus  corporalis,  Mitchill.  Cope,  Trans.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc, 
1866,  363,  Platte  Eiver ;  Eed  Cloud  Creek. .  \ 

CERATICHTHYS  SQUAMILENTUS,  (COPE  ;)   sp.  HOV. 

Most  nearly  related  to  section  III,  (Trans.  Amer.  Philos.  Soc,  1860,  p. 
365,)  and  therefore  to  the  C.  prosthe^nius,*  Cope,  but  differing  from  the 
latter  in  its  very  much  smaller  scales.  General  form  stout ;  length  of 
head  entering  that  of  body,  exclusive  of  caudal  fin,  3.8  times ;  depth 
entering  the  same,  five  times ;  eye  4.0  times  in  length  of  head,  f  length  of 
muzzle,  and  .6  interorbital  width.  Parietal  region  convex ;  protile  nearly 
i:>laue;  muzzle  not  prominent.  Mouth  horizontal;  maxillary  bone  not 
reaching  orbit.  Dorsal  fin  considerably  nearer  the  base  of  the  caudal  fin 
than  the  end  of  the  muzzle,  and  originating  a  very  little  in  advance  of 
the  origin  of  the  ventrals.  Eadii,  D.  1.  8;  A.  1.  7 ;  V.  7,  extending  to 
anal,  i^ectorals  not  reaching  ventrals.  Isthmus  ratlier  wide.  Teeth 
4.2-1.4.  Scales  small,  17-66-14,  covering  both  dorsal  and  thoracic 
regions  completely.  This  description  is  taken  from  a  small,  probably 
young,  specimen ;  length,  M.  .058.  The  barbels  are  short  and  slender 
and  easily  overlooked. 

Above  olive,  below  silvery ;  a  lateral  band  of  blackish  dust  from  the 
head  to  the  base  of  the  caudal  fin,  widening  behind  ;  a  black  band  round 
muzzle ;  sides  and  back  black  dusted.     Fins  unspotted. 

Fro  11  Henry's  Fork  of  the  Green  River,  Wyoming.  Cam.  Carrington 
discoverer.     Several  specimens. 

Ehinichtiiys  maxillosus.  Cope ;  Proc.  Acad.  Nat.  Sci.,  Phil.,  1864, 
p.  278,  Numerous  specimens  from  Eed  Cloud  Creek  and  the  Platte.  In 
life  the  upper  lip,  ventral  and  anal  fins,  and  inferior  asjiect  of  caudal 
peduncle,  are  vermilliou. 

Siluridce. 

NoTURUS  FLAVus,  Eafinesque. — From  the  waters  of  the  Platte ;  iden- 
tical with  those  from  the  Ohio. 


IX.— MATERIAL  RESOURCES. 

EEPOET  ON  THE   INDUSTEIAL   EESOUECES   OF   WESTEEN 
KANSAS  AND  EASTEEN  COLOEADO. 

By  E.  S.  Elliott. 

An  article  by  Professor  J.  G.  Cooper  on  "  The  Forests  and  Trees  of 
Northern  America,  as  connected  with  Climate  and  Agriculture,"  ap- 
peared in  the  Agricultural  Eeport  of  the  Commissioner  of  Patents  for 
1860.  In  Professor  Cooper's  division  of  the  continent  into  "provinces" 
the  word  " campestrian "  is  used  to  express  the  "most  marked  charac- 
teristic of  the  prairie  and  great  central  plain  regions  of  North  America, 
which  consists  in  their  comparative  destitution  of  forests  and  nearly 
uniform  surface,  gradually  rising  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  to  the  base 
of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  where  they  attain  an  elevation  of  4,000  to  5,000 
feet."    The  campestrian  province,  whose  eastern  boundary  is  the  west 

*  Deceived  by  some  Bpccimens  in  the  Liverpool  Museum,  Dr.  Guntlier  has  described 
this  species  in  the  Catal.  British  Museum  as  the  GoMo  plumbeus  of  Agassiz.  A  consid- 
eration of  Professor  Agassiz's  description  makes  it  apparent  that  a  very  different  fish 
was  the  sulyect  of  it,  i^robably,  as  Girard  has  observed,  a  species  of  Semotilus. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       443 

line  of  tlie  Appalachian,  or  more  densely- wooded,  province,  is  subdivided 
into  several  regions,  two  of  which,  the  Dakota  and  the  Comanche, 
divided  by  the  thirty-eighth  parallel,  stretch  from  the  ninety-seventh 
meridian  to  the  Eocky  Mountains. 

The  general  course  of  the  Kansas  Pacific  Eailway  is  on  the  thirty- 
ninth  parallel,  and  in  the  "Dakota  region"  of  Professor  Cooper;  but 
the  country  traversed  partakes  of  the  character  of  both  regions  at 
least  as  far  southward  as  the  Arkansas. 

That  portion  of  the  State  of  Kansas  east  of  the  ninety-seventh  merid- 
ian (which  crosses  the  railway  near  Abilene)  is  so  well  known  and  estab- 
lished as  a  domain  of  great  natural  resources,  arable  and  pastoral,  that 
extended  remarks  on  it  are  unnecessary.  Near  Abilene,  ea^stward,  we 
find  the  permian  rocks  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Smoky  Hill  Eiver  and  other 
streams.  These  rocks  are  overlaid  by  a  soil  of  great  fertility,  more  or 
less  arenaceous,  but  similar  to  the  loess  or  bluff  deposits  further  east. 
Near  Topeka  the  upper  carboniferous  rocks  are  on  and  near  the  sur- 
face— the  line  of  separation  between  these  and  the  permian  not  very 
distinctly  defined.  The  carboniferous  series  extend  to  and  across  the 
Missouri  Eiver.  The  formations  are  so  generally  covered  with  earths 
of  productive  character  that  no  rocky  districts  of  meager  fertility  are 
found  near  the  line  of  the  railway.  No  swamps  or  unproductive  areas 
impair  the  healthfulness  of  the  country,  or  aifect  its  capacity  to  sustain 
life.  Water  is  abundant — generally  of  excellent  quality ;  timber  is 
plentiful  in  many  localities ;  and  coal  is  known  to  be  obtainable  over 
thousands  of  square  miles.  This  notice  of  the  country  along  162  miles 
of  the  railway,  from  Abilene  east  to  State  line,  is  given  in  order  that 
we  may  have  in  a  single  view  the  entire  line  of  the  railway  from  State 
line  to  Denver. 

WEST   OF  NINETY- SEVENTH  MERIDIAN. 

The  track  at  Abilene  is  1,057  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  In  53 
miles  westward,  at  Summit  Siding,  (2 J  miles  east  of  Fort  Harker,)  the 
railway  track  rises  to  1,556  feet,  or  499  feet  higher  than  at  Abilene — an 
average  of  nearly  10  feet  to  the  mile.  This  elevation  is  on  a  part  of  the 
road  which  cuts  off  a  bend  of  the  Smoky  Hill  Eiver.  At  Ellsworth,  60 
miles  from  Abilene,  the  track  is  again  in  the  vale  of  the  Smoky,  and  is 
1,440  feet  above  the  sea — 116  less  elevation  than  at  Summit  Siding,  and 
383  greater  than  at  Abilene.  From  Abilene  to  Black  Wolf,  10  miles 
west  of  Ellsworth,  we  have  a  sandy  soil  on  the  uplands,  nourishing  a 
rich  growth  of  grass,  and  productive  under  the  plow ;  in  the  bottoms  a 
darker  loam,  containing  more  clay  as  a  general  rule,  but  having  all  the 
elements  of  permanent  fertility.  Eocks  appear  in  the  bluffs  and  banks 
of  streams;  also  in  limited  areas  on  the  surface  of  the  uplands  west  of 
Salina,  and  in  picturesque  buttes,  ledges,  and  crests  between  Brookville 
and  Fort  Harker. 

The  geological  age  of  the  country  from  Abilene  to  Black  Wolf  has 
not  been  very  positively  defined  by  any  geologist  whom  I  have  read.  I 
take  it  to  be  triassic,  merging  on  its  western  border  between  Black 
Wolf  and  Wilson  Station  into  "  Cretaceous  No.  1 "  of  your  classification, 
which,  in  the  highlands  north  of  Wilson  and  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Smoky, 
south,  appears  to  me  to  be  very  distinctly  overlaid  by  your  "Cretaceous 
No.  2."  The  decomposition  of  the  triassic  rocks,  clays,  and  shales  west 
of  Abilene  has  left  a  kindly  soil  for  the  plow,  except  in  the  limited  areas 
where  too  rocky  for  arable  uses ;  and  in  these  the  native  vegetation 
affords  excellent  pasturage,  and  i^romises  well  for  tree  culture  in  the 


444       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OP  THE  TERRITORIES. 

future.  The  farmers  near  Brookville,  Harker,  and  Ellsworth,  as  well 
as  those  at  some  distance  north  and  south,  find  even  the  raw  soil  of  the 
prairie  productive  the  first  season.  Kear  where  I  write  winter  wheat 
gives  unusual  promise  on  sod  broken  for  the  first  time  last  summer. 

In  general  terms,  the  countrj'  from  Abilene  to  Wilson  (77  miles)  may 
be  classed  as  rich  in  soil  and  abounding  in  supplies  of  water,  either  in 
streams  or  reached  by  shallow  wells — a  country  both  arable  and  pasto- 
ral, and  being  rapidly  taken  up  by  immigrants.  Abilene  is  promineni 
as  a  point  for  cattle  shiximent,  increasing  year  after  year.  During  the 
past  season  large  numbers  have  also  been  shipped  from  Brookville ;  and 
in  a  year  or  two  the  herds  will  be  coming  to  the  track  at  Ellsworth  and 
Wilson.  As  the  consumption  of  beef  seems  to  be  gaining  on  the  sup- 
l)ly,  there  must  be  continuous  activity  in  the  cattle  trade,  and  its  mag- 
nitude will  only  be  limited  by  the  rate  of  increase  of  the  animals. 

WEST  OF  NINETY-EIGHTH  MERIDIAN. 

This  meridian  crosses  the  railway  east  of  Fort  Harker.  At  Wilson 
Station,  239  miles  by  rail  west  of  the  State  line  of  Missouri,  we  are 
about  98°  30'  west  longitude.  We  are  »ow  in  the  border  of  the  im- 
mense cretaceous  area,  which,  with  more  or  less  of  superimposed  drift, 
stretches  westward  to  the  eastern  flank  of  the  "  great  divide,"  so  often 
described  as  extending  east  from  the  mountains  between  the  waters  of 
the  Platte  and  the  Arkansas.  West  of  the  one  hundred  and  fourth 
meridian  the  cretaceous  seems  to  be  overlaid  by  tertiary  formation, 
with  lignite  beds  over  large  areas,  extending  at  greater  or  less  depths  to 
the  base  of  the  mountains. 

In  describing  the  general  formation  from  98°  30'  west  longitude  to 
104°  as  cretaceous,  reference  is  had  to  what  may  be  called  the  sub- 
structure. On  the  surface,  over  large  areas,  there  are  deposits  of  sandy 
clays  and  marls,  with  occasional  solidification  into  porous  strata  of  rocky 
character ;  in  areas  of  limited  extent  looser  sands  and  gravels,  the  latter 
in  j)laces  intermingled  with  water-worn  boulders  of  three  to  ten  pounds 
weight,  all  apparently  derived  ages  ago  (yet  recently  in  a  geological 
sense)  from  the  mountain  ranges  to  the  west  and  northwest. 

In  spots  near  Wilson,  and  at  intervals  westward  to  the  one  hundredth 
meridian,  the  cretaceous  rocks  are  on  the  surface,  and  they  are  shown 
boldly  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Smoky  Hill,  Saline,  and  other  streams.  But 
further  westward  these  rocks  appear  only  in  the  bluffs  of  the  streams, 
until  about  the  one  hundred  and  second  meridian,  where,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Fort  Wallace,  some  ledges  of  chalky  limestone,  variously 
tinted,  rest  in  ledges  on  the  uplands  distant  from  the  water-courses. 

SOIL  FOR  SIX  DEGREES   OF  LONGITUDE. 

From  the  ninety-eighth  to  the  one  hundred  and  fourth  meridian  we 
have  the  traditional  "desert."  But  there  is  no  true  desert  on  the 
line  of  the  Kansas  Pacific  Kailway.  Between  the  one  hundred  and 
fourth  meridian  and  the  mountains  the  soil  is  in  general  of  the  same 
composition  as  that  which  at  the  base  of  the  mountains  has  in  many 
localities  been  proved  to  be  remarkably  productive.  East  of  tbe  one 
hundred  and  fourth  meridian  the  external  characters  of  the  surface-earth 
suggest  greater  fertility  than  west  of  that  line,  and  the  native  vegeta- 
tion sustains  this  suggestion.  In  many  parts  of  the  plains  there  is  a 
considerable  mixture  of  vegetable  mold  with  the  surface  deposits,  par- 
ticularly in  the  lower  lands,  and  even  in  the  most  sandy  and  gravelly 
districts  vegetation  suited  to  the  local  conditions  is  always  present. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       445 

Made  up  of  disintegi'ated  rocks  and  clays  of  cretaceous  age,  inter- 
mingled with,  and  in  pla(!es  overlaid  by  deposits  of  later  drift,  the  gen- 
eral surface  of  the  Plains  east  of  the  one  hundred  and  fourth  meridian 
may  be  described  as  composed  of  clay  and  Siindy  loam,  with  occasional 
but  very  limited  spots  of  gravel — the  whole  impregnated  with  lime,  gyp- 
sum, soda,  magnesia,  phosphoric  acid,  potash,  and  nitre;  all  fertilizers 
and  true  to  their  mission  whenever  the  compacted  surface  is  broken  uj) 
so  as  to  let  in  the  air  and  moisture. 

1  repeat,  that  if  w^e  may  judge  by  the  native  vegetation,  the  Plains 
may  be  described  as  i)roductive  over  their  whole  extent,  as  traversed  by 
this  railway.  There  are  zones  and  belts  of  greater  and  less  fertility  ;  but 
the  language  of  Fremont,  "  broad,  grassy  plains,"  is  as  true  in  description 
as  it  is  inconsistent  with  the  idea  of  a  "  desert."  "  Broad,  grassy  plains," 
sustaining  by  their  native  plants  animal  life  as  ponderous  as  the  buffalo 
herd,  must  have  uses  for  mankind  not  belonging  to  a  desert. 

In  some  limited  portions  of  this  vast  region  there  is  only  a  scanty 
growth  of  the  short,  curly  buffalo-grass  fSesleria  dactyloidesj  with  more 
or  less  of  sage,  cactus,  and  yucca.  In  large  districts  there  is  a  general 
prevalence  of  grama-grass,  fChondrosmmfa'netim,)  and  eastward  of  the 
one  hundred  and  first  meridian  we  find  a  considerable  intrusion  of  the 
Kansas  "  blue-joint,"  which  notably  increases  as  we  approach  the  fron- 
tier settlements  in  the  neighborhood  of  Wilson  and  Ellsworth.  In  all 
Ijarts  of  the  Plains  there  are  spots  of  greater  or  less  extent  where  the 
nutritious  bunch-grass  finds  a  congenial  soil,  and  presents  its  ricli pastur- 
age. In  the  most  arid  and  apparently  most  sterile  portions  of  the 
country  along  this  railway,  cattle  and  mules  and  horses  find  subsistence 
and  keep  in  good  condition,  where  the  flippant  writer  for  the  press,  in 
a  hurried  journey  by  rail,  has  seen  only  "desolation,"  or  has  been 
nauseated  by  imaginary  "  alkali." 

The  cactus  appears  sparsely  about  the  ninety-eighth  meridian,  per- 
haps some  distance  eastward,  (Mammilaria  and  OpmitiaJ  and  is  more 
abundant  as  we  go  w^estward,  nowhere  occupying  the  ground  to  the  ex- 
clusion of  grasses  and  other  herbage.  "A  plant  which  is  extremely 
useful  to  the  Mexicans  as  a  substitute  for  soap,  by  them  called  palmillo, 
by  us  Adam's  needle  or  Spanish  bayonet,"  (AbertJ  the  botanical  name 
Yucca  augustifolettm,  appears  but  sparingly  until  we  pass  the  one  hun- 
dred and  second  meridian,  but  gains  in  number  and  vigor  thence  to  the 
mountains.  Artemisia  appears  in  the  western  regions,  but  not  in  the 
abundance  displayed  in  the  Laramie  Plains. 

It  is  rare  that  any  saline  efflorescence  is  observed,  until  we  get  to  the 
vale  of  the  Big  Sandy,  a  tributary  of  the  Arkansas,  reached  by  the  rail- 
way at  Kit  Carson,  near  one  hundred  and  third  meridian.  In  the  dry 
seasons  pools  of  brackish  water  stand  in  the  bed  of  this  vstream,  and 
along  its  banks  the  white  crystallization  may  be  seen  at  intervals.  The 
Smoky  Hill  Eiver  probably  owes  its  repute  as  an  "  alkali "  stream  to  the 
disintegrated  chalk  washed  down  from  the  layers  of  white  or  chalky 
limestone  along  its  banks.  In  the  bars  of  Big  Creek,  a  living  stream 
crossed  by  the  railway  near  the  one  hundredth  meridian,  and  which 
empties  into  the  Smoky  east  of  Fort  Hays,  the  white  limestone  pebbles 
have  no  doubt  passed  with  many  observers  as  "alkali." 

The  proportion  of  the  soil  of  the  plains  rendered  unfit  for  production 
by  "alkali"  is  not  equal  to  the  proportion  of  Illinois,  Indiana,  or  Ohio 
rendered  unfit  by  swamps  and  marshes.  In  fact,  except  in  a  very  few 
basins,  or  depressions,  a  few  acres  in  extent,  where  the  drainage  of  sur- 
rounding areas  is  partly  absorbed  and  partly  evaporated,  the  soil  is  no- 
where impregnated  with  alkaline  matter  to  an  extent  to  unfit  it  for  gen- 


446       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

eral  plant  growth.  Coutrary  to  the  prevailing  impression,  the  alkaline 
soils  are  probably*  the  most  fertile  where  the  necessary  moisture  is  at* 
hand.  The  "  alkalies  "  are  mainly  in  the  clays  and  shales,  and  the  soils 
resulting  from  the  disintegration  of  these  are  apt  to  be  the  strongest. 
Moisture  is  needed  on  these  soils,  not  to  leach  out  the  alkalies,  but  to 
furnish  them  in  solution  to  the  roots  of  plants,  and  to  provide  a  humid 
atmosphere  to  surround  the  foliage. 

In  the  gradual  progression  of  settlements,  the  Kansas  frontier  moving 
west,  and  the  Colorado  coming  east,  to  cover  the  entire  Plains  in  the 
course  of  time,  this  vast  region  will  be  found  to  have  as  small,  a  i^ropor- 
tion  of  waste  lands  as  some  of  the  most  favored  States. 

MINERALS — METALS  AND  COAL. 

Westward  from  the  ninety-seventh  meridian,  we  are  for  about  seven- 
ty-five miles  in  the  triassic  region ;  rocks  of  the  same  age  of  those 
which,  according  to  Whitney,  are  metalliferous  in  California.  The  Kan- 
sas rocks  are  apparently  in  place  as  deposited.  No  metamorphism,  no 
grand  upheavals,  no  outbursts  of  lava,  have  taken  place.  There  may 
have  been  a  gentle  uplift  of  a  few  feet  in  the  region  adjoining  Fort 
Harker  on  the  east,  the  axis  probably  extending  north  and  south  ;  but 
even  this  gentle  uplift  is  problematical,  and  is  only  suggested  by  springs 
coming  out  of  the  hills  east  of  Harker,  with  a  volume  and  permanence 
that  c^in  hardly  be  due  to  the  local  rain-fall.  There  seems  to  be  a  moder- 
ate curvature  upward  of  the  eastern  edges  of  the  strata,  due  either  to 
their  original  deposition  on  the  sloping  beaches  of  the  old  triassic  sea, 
or  to  a  subsequent  gentle  upheaval ;  but  even  this  curvature  may  be 
only  fanciful,  and  the  waters  of  the  numerous  springs  near  Harker  and 
Brook%ille,  some  of  which  are  at  least  1,550  feet  above  the  sea  level, 
may  come  round  in  the  "  divide  "  between  the  Smoky  and  the  Saline, 
from  higher  regions  westward. 

No  metals  are  known  with  certainty  to  exist  in  this  immediate  re- 
gion. Much  of  the  sand-rock  is  impregnated  strongly  with  oxide  of 
iron,  and  many  concretions  of  sulphuret  of  iron  are  found  in  the  clays 
and  shales.  It  is  possible  that  other  metals — gold,  silver,  tin,  and  anti- 
mony— might  be  traced.  No  examination  with  a  view  to  metallic  wealth 
has  yet  been  made.  There  are  traditions,  said  to  come  from  the  Indians, 
of  tin  and  silver  having  been  found  near  Salina,  in  the  Smoky  Hill  re- 
gion, but  they  are  too  vague  to  afford  any  clue  to  the  mines,  if  any  ex- 
ist. I  have  been  shown  specimens  of  sulphuret  and  carbonate  of  copper, 
and  of  galena  apparently  argentiferous,  said  to  have  been  taken  from  a 
locality  very  near  Brookville ;  but  the  party  in  possession  declined  to 
give  any  information  as  to  the  place  where  found,  or  the  probable  quan- 
tity. Should  the  more  valuable  minerals,  copper,  lead,  silver,  «S:c.,  be 
hereafter  ascertained  to  exist  in  this  region,  thej'  will  probably  be  iu 
veins  of  segregated  character  lying  in  the  planes  of  the  general  strati- 
fication, and  not  true  veins,  or  lodes,  traversing  the  strata.  The  copper- 
bearing  stratum  at  Mansfeld,  Prussia,  is  described  by  ^^^Jitney  as  "  a 
bituminous  marly  slate,"  and  in  Silesia  a  similar  slate  is  worked  for 
copper ;  the  beds  being  similar  in  character  with  some  near  Brookville, 
but  I  do  not  know  their  geological  age. 

Coal,  according  to  all  geologists  who  have  written  of  Kansas,  dips 
"westward  in  the  carboniferous  formation,  and  is  overlaid  by  the  per- 
mian  and  later  beds.  Hence  it  may  be  found  under  the  ninety-seventh 
meridian,  but  at  what  depth  is  yet  entirely  a  matter  of  conjecture.  In 
time  it  will  no  doubt  be  sought  at  some  points  west  of  all  present  mines  j 


GEOLOGICAL  SUKVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       447 

peiliaps  at  intervals  of  50  miles  along  the  railway  west  of  Topeka.  If 
the  clip  of  the  carboniferous  series  is  reallj-  to  the  west  or  northwest, 
as  generally  held,  the  depth  of  the  coal  as  far  west  as  Abilene  or  Brook- 
ville  may  be  too  great  for  working  until  a  greater  demand  shall  grow 
up.  A  drill  at  \Yamego,  100  miles  west  of  Leavenworth  City,  could,  at 
a  cost  of  a  few  thousand  dollars,  tell  us  whether  the  veins  of  the  Leav- 
enworth shaft  are  persistent  westward  at  a  depth  not  beyond  useful- 
ness. 

The  coal  found  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Smoky  Hill  River,  opposite  Wil- 
,  son  Station,  though  very  recent,  can  hardly  be  classed  as  "lignite,"  if 
to  be  lignite  it  is  necessary  that  wood  should  have  contributed  to  its 
formation.  The  material  is  rather  a  carbonaceous  or  l)ituminous  earth, 
in  layers  of  one  to  three  feet  in  thickness,  with  earthy  partings,  and 
breaking  in  cubical  fragments,  having  the  external  characters  of  coal. 
It  is  used  with  advantage  as  domestic  fuel ;  and,  with  changes  in  the 
grates  and  fire-boxes,  could  be  made  available  in  locomotives ;  while  for 
stationary  engines  it  will  no  doubt  be  extensively  used  as  the  country 
becomes  more  densely  settled. 

A  coal  said  to  be  of  better  quality,  but  probably  of  similar  origin  and 
characteristics,  is  found  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Smoky,  near  the  mouth  of 
Big  Creek,  east  of  Fort  Hays.  -  A  similar  dei>osit"  is  known  near  the 
town  of  Ellsworth.  In  boring  for  water  at  Bunker  Hill  Station,  12  miles 
west  of  Wilson,  a  stratum  of  two  or  three  feet  in  thickness  was  drilled 
through,  at  a  depth  giving  it  a  geological  position  similar  to  that  of  the 
coal  opposite  Wilson,  which  seems  to  be  in  the  lower  beds  of  your  Cre- 
taceous Ko.  2,  or  the  upper  of  your  jSTo.  1.  Xorth  of  Wilson,  in  ravines 
leading  to  Saline  River,  I  have  found  similar  coal  in  small  quantity,  in 
position  apparently  identical  with  that  in  the  bluffs  south  of  Wilson. 

When  one  particular  stratum  (or  a  limited  series  of  beds)  was  in  pro- 
cess of  growth,  there  seems  to  have  been  deposited  over  a  large  area,  in 
layers  more  or  less  continuous,  combustible  matter  now  mined  as  coal, 
and  of  much  ])rospective  usefulness  as  fuel.  How  far  westward  beyond 
the  mouth  of  Big  Creek,  and  how  far  northward  or  southward  from  the 
bluft's  at  Wilson  this  mineral  fuel  may  in  the  future  be  discovered,  can- 
not now  be  safely  conjectured ;  but  enough  is  known  to  justify  the  belief 
that  it  will  play  an  important  part  in  the  development  of  aii  extended 
region,  not  only  as  domestic  fuel,  but  also  in  the  propulsion  of  machinery. 

Borings  at  Ellis,  near  the  one  hundredth  meridian,  would,  probably,  in 
less  than  300  feet,  penetrate  strata  of  the  same  age  with  the  coal  strata 
at  Wilson,  and  in  due  time  it  is  likely  that  examinations  will  be  made. 
West  of  that  point  the  strata  are  gradually  covered  to  depths  that  will 
perhaps  render  this  particular  eoal  unavailable  for  many  years.  But  if 
we  have  a  store  of  fuel  only  so  far  west  as  Ellis,  we  are  provided  with 
this  essential  article  for  about  three-fourths  the  length  of  the  State  of 
Kansas  from  east  to  west;  and  the  western  fourth  of  the  State  can,  at 
a  moderate  cost,  be  supplied  from  the  beds  spoken  of,  or,  if  need  be,  from 
the  mines  near  Cedar  Point,  about  the  one  hundred  and  fourth  meridian. 
Should  all  other  sources  of  supply  fail,  we  can  (in  this  most  improbable 
contingency)  rely  on  the  exhaustless  stores  of  the  mountains,  already 
reached  by  rail.  In  any  event,  abundant  fuel  is  available  at  all  points 
on  the  line  of  this  railway  for  the  use  of  settlers  in  the  woodless  region. 
As  the  demand  increases,  and  mining  and  transporting  arrangements 
become  more  perfect,  the  cost  will  be  so  reduced  as  to  meet  the  ability 
of  all  to  purchase.  Nature  and  art  have  thus  already  provided  fuel  for 
human  uses  on  the  Plains  until  forests  can  be  grown,  if  desirable,  to 
supply  it. 


448  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

BUILDING  MATERIAL^. 

• 

One  of  tlie  most  surprising  features  of  life  in  Kansas  is  the  importation 
of  building  materials  in  the  shape  of  pine  lumber  from  distant  localities, 
when  the  State  is  so  bountifully  supplied  in  all  parts  with  materials  for 
the  walls  of  houses  at  once  cheaper  and  more  desirable.  The  famous 
limestones  in  the  bluffs  of  the  Kaw  Valley,  where  the  mural  treasures 
are  fitted  by  nature  for  man's  use,  or  readily  shaped  by  the  saw  and  plane, 
are  succeeded  on  the  west  by  sandstones  at  Abilene,  Salina,  Brookville, 
Harker,  and  Ellsworth,  and  by  limestones  at  Wilson,  Fossil,  and  other 
points  westward  to  Hays  and  Ellis.  Still  farther  westward,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Fort  Wallace,  limestones  appear  of  various  pleasing  colors, 
so  soft  as  to  be  wrought  with  more  ease  than  blocks  of  wood,  yet  hard- 
ening on  exposure  so  as  to  sustain  the  weight  of  large  buildings. 

Lime  may  be  cheaply  made  at  numerous  points  on  the  railway.  Imme- 
diately at  the  coal  mines,  near  Wilson,  are  cretaceous  limestoneis  of  ex- 
cellent quality,  from  which  lime  may  be  produced  at  very  small  cost. 
The  intelligent  colonists,  now  looking  for  locations  in  the  region  about 
Wilson,  where  they  expect  to  settle  in  1871,  will  no  doubt  appreciate  this 
valuable  material. 

Clays  for  brick  and  roofing  tiles,  as  well  as  for  all  kinds  of  coarser 
•  pottery,  if  not  for  the  finer,  are  abundant,  as  are  also  sands  for  mortars 
and  concretes.  So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  learn,  but  little  use  has 
been  made  of  concrete  for  buildings  in  Kansas,  although  the  raw  mate- 
rials are  abundant  in  almost  every  neighborhood. 

In  the  climate  of  Kansas,  even  the  adobes  of  New  Mexico,  well  laid 
up  in  coarse  lime  mortar,  with  external  plastering  of  the  same,  always 
provided  the  mortar  is  properly  made  and  the  unburned  bricks  thoroughly 
dry,  would  be  preferable  to  any  wooden  walls,  and  less  costly. 

The  future  will  witness  a  great  change  in  the  mode  of  building  The 
imperishable  materials  so  profusely  scattered  through  the  State  will  be 
made  use  of  by  a  population  wisely  attentive  to  both  economj^  and  com- 
fort. Kansas  will  become  as  famous  for  the  solidity  and  taste  of  her 
buildings  as  for  the  rich  and  varied  products  of  her  soil. 

Fences  of  stone  have  been  constructed  in  many  localities,  and  will 
soon  be  found  in  many  more.  Constructed  of  blocks  regular  in  size, 
they  combine  a  species  of  beauty  with  their  obvious  ijermanence,  pleasing 
both  to  the  eye  and  the  judgment.  It  is,  perhaps,  not  an  unmixed  mis- 
fortune that  timber  is  so  scarce,  when  the  result  of  the  scarcity  is  the 
durable  stone  fence  and  the  living  hedge. 

WATER  SUPPLIES  WESTWARD  TO  ELLIS. 

On  the  railway  line  the  settlements  may  be  said  to  extend  a  few  miles 
beyond  Ellsworth,  about  225  to  230  miles  west  from  State  Line.  On  the 
Solomon  and  on  the  Saline,  as  also  on  streams  south  of  the  Smoky,  settlers 
are  some  25  miles  farther  westward.  Up  to  the  limit  of  present  settle- 
ments water  is  as  abundant  and  accessible  as  it  is  in  Iowa  or  Missouri. 
It  is  established  that  in  all  of  Kansas,  near  the  thirty-ninth  parallel,  and 
east  of  98°  30'  west  longitude,  there  is  no  part  where  settlements  are 
impracticable  or  need  be  retarded  on  account  of  the  scarcitj^  of  water. 
In  addition  to  the  Eepublican,  Smoky  Hill,  Saline,  Solomon,  and  other 
constant  streams,  there  are  innumerable  arroyos  and  courses  in  which 
water  for  stock  is  found  in  constant  pools,  or  near  which  abundance  can 
be  had  in  shallow  wells.  It  is  also  a  pleasant  fact  that  in  the  uplands 
the  general  rule  is  that  water  is  accessible  in  all  directions  in  weUs  oJ 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES        449 

moderate  depth,  iisuallj-  sunk  witbout  resort  to  blasting  and  unfaiHug; 
in  their  supplies. 

At  Wilson  Station,  about  98°  30'  west  longitude,  water  immediately 
at  the  railway  track  is  abundant  within  48  feet  of  the  surface.  South 
of  the  Station  three  miles  is  the  living  current  of  the  Smoky  Bill  Eiver : 
a  few  miles  north  is  the  Saline,  and  then  the  Solomon,  all  having  tribu- 
taries of  greater  or  less  volume  and  permanence.  At  Ellsworth  the 
railway  makes  its  greatest  southern  bend  opposite  the  northern  bend  of 
the  Arkansas,  which  is  within  50  miles,  and  the  streams  flowing  into, 
the  Arkansas  in  that  region  arc  already  flanked  by  the  homes  of  pioneers 
whose  numbers  are  rapidly  increasiug.  The  magnificent  pasturage  of 
that  part  of  Kansas  makes  it  the  paradise  of  the  stock-raiser. 

The  numerous  springs  near  "VVilson,  some  of  considerable  volume,  and. 
all  yielding  water  of  much  excellence,  would  be  worthy  of  note  in  any 
X)art  of  the  Union,  but  could  not  be  more  happily  located  for  usefulness. 

West  from  Wilson  the  railway  courses  parallel  with  and  not  distant 
from  the  Smoky  until  approaching  Hays,  when  it  bears  up  the  valley  of 
Big  Creek,  an  affluent  of  the  Smoky.  North  Fork  and  Fossil  Creeks 
are  crossed  between  Wilson  and  Hays  and  again  at  Ellis.  On  the 
'•divide"  between  the  Smokj*  and  Saline,  followed  by  the  railway  from 
Wilson  to  Hays,  water  is  found  at  depths  corresponding  to  the  undula- 
tions of  the  track  and  its  elevation  above  the  Smoky,  and  a  short  distance 
either  north  or  south  of  the  railway  is  available  in  springs,  streams,  and 
pools.  Along  the  more  elevated  iiortions  of  the  line,  where  deeper 
wells  are  reqitired,  the  dense  clays  of  the  cretaceous  series  are  at  hand 
for  cisterns  and  tanks  to  hold  rain-water,  and  the  thinner  layers  of  the 
fossiliferous  limestones  afford  easily-wrought  materials  of  construction. 

Thus  we  reach  Ellis,  302  miles,  and  have  been  all  along  in  a  country 
sufficiently  if  not  abundantly  watered,  and  presenting  where  they  may 
bo  required  ample  resources  for  the  establishment  of  ponds,  cisterns, 
and  tanks,  to  retain  the  supplies  which  the  clouds  do  not  tail  to  yield. 
We  are  about  half  way  from  State  Line  to  Denver,  and  2,019  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  yet  neither  in  the  paucity  of  vegetation,  nor  in 
privation  of  water,  nor  in  sterility  of  soil,  have  we  found  one  feature  of 
the  traditional  desert,  with  the;  single  exception  of  the  scarcity  of  trees, 
which  are  only  found  along  the  water-courses  or  in  nooks  of  the  bluffs 
where  fires  have  not  been  able  to  reach  them. 

Ellis  is  a  prominent  station,  with  round-house,  machine-shops,  hotel, 
and  stores.  Big  Creek,  crossed  at  Ellis,  is  a  constant  stream  with  its 
source  westward  in  the  Plains.  The  Smoky  Hill  Eiver  is  about  25  miles 
south,  and  the  head  streams  of  the  Saline  about  the  same  distance 
north.  Farming  operations  on  a  large  scale  are  projected  in  the  vicinity 
of  Ellis,  near  the  one  hundredth  meridian. 

FROM  ELLIS-  WESTWARD. 

Tbe  railway  pursues  its  general  course  directlj'  westward,  (the  Smoky 
Hill  Eiver  at  an  average  distance  of  30  miles  south,)  and  rising  on  the 
divide  between  the  drainage  to  the  Smoky  and  that  to  the  Saline  and 
Solomon.  There  is  no  constant  stream  till  we  reach  Sheridan,  103  miles 
from  Ellis,  v.here  another  "  North  Fork  "  is  crossed ;  a  stream  of  visible 
"u  ater  sufdcieut  for  large  herds  of  cattle  and  available  for  irrigation. 
There  is  evidence  of  considerable  underground  flow  in  the  main  as  well 
as  lateral  valleys  of  the  North  Fork.  It  rises  far  to  the  north,  in  the 
higher  lands  in  which  the  south  brandies  of  the  Eepublican  have  their 
sources,  and  enters  the  Smoky  about  J 5  miles  south  of  Sheridan. 
29  G 


450       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Between  Ellis  and  Sheridan  the  superficial "  drift,"  porous  iu  character, 
covers  the  cretaceous  clays  and  vshales  to  a  considerable  depth,  and  water 
in  wells  is  reached  by  sinking-  to  the  impervious  clays.  The  railway 
company  has  been  successful  in  wells  from  90  to  130  feet  in  depth, 
securing  supplies  apparently  inexhaustible.  The  railway  track  is 
located  on  the  divide  so  as  to  head  the  lateral  swales  and  ravines,  on 
ground  of  greater  average  height  than  will  be  occupied  by  the  future 
stock  ranches  or  "  estauchias ; "  and  hence  the  water  supplies  of  the 
latter  will  be  more  readily  and  cheaply  obtainable  in  v/elLs  of  less  dei)th. 

The  North  Fork,  crossed  at  Sheridan,  has  in  its  main  and  lateral  val- 
leys many  desirable  locations  for  grazing  establishments.  Some  of  these 
locations  will  no  doubt  be  taken  up  at  an  early  day.  A  large  rush  val- 
ley, distant  eight  to  ten  miles  north  from  Sheridan,  would  winter  thou- 
sands of  cattle.  Extensive  savannas  yield  a  large  annual  supply  of 
natural  gTass  suitable  for  hay.  Springs  of  excellent  water,  some  of  them 
sufficient  for  irrigating  purposes,  are  known  along  the  Xortli  Fork. 

Thus  we  reach  Sheridan,  405  miles  by  rail  west  of  State  Line,  and  yet 
have  passed  through  no  "desert"  or  uninhabitable  country j  nutritious 
grasses  have  been  on  either  hand,  and  water  within  reach. 

FROM  SHERIDAN  WESTWARD. 

We  cross  two  creek  beds  between  Sheridan  and  Pond  Creek,  17  miles ; 
the  contour  of  the  country  indicating  that  wells,  not  yet  tried,  could  not 
fail  of  success.  At  Pond  Creek  water  is  plentiful  in  pools.  Within  a 
short  distance  southward  the  Smoky  Hill,  here  a  small  stream,  and  Eose 
Creek,  one  of  its  tributaries,  afford  water  for  sill  purposes,  with  facilities 
for  irrigation;  the  latter  successfully  applied,  under  the  orders  of  General 
Woods,  in  the  cultivated  grounds  at  Fort  Wallace.  A  short  distance 
west  of  Pond  Creek  the  Smoky  is  crossed,  here  a  wide  bed  of  coarse 
sand,  with  no  visible  water,  but  with  a  constant  supply  under  the  sand; 
not,  however,  of  large  volume,  as  we  are  now  within  a  few  miles  of  its 
upper  arroyos. 

In  40  miles,  from  Pond  Creek  to  Cheyenne  Wells  Station,  the  railway 
rises  1,000  feet;  reaching  an  elevation  above  the  level  of  the  sea  of  4,179 
feet,  only  12  feet  less  than  at  Kit  Carson,  25  miles  farther  west.  At 
First  View  Station,  10  miles  west  of  Cheyenucj  Wells,  the  elevation  is 
4,479  feet ;  288  feet  greater  than  at  Kit  Carson,  where  it  is  4,191  feet. 
From  First  View  there  is  a  rapid  descent  to  the  vale  of  Eureka  Creek, 
about  10  miles,  and  thence  on  a  nearl.y  level  grade  to  Kit  Carson. 

Pond  Creek  being  3,175  feet,  the  track  is  1,010  feet  higher  at  Kit  Carson ; 
but  in  making  this  rise  in  05  miles  we  pass  over  in  the  first  50  miles  an 
immense  swell  of  the  plain,  and  at  First  View  we  are  1,304  feet  higher 
than  at  Pond  Creek.  From  Pond  Creek  to  First  View  the  track,  head- 
ing lateral  swales,  follows  "divides"  where  practicable;  yet  the  destitu- 
tion of  water,  which  might  be  reasonably  expected,  is  not  experienced. 
At  Eagle  Tail,  3,336  feet  above  the  sea,  water  is  abundant  in  pools;  and- 
at  Monotony  (about  3,520  feet)  is  supplied  by  an  unfiiiling  well,  15  miles 
from  Pond  Creek.  Along  the  track  west  of  Monotony,  until  the  descent 
is  made  to  the  vale  of  Eureka,  ifc  may,  perhaps,  be  necessary  to  sink  wells 
to  a  depth  i^roportioned  to  the  rise  of  the  track ;  but  no  doubt  is  felt 
that  even  in  the  localities  least  favorable  successful  wells  can  be  made. 
About  six  miles  east  of  north  from  the  Cheyenne  Wells  Station,  on  the 
railway,  are  the  old  shallow  wells  of  the  same  name  in  the  vale  of  the 
Smoky ;  used  formerly  to  supply  the  overland  stages,  and  now  used  by 
emigrants  with  teams  and  live  stock.    And  the  fact  that  emigrants 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  451 

Traverse  the  Plains  near  the  thirty-ninth  parallel  at  their  pleasure,  with- 
out serious  inconYenience  from  lack  of  water,  ought  of  itself  to  establish 
the  habitable  character  of  the  country. 

Descending  west  from  First  View  Station,  we  are  in  10  miles  at  Eureka 
Creek ;  only  an  arroyo,  but  marking  a  depression  in  fhe  plain,  where, 
over  an  area  of  several  miles  square,  water  can  be  had  in  wells  at  the 
depth  of  a  few  feet ;  the  water  in  the  railway  well  at  Eureka  tank  being 
within  10  feet  of  the  surface.  Five  miles  farther  we  are  at  Kit  Carson, 
where,  in  addition  to  constant  pools  in  Big  Sandy,  and  unf^iiling  sup- 
plies to  a  limited  extent  in  the  arroyo  of  Wild  Horse,  tlie  large  but 
shallow  wells  sunk  for  railway  uses  are  apparently  inexhaustible. 

The  artesian  well  at  Kit  Carson  penetrates  the  clays  and  shales 
of  cretaceous  age,  below  the  level  of  the  percolations  from  the  surfoce. 
It  was  undertaken  before  the  abundance  of  the  stores  near  the  surface — 
resting  on  the  clays,  under  the  loam,  sand  and  gravel — were  known  or 
supposed  to  exist.  Its  main  object  was  a  flowing  stream,  and  this  not 
being  realized  at  1,460  feet,  and  there  being  no  necessity  for  more 
liberal  supplies  than  are  now  enjoyed,  the  work  has  been  suspended. 
The  geological  features  developed  by  the  well  have  been  discussed  in  a 
former  letter^  and  need  not  be  treated  here. 

FROM   KIT   CARSON  WESTWARD. 

Along  the  railway  for  nearly  70  miles  we  have  the  Big  Sandy  and 
its  tributary  arroyos.  Then  at  Cedar  Point  we  cross  the  northern 
trend  of  the  "  great  divide,"  and  thence  to  Denver  we  are  on  the  waters 
of  Beaver,  Comanche,  Kiowa,  Bijou,  and  Bear  Creeks,  *and  some  minor 
streams.  It  is  true  that  there  are  seasons  when  the  water  is  not  visible 
in  the  broad  sandy  troughs  of  these  creeks,  yet  it  is  never  absent,  but 
is  always  in  large  quantities  under  the  surface,  accessible  by  shallow 
wells.  ]S"ature  has  kindly  given  it  the  shield  of  sand,  as  a  protection 
against  the  warm  air  of  summer ;  and  thus  saved  from  evaporation,  it 
is  with  little  labor  brought  into  usefulness.  In  addition  to  the  streams 
there  are  numerous  springs  between  Kit  Carson  and  Denver,  some  near 
and  some  distant  from  the  track,  and  wells  even  on  the  high  flanks 
of  the  divides  would  in  most  cases  be  successful.  In  the  Godfrey  coal 
mines,  5,505  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  water  is  encountered  at 
various  depths,  in  a  shaft  108  feet. 

The  immense  coal-field,  which  appears  to  dip  gently  to  the  westward 
from  Cedar  Point,  in  addition  to  supplying  fuel  in  unlimited  quantities, 
may  yet,  in  the  slope  of  the  tertiary  strata,  afford  successful  artesian 
wells  between  Cedar  Point  and  Denver.  Having  written  of  this  'coal- 
field in  a  previous  letter,  I  only  allude  to  it  briefly  in  these  passages 
as  relating  to  coal  supplies.  While  its  coal  treasures  are  beyond 
computation,  it  is  possible  that  this  "  tertiary  basin  "  may  in  time  bear 
some  resemblance  to  the  Paris  basin,  so  far  as  flowing  wells  are  con- 
cerned. With  the  timbered  region  of  the  great  divide  on  the  south, 
water  supplies  in  all  its  parts,  I  look  for  a  rapid  extension  of  settle- 
ments in  the  country  between  Cedar  Point  and  Denver. 


The  foregoing  i^resents,  so  far  as  it  goes,  a  fair  view  of  the  water 
supplies  along  the  Kansas  Pacific  Kailway.  Though  in  particular 
regions  not  abundant,  water  is  yet  greatly  more  copious  in  supply  than 
the  popular  belief,  and  even  some  grave  works  of  science,  have  hereto- 


452       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITOEIES. 

fore  lield  it  to  be.  It  may  be  said  with  safety,  because  witli  truth,  that 
the  entire  space  of  20  miles  on  each  side  of  this  railway,  covered  by  its 
grant  of  lands,  is  available  for  human  sustenance,  so  far  as  its  utility 
depends  on  supplies  of  water  in  springs  and  streams,  or  its  provision  at 
reasonable  cost  in  wells,  cisterns,  and  tanks. 

The  nearest  approach  to  destitution  is  between  Pond  Creek  and  Kit 
Carson.  By  reference  to  a  correct  map  you  will  see  that  the  Smoky 
Hill  Eiver  has  its  sources  (or  upper  arroyos)  east  and  northeast  from 
Kit  Carson,  the  Eepublican  is  at  a  considerable  distance  northward  and 
northwestward,  while  the  Big  Sandy  is  westward  and  southwestward. 
The  eye  at  once  appreciates  the  fact  that  here  is  a  water-shed,  curving 
round  from  about  Cedar  Point,  passing  north  of  Eureka  Valley  and 
turning  southward  past  First  View  Station,  giving  us  the  swell  in  the 
plain  which  I  have  noted  as  existing  from  Pond  Creek  westward  to 
First  View.  Now  when  the  porous  character  of  this  region,  with  drift 
from  100  to  i)ossibly  500  feet  in  depth,  is  considered,  we  readily  under- 
stand that  the  streams  may  be  small  or  intermittent;  arroyos, with 
occasional  pools,  not  lasting,  and  running  water  only  in  times  of  heavy 
storms,  and  we  are  prepared  for  the  phenomena  which  actually  i^re- 
sent  themselves  :  invisible  streams  finding  their  way  slowly  under  the 
earth,  and  a  surface  not  cheered  by  brooks  or  rivers,  though  verdant 
with  nutritious  vegetation. 

But  let  us  consider  the  beneficence  manifested,  even  where  the  absence 
of  visible  water  may  to  the  careless  observer  suggest  desolation.  Over 
this  region  there  is  an  annual  rain-fall,  averaging  from  15  to  20  inches ; 
but  let  us  take  it  to  be  but  12  inches.  This  gives  43.560  cubic  feet 
of  water  on  ar»  acre  in  a  year ;  about  340,000  gallons  in  the  dooryard 
of  the  farmer;  on -each  square  mile  nearly  28,000,000  cubic  feet,  or 
nearly  220,000,000  gallons.  What  becomes  of  this  precipitation  ?  If 
the  surface  were  bare  rock  or  impervious  clays  it  would  mainly  pass 
oif  by  floods,  and  the  remnants  left  in  depressions  escape  by  evapora- 
tion. But  the  superficial  deposits  are  of  such  porous  character,  over 
extended  areas,  that  a  large  proportion  of  the  rain-fall  sinks  into  the 
earth,  and  is  there  stored  in  depressions  of  the  clay  sub-strata,  ready 
for  man's  use  as  needed. 

IRRIGATION. 

A  day  will  come,  no  doubt,  when  streams  and  wells  along  the  line  of 
this  railway  will  furnish  water  for  irrigation,  to  nourish  such  vegeta- 
tion as  will  not  thrive  without  it.  The  Smoky  Hill  Eiver  and  many  of  its 
tributaries  can  be  used,  either  by  leading  out  the  water  from  dams  or 
forcing  it  to  a  higher  level  by  machinery.  It  may  be  said  that  along 
or  near  the  railway  irrigation  to  a  considerable  extent  from  streams  is 
practicable  till  we  reach  the  one  hundred  and  second  meridian.  Thence 
to  about  the  one  hundred  and  third  meridian  the  water  must  be  sought 
in  wells,  or  the  rain-fall  stored  in  tanks  for  use  as  needed. 

West  of  the  one  hundred  and  third  meridian  the  Big  Sandj^,  with  a 
fall  of  about  17  feet  per  mile,  can  be  utilized  for  irrigation  up  to  and 
beyond  the  point  where  the  track  leaves  its  valley.  Passing  the  divide 
at  Cedar  Point,  we  have  Beaver,  Comanche,  Kiowa,  Bijou,  and  Bear 
Creeks,  together  with  springs  and  lesser  streams;  all  with  supplies  of 
water  to  be  rendered  a\'ailable  in  tbe  future  if  required. 

The  fall  of  the  streams  above  named  is  stated  to  be  about  30  feet  to 
the  mile,  and  their  waters  can  be  led  out  at  small  cost.  The  canals  at 
their  commencement  will  partake  somewhat  of  the  character  of  the 
Afghanistan  caureez,  but  will  be  less  costly.    In  the  sandy  beds  of  the 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       453 

streams  water  rests  on  the  impervious  bottoms  at  the  depth  of  10  to  15 
feet ;  and  conduits,  with  a  fall  of  2  to  4  feet  to  the  mile,  will  bring  it  out 
to  tbe  points  where  needed. 

Power  for  raising  water  from  streams  or  wells  will  bo  furnished  by 
the  winds,  by  cattle,  or  steam.  If  Ericsson  succeeds  with  his  solar  en- 
gine it  may  come  into  use  in  this  country  of  much  sunshine.  But 
the  wind-mill,  for  irrigating  purposes,  particularly  where  water  is  to  be 
raised  from  wells,  is  Tikely  to  be  the  main  reliance. 

The  project  of  carrying  the  South  Platte  eastward  from  the  canon,  in 
a  grand  canal  along  the  divide,  will  no  doubt  be  realized  in  a  compara- 
tively short  time.  Eeaching  past  the  heads  of  the  streams  crossed  by 
the  railway  between  Cedar  Point  and  Denver,  the  canal,  in  fertilizing 
its  million  acres,  will  add  to  the  quantity  of  water  directly  flowing  from 
it  as  by  its  modifying  influence  on  the  climate. 

The  suggestion  of  J.  A.  Hodder,  esq.,  of  Cincinnati,  that  streams 
from  the  mountains  might  be  led  out  to  irrigate  considerable  districts, 
and  the  surplus  water  bo  accumulated  in  lakes  for  use  as  the  vicissitudes 
of  the  seasons  may  require,  will  probably  be  found  worthy  of  grave  con- 
sideration as  the  population  and  the  ability  to  accomplish  large  works 
increase. 

While  it  is  held  that,  in  addition  to  natural  grasses,  there  may 
be  a  large  production  of  food  for  live  stock,  and  of  grains  for  bread, 
icWiout  irrigation,  in  many  if  not  all  parts  of  the  Plains,  it  is  yet  equally 
certain  that  irrigation  is  essential  for  some  kinds  of  vegetation  in  many 
localities.  What  would  be  a  great  benefit  in  Pennsylvania  or  Ohio,  if 
applied,  is  'absolutely  necessary  for  full  success  with  some  particular 
crops  in  that  part  of  the  campestrian  province  west  of  the  one  hun- 
dredth meridian.  Hence,  in  looking  forward  to  the  reduction  of  a  vast 
region  to  productive  uses,  problems  of  irrigation  are  to  be  considered, 
and  in  due  time  they  will  be  solved  in  the  daily  life  of  the  future 
inhabitants. 

CLIMATE. 

The  Plains  have  been  so  often  described  as  a  "  rainless  region,"  that 
great  misconception  in  regard  to  the  climate  has  prevailed.  The  abso- 
lute precipitation  is  much  greater  than  has  been  in  past  years  supposed, 
and  is  due  to  other  causes.  Meteorologists  who  have  described  the  rain- 
fall of  the  Plains  as  derived  only  or  principally  from  the  remaining  mois- 
ture of  winds  from  the  Pacific,  after  the  passage  of  the  Nevada  and 
Eo6ky  Mountain  ranges,  have  been  greatly  in  error,  and  the  better  con- 
clusion now  is,  with  all  authorities  who  have  given  any  special  attention 
to  the  subject,  that  the  moisture  which  fertilizes  the  Mississippi  Valley, 
including  the  broad,  grassy  plains,  is  derived  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 

Within  a  few  years  the  rain  gauge  has  been  brought  into  service  at 
points  distant  from  each  other,  but  located  at  irregular  intervals  across 
the  continent,  and  its  record  shows  not  only  greater  precipitation  than 
was  formerly  believed  to  take  place  on  the  Plains,  but  that  the  distri- 
bution is  unequal  in  time,  giving  us  the  largest  proportion  in  the  groio- 
ing  seasons,  spring  and  summer. 

In  his  late  work,  "  The  Mississippi  Valley,"  Professor  J.  W.  Foster 
says :  "  The  rains  which  water  the  Atlantic  slope  are  equally  distributed, 
the  variations  between  the  four  seasons  being  very  slight,"  while  "  those 
which  water  the  Mississippi  Valley  are  unequally  distributed,  those  of 
spring  and  summer  being  greatly  in  excess;"  "  a  fact,"  he  says,  "  which 
has  been  overlooked  by  most  meteorologists  in  reference  to  the  geologi- 
cal distribution  of  plants."    As  we  pass  westward  from  the  Atlantic  the 


454  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 

inequality  increases  until  we  pass  the  Eocky  Mountains.  "Contrasting 
the  two  stations,  New  York  and  Fort  Laramie,"  says  Professor  Foster, 
"  it  will  be  seen  that  on  the  seaboard  about  48  per  cent,  of  the  yearly- 
precipitation  occurs  during  the  fall  and  winter,  while  on  the  Plains 
only  25  per  cent,  occurs  during  that  period,  and  that,  while  on  the  sea- 
board the  precipitation  is  nearly  uniform  during  the  four  seasons,  three- 
fourfhs  of  the  precipitation  on  the  Plains  occurs  during  spring  and  sum- 
mer," The  same  excess  in  the  rain-fall  of  spring  and  summer  is,  I  think, 
noted  with  comments  in  Blodgett. 

At  Fort  Eiley  about  69  per  cent,  of  the  annual  precipitation  is  in 
spring  and  summer ;  at  Fort  Kearney  81,  and  at  Fort  Laramie  72  per 
cent.  From  observations  at  Forts  Harker,  Hays,  and  Wallace,  on  the 
line  of  this  road,  the  same  rule  seems  to  hold  good.  Records  have  not 
been  long  enough  continued  at  these  three  posts  to  give  a  long  average, 
but  the  mean  appears  to  be  between  17  and  19  inches  at  Hays  and  Wal- 
lace, and  possibly  rather  more  at  Harker.  The  actual  average  for  1808 
and  1869  at  Hays  is  18.76  inches,  and  for  the  first  six  months  of  1870  the 
record  is  10.68  inches.  At  Wallace  the  record  for  1869  was  over  17 
inches,  and  in  1870,  up  to  October  1,  about  the  same  amount  had  fallen.-- 

Without  records  there  can  be  only  conjecture  ;  and  1  can  only  remark 
that  there  does  not  seem  to  be  much  dimiuution  in  the  annual  rain-fall 
until  we  get  as  far  west  as  the  one  hundred  and  third  meridian.  Thence 
to  the  base  of  the  mountains,  (except  perhaps  in  the  timbered  portions 
of  the  great  divide,  south  of  the  line  of  this  railway,)  the  annual  average 
maybe  possibly  two  or  three  inches  less  than  in  the  midst  of  the  Plains : 
a  peculiarity  explained,  hypothetically,  by  the  fact  that  the  region  "  lies 
to  the  westward  of  the  general  course  of  the  moister  currents  of  air 
flowing  northward  from  the  Gulf  of  Mexico,  and  is  so  near  the  mount- 
ains as  to  lose  much  of  the  precipitation  that  localities  in  the  Plains  east 
and  northeast  are  favored  with.  The  mountains  seem  to  exercise  an  in- 
fluence— electrical  and  mngnetical?— in  attracting  moisture,  which  is 
condensed  in  the  cooler  regions  of  their  summits,  while  the  plains  at  their 
feet  may  be  parched  and  heated  to  excess."  This  explanation  may  be 
fanciful^  but  the  fact  remains  that  near  the  mountains  the  rains  seem  to 
decrease  north  of  the  great  divide ;  fortunately,  however,  this  occurs  in 
a  region  where  irrigation  may  be  applied  extensively,  and  where  there 
is  sufiicieut  moisture  to  nourish  bountiful  crops  of  grass. 

A  striking  difference  exists  between  the  rain-fall  in  Kew  Mexico  and 
that  on  the'Plains.  While  the  annual  amount  at  Santa  Fe  and  at  Fort 
Hays  is  nearly  equal,  the  larger  proportion  of  the  rainfall  at  Hays  comes 
in  S2)ring  and  summer,  while  at  Santa  Fe  it  is  delayed  till  summer  and 
autumn.  Hence  the  farmer  at  Hays  may  have  his  wheat  crop  matured 
in  early  summer  without  irrigation,  while  the  same  crop  in  New  Mexico 
requires  to  be  irrigated.  The  usual  period  for  the  nourishing  rains  to 
begin,  in  New  Mexico,  is  about  the  first  of  August,  a  time  when  they 
are  usually  light  on  the  Plains. 

Theory  suggested  that  the  cereals  ought  to  sustam  themselves  with- 
out irrigatioii  at  least  as  far  west  as  the  head  streams  of  the  Smoky 
Hill  Eiver;  and  the  president  and  directors  of  the  railway  caused  exper- 
iments to  be  made.  Wheat  sown  in  April  last  matured  in  July,  about 
the  one  hundred  and  first  meridian,  yielding  merchantable  grain. 
Maize  formed  ears,  and  oats  headed  well,  but  neither  filled  in  a  satis- 
factory manner,  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  dry  and  hot  season  comes 
on  when  their  grains  are  forming.  Both  can  be  raised  as  fodder  to  any 
extent  desired.  All  along  the  railway,  throughout  the  season,  stalks  of 
maize  and  oats  could  be  seen  growing,  where  seeds  had  been  dropped  by 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       455 

accident.  At  Clieyeune  Wells,  4,179  feet  above  sea  level,  beans  matured 
along  the  road  bed ;  and  at  First  View,  4,479  feet,  oats  grew  to  the 
average  height  and  matured  its  seed.  Winter  wheat,  rye,  and  barley, 
now  on  trial  as  far  west  as  Pond  Creek,  near  one  hundred  and  second 
meridian,  are  expected  to  yield  well,  though  late  sown  on  raw  sod. 

The  vegetation  of  the  Plains,  along  Avagon-tracks  and  railroad  em- 
bankments, shows  a  capability  of  production  scarcely  suggested  by  the 
surface  where  undisturbed.  Wherever  the  earth  is  broken  up,  the  wild 
sunflower  (Helianthus)  and  others  of  the  taller-growing  plants,  though 
previously  unknown  in  the  vicinity,  at  once  spring  up,  almost  as  if 
spontaneous  generation  had  taken  place. 

CHANGE   OF  CLIMATE. 

In  September  last  I  wrote  to  Professor  Joseph  Henry  as  follows : 

I  have  been  on  the  Plains  all  the  time  since  early  in  May  till  this  date,  (22(1  Sep- 
tember.) There  has  been  mnch  dry  weather,  bnt  I  have  not  seen  one  clondless  day — 
no  day  on  which  the  sun  would  rise  clear  and  roll  along  a  canopy  of  brass  to  the  west. 
There' has  always  been  humidity  enough  to  form  clouds  at  the  proper  height;  and  on 
many  days  they  would  be  seen  defining,  by  their  flat  bottoms,  the  exact  line  where 
condensation  became  sufficient  to  render  the  vapor  visible,  *  »  *  i  conclude  from 
all  this  that  abundant  moisture  has  floated  over  the  Plains  to  have  given  us  a  great 
deal  more  rain  than  would  be  desirable,  if  it  had  been  precipitated. 

Sometimes  a  storm  would  be  seen  to  gather  near  the  horizon,  and  we  could  see  the 
rain  j)ending  from  the  clouds  like  a  fringe,  hanging  apparently  in  mid-air,  unable  to 
reach  the  expectant  earth.  The  rain  stage  of  condensation  had  been  reached  above, 
but  the  descending  shower  was  revaporized,  apparently,  and  thus  arrested.     *     *     * 

These  hot  winds  are  not,  so  far  as  I  have  observed,  apt  to  be  constant  in  one  place 
for  any  considerable  length  of  time  ;  they  strike  your  face  sfiddenly,  and  perhaps  in  a 
minute  are  gone.  They  seem  to  run  along  in  streaks  or  ovevfulh,  with  tl^  winds  of 
ordinary  (but  rather  high)  temperature.  They  do  not  begin,  I  believe,  till  m  July,  as 
a  general  rule,  and  are  over  by  September  1,  or  perhaps  by  August  15.  Their  origin  I 
take  to  be,  of  course,  in  heated  regions  south  or  southwest  of  us;  but  their  peculiar 
occurrence,  so  capricious  and  often  so  brief,  I  cannot  explain  to  myself  satisfactorily. 

I  have  no  rain-gauge  record  at  hand  for  this  and  past  seasons ;  but  I  may  remark  that 
this  season,  since  about  the  15th  of  July,  in  these  distant  Plains,  has  given  us  rain 
enough  to  make  beautifully  verdant  the  spots  in  the  prairie  burnt  olf  during  the 
"heated"  term  in  July.  From  Kit  Carson  eastward  the  rains  have  been,  I  think,  ex- 
ceptionally abundant.  All  through  the  summer  we  have  had  dew  occasionally,  and  it 
has  been  remarked  that  buffalo-meat  has  been  more  difficult  of  preservation  than 
heretofore ;  facts  indicative  of  humidity  in  the  atmosphere,  even  where  but  little  rain- 
fall was  witnessed.  Turnips  sown  in  August  would  have  made  a  crop  in  this  vicinity, 
422  miles  west  of  the  State  line  of  Missouri.       **»**^*** 

Facts  such  as  these  seem  to  sustain  the  popular  persuasion  in  Kansas,  that  a  clbnafio 
change  is  taking  place,  promoted  by  the  spread  of  settlements  westwardly,  breaking  up 
portions  of  the  prairie  soil,  covering  the  earth  with  plants  that  shade  the  ground  more 
than  the  short  grasses ;  thus  checking  or  modifying  the  reflection  of  heat  from  the 
earth's  surface,  &c.  The  fact  is  also  noted,  that  even  where  the  prairie  soil  is  not  dis- 
turbed, the  short  buffalo-grass  disappears  as  the  "frontier"  extends  westward,  and  its 
place  is  taken  by  grasses  and  other  herbage  of  taller  growth.  That  this  change  of  the 
clothing  of  the  Plain>,  if  sufficiently  extensive,  might  have  a  modifying  influence  on 
the  climate,  I  do  not  doubt ;  but  whether  the  change  has  been  already  spread  over  a 
large  enough  area,  and  whether  our  apparently  or  really  wetter  seasons  may  not  be 
part  of  a  cycle,  are  unsettled  questions. 

The  civil  engineers  of  this  railway  believe  that  the  rains  and  humidity  of  the  Plains 
have  increased  during  the  extension  of  railroads  and  telegraphs  across  them.  If  this 
is  the  case,  it  may  be  that  the  mysterious  electrical  influence  in  which  they  seem  to 
have  faith,  but  do  not  profess  to  explain,  has  exercised  a  beneficial  influence.  What 
effect,  if  any,  the  digging  and  grading,  the  iron  rails,  the  tension  of  steam  in  locomo- 
tives, the  friction  of  metallic  surfaces,  the  poles  and  wires,  the  iiction  of  batteries,  &c., 
could  possibly  or  probably  have  on  the  electrical  conditions,  as  connected  with  the 
phenomena  of  precipitation,  I  do  not  of  course  undertake  to  say.  It  may  bo  that  wet 
seasons  have  merely  happened  to  coincide  with  railroads  and  telegraphs.  It  is  to  be 
observed  that  the  poles  of  the  telegraph  are  quite  Ixequeutly  destroyed  by  lightning; 
and  it  is  probable  that  the  lightning  thus  strikes  in  many  places  where  before  the  erec- 
tion of  the  telegraph  it  was  not  apt  to  strike,  and  jjerhaps  would  not  reach  the  earth 
at  all. 


456       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.  , 

These  remarks  were  sent  to  the  distinguished  meteorologist,  Professor 
Henry,  rather  to  draw  the  attention  of  his  cultivated  mind  to  the  phe- 
nomena than  to  assert  a  theory.  Yet  there  are  facts  which  sustain  the 
popular  notion  of  a  climatic  change,  manifested  in  a  more  humid  at- 
mosphere, in  greater  rain-fall  and  a  change  of  vegetation.  A  gentleman 
who  has  given  much  attention  to  meteorology  writes  me  that  he  is  not 
satisfied  that  settlements  have  sufficiently  changed  the  surface  of  the 
country  west  of  the  Missouri  to  affect  the  climate.  "The  increased 
rains,"  he  says,  "  I  apprehend,  are  due  to  extra  mundane  or  cosmic  in- 
fluences not  yet  understood." 

It  is  certain  •  that  rains  have  increased ;  this  increase  has  coincided 
with  the  extension  of  settlements,  railroads,  and  telegraphs.  If  influ- 
enced by  these,  the  change  of  climate  will  go  on  5  if  by  extra  mundane 
influences  the  change  may  be  permanent,  progressive,  or  retrograde.  I 
think  there  are  good  grounds  to  believe  it  will  be  progressive.  Within 
the  last  fifteen  years,  in  Western  Missouri  and  Iowa,  and  in  Eastern 
Kansas  and  Nebraska,  a  very  large  aggregate  of  surface  has  been  broken 
up  and  holds  more  of  the  rains  than  formerly.  During  the  same  period 
modifying  influences  have  been  put  in  motion  in  Montana,  Utah,  and 
Colorado.  Very  small  areas  of  timbered  land  west  of  the  Missouri 
have  been  cleared ;  not  equal,  perhaps,  to  the  area  of  forest,  orchard, 
and  vineyards  planted.  Hence  it  may  be  said  that  all  the  acts  of  man 
in  this  vast  region  have  tended  to  produce  conditions  on  the  earth's  sur- 
face ameliorative  of  the  climate.  With  extended  settlements  on  the 
Arkansas,  Canadian,^nd  Eed  Eiver  of  the  South,  as  well  as  on  the 
Arkansas,  on  the  river  system  of  the  Kaw  Valley,  and  on  the  Platte, 
the  ameltorating  conditions  will  be  extended  in  like  degree  5  and  it  par- 
takes more  of  sober  reason  than  wild  fancy  to  suppose  that  a  perma- 
nent and  beneficial  change  of  climate  may  be  experienced.  The  appal- 
ling deterioration  of  large  portions  of  the  earth's  surface,  through  the 
acts  of  man  in  destroying  the  forests,  justifies  the  trust  that  the  culture 
of  taller  herbage  and  trees  in  a  region  heretofore  covered  mainly  by 
short  grasses  may  have  a  converse  effect.  Indeed,  in  Central  Kansas, 
nature  seems  to  almost  precede  settlements  by  the  taller  grasses  and 
herbage. 

TREE  GEOWTH  ON  THE  PLAINS. 

The  principal  native  trees  on  the  Plains  west  of  ninety-seventh  merid- 
ian are : 

Cottonwood,  fPopulus  Canadensis  and  P.  Monolifra.) 

Walnut,  (Juglans  Nigra.) 

Elm,  (  Ulmus  Americana.) 

Ash,  (Fraxinus  Americana.) 

Box  Elder,  (Acer  Negundo.) 

Hackberry,  fCeltis  occidentalis.) 

Plum,  fPrmius  Chiekasa.) 

Eed  Cedar,  fJuniperus  Virginiana.) 

To  these  maybe  added  Willow  fSalix)  and  Grape  Vines /'"Ft^es 
(vestivalis;)  and  also  the  Locust  (Rohinia  i)seudo-acacia)  and  Wild 
Cherry  fCerasus  Virginiana)  mentioned  by  Abert  as  occurring  on  the 
Purgatory. 

The  black  walnut  extends  to  the  one  hundredth  meridian ;  how  much 
farther  I  am  unable  to  say.  The  elm  and  ash  are  of  similar,  perhaps 
greater  range.    Hackberry  has  been  observed  west  of  one  hundred  and 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       457 

first  meridian.  Cottonwood,  box-elder,  red  cedar,  plum,  and  willow 
arc  persistent  to  the  base  of  the  mountain. 

The  extensive  pine  forest  (^Pm?(s  j;o«^7c>'o.§a,^  on  the  "  great  divide " 
south  of  Denver,  although  stretching  seventy  to  eighty  miles  east  from 
the  mountains,  is  not  taken  into  view  as  belonging  to  the  Plains  proper. 
Its  existence,  however,  suggests  the  use  of  its  seeds  in  artiticial  planta- 
tions in  that  region.  Settlers  in  the  pinery  or  its  borders  would  do  well 
to  protect  portions  of  the  forest  by  inclosure,  and  if  possible  against  fire, 
as  by  suitable  care  the  forest  could  bo  made  perpetually  remunerative 
and  reproductive. 

The  fossil  wood,  imbedded  in  the  cretaceous  strata  in  many  parts  of 
the  Plains,  is  left  out  of  consideration,  as  belonging  to  a  i^revious,  though 
recent,  geological  age;  but  the  single  specimens  of  trees  found  growing 
at  wide  intervals  are  silent  witnesses  to  the  iJossihiUty  of  extended  forest 
growth.  These  living  trees  suggest  at  once,  by  their  location,  the  feasi- 
bility of  their  increase,  and  the  reason  of  their  scarcity.  They  are  usu- 
ally found  near  water ;  and  hence  we  conclude  that  in  order  to  grow 
trees  we  must  break  the  ground  so  deeply  as  to  save  all  the  rains  for 
their  use.  They  are  always  where  they  are  protected  from  fires ;  and 
hence  we  conclude  that  if  we  can  protect  oitr  plantations  from  fires  we 
can  grow  forests. 

Were  it  possible  to  break  uj)  the  surface  to  a  depth  of  two  feet,  from 
the  ninety-seventh  meridian  to  the  mountains,  and  from  the  thirty-fifth 
to  the  forty-fifth  parallel,  we  should  have  in  a  single  season  a  growth  of 
taller  herbage  over  the  entire  area,  less  reflection  of  the  sun's  heat,  more 
humidity  in  the  atmosphere,  more  constancy  in  springs,  pools,  and 
streams,  more  frequent  showers,  fewer  violent  storms,  and  less  caprice 
and  fury  in  the  winds.  A  single  jeav  would  witness  a  changed  vegeta- 
tion and  a  new  climate.  In  three  years  (fires  kept  out)  there  would  be 
young  trees  in  numerous  places,  and  in  twenty  years  there  would  be  fair 
young  forests. 

Nor  is  this  view  inconsistent  with  the  conclusion  of  meteorologists 
that  our  i)rairies  and  open  plains  are  due  to  scanty  precipitation.  This 
is  the  causg  ;  not,  however,  because  the  absolute  moisture  is  not  enough 
to  sustain  the  growth,  but  because  it  is  not  enough  to  protect  it  against 
destruction  by  fires.  Throughout  the  i^rairies — the  "  Illinois  region"  of 
Professor  Cooper's  campestrian  province — whenever  the  fires  are  checked, 
tree  growth  begins.  Given  immunity  from  fires  on  the  Plains,  and  to  a 
great  extent,  they  will  clothe  themselves  with  shrubs  and  trees,  even 
without  a  breaking  up  of  the  surface. 

The  limited  area  which  it  is  in  our  power  to  turn  up  by  the  plow  will 
have  the  same  results  in  kind  to  follow  a  breaking  of  the  entire  surface, 
but  less  effective  than  if  the  operation  were  universal.  Yet  a  beginning 
can  be  made  by  the  railway  company  and  by  individuals.  In  fact,  it  is 
already  in  progress  by  settlers,  a  degree  and  a  half  west  of  ninety-sev- 
enth meridian.  A  few  acres  at  intervals  across  the  Plains,  or  only  a  few 
clumps  of  trees  growing  without  irrigation,  will  be  a  demonstration 
more  efiective  than  theory. 

In  this  great  work  the  United  States  ought  to  lead,  either  by  forests 
planted  at  the  cost  of  the  Treasury,  or  by  subsidies  to  individuals  or 
companies.    It  is  a  work  worthy  of  the  age,  and  of  the  nation. 

The  particular  trees  most  suitable  for  first  planting  on  the  Plains,  the 
modes  of  culture,  the  proper  succession  of  species,  cannot  be  treated  in 
a  i:)aper  already  so  extended  as  this.  The  feasibility  of  forest  growth 
over  this  great  area  is,  in  my  estimation,  not  to  be  doubted.  The  details 
will  be  wrought  out  in  due  time. 


458  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

GRAZING  RESOURCES. 

The  description  of  the  "  broad,  grassy  plains  "  given  in  the  foregoing 
X^ages  attests  their  capacity  to  sustain  animal  life.  For  cattle,  sheep, 
horses,  and  mules  they  are  a  natural  pasture  in  summer,  with,  in  many 
parts,  hay  cured  standing  for  winter.  The  famed  pampas,  with  their 
great  extremes  of  wet  and  drought,  cannot  bear  com^jarison  with  our 
Western  Plains.  For  grazing  i)urposes,  the  habitable  character  of  our 
vast  traditional  "  desert "  is  generally  conceded,  and  hence  it  need  not 
be  enlarged  on  here, 

IMMIGRATION. 

The  settlers  come  singly  and  in  groups,  in  families  and  colonies.  It 
is  not  a  crusade  of  fanatics,  or  a  raid  of  fillibusters,  but  the  measured 
march  of  earnest  men  and  women  seeking  homes.  The  extension  of 
settlements  westward  from  the  "  frontier,"  and  eastward  from  the  moun- 
tains, must  go  on.  Population  increases,  and  lands  are  needed.  Hence 
the  occupancy  of  the  lands  along  and  near  the  line  of  this  railway  is  an 
assured  fact  of  the  early  future.  It  is  an  eventuality  not  created  by  the 
power  of  this  corporation,  but  growing  out  of  the  circumstances  of  the 
nation,  and  the  distribution  of  our  lauded  resources. 

It  will  seem  to  many  a  vast  work  to  spread  settlements  over  the  "  great 
Western  Plains."  To  force  such  settlements  would  be  a  large  task ;  but 
no  forcing  is  needed.  The  facilities  i)rovided,  the  lands  available,  and 
the  settlers  throng  in  of  themselves.  Those  who  bave  doubts  of  the 
event  should  remember,  1st,  that  permanent  settlements  have  already 
reached  more  than  two-fifths  the  distance  from  Kansas  City  to  Denver ; 
2d.  that  the  facilities  as  well  as  the  necessity  for  the  future  extension  of 
settlements  are  day  by  day  increasing ;  3d,  that  the  difficulties  and 
hardships  of  frontier  life  diminish  as  means  to  overcome  them  are  mul- 
tiplied ;  4th,  that  with  a  railway  in  operation  the  spread  of  settlements 
becomes  a  problem  greatly  less  difficult  than  the  construction  of  the 
road  itself. 


PA.ET   V 


CATALOGUES 


I.  OF  MAMMALS  AND  BIRDS.    By  :MR.  JAMES  STEVENSON. 

IL  OF  MOLLUSCA.     By  S.  R.  ROBERTS, 
in.  OF  COLEOPTERA.     By  DR.  G.  H.  HORN. 
lY.  OFHEMIPTERA.    By  PROF.  P.  H.  UHLER. 

v.  OF  PLANTS.    By  MR.  THOS.  C.  PORTER. 
VI.  OF  PLANTS.    By  DR.  C.  C.  PARRY. 


MAMMALS .  AND   BIRDS. 


A  LIST  OF  MAMMALS  AND  BIRDS  COLLECTED  IN  WYOMING 
TEEEITOEY,  BY  ME.  H.  D.  SMITH  AND  ME.  JAMES  STEVEN- 
SON, DUEING  THE  EXPEDITION  OF  1870. 

By  James  Stevenson. 

As  already  stated  in  the  early  part  of  this  report,  the  expedition  did 
what  was  in  its  power,  within  the  time  at  its  command,  to  secure  as 
complete  a  representation  as  possible  of  the  vertebrate  fauna  of  the  coun- 
try, and  the  list  of  these  herewith  submitted  will  show  the  measure 
of  success.  Although  the  collection  of  mammals  and  birds  embraces 
no  new  species,  yet  it  promises  to  be  of  value  in  determining  with  greater 
precision  the  geographical  distribution,  and  the  precise  eastern  limit  of 
the  western  forms,  and  the  western  range  of  the  eastern  species,  the 
region  explored  having  been  a  kind  of  common  or  meeting  ground  of 
the  two  series.  We  regi-et  that  the  late  date  at  which  the  exi)edition 
was  organized  made  it  impossible  to  collect  facts  in  regard  to  the  nest- 
ing and  the  eggs  of  any  of  the  birds,  as  it  is  in  this  branch  of  their  his- 
tory that  most  of  novelty  was  to  be  expected.  The  immature  plumage 
of  the  gray-crowned  finch  {Leucosticte  teplirocotis^  Sw.,)  was,  however, 
ascertained  for  the  first  time,  and  will  be  hereafter  duly  described. 

As  complete  a  collection  of  the  mammals  of  the  country  was  obtained 
as  practicable,  and  embraces  a  considerable  number  of  specimens  of  all 
the  knowu  Eocky  Mountain  forms.  Among  these  may  be  specially 
mentioned  the  least  or  NuttalFs  hare,  a  species  scarcely  more  than  six 
inches  in  length,  and  the  smallest  of  all  hitherto  described ;  the  little 
chief  hare,  allied  to  the  true  hares,  but  without  any  vestige  of  the  tail, 
and  the  white-tailed  prairie  dog.  This  last-mentioned  animal  made  its 
appearance  after  we  crossed  the  divides  of  the  mountains,  and,  as  far  as 
we  know,  is  entirely  peculiar  to  the  region  drained  by  the  waters  of  the 
great  interior  basin  ;  while  the  common  i^rairie  dog  is  equally  charac- 
teristic of  the  western  j)ortious  of  the  valley  of  the  Missouri. 

Mr.  C.  P.  Carrington  rendered  most  efficient  aid  as  a  collector  in  all 
departments  of  natural  history,  especially  in  the  collection  of  mammals, 
birds,  reptiles,  fishes,  and  plants. 

JIAMMALS. 

No.  of 
specimeus. 

Canis  lairans,  Saj.    Coyote ;  prairie  wolf.     Fort  Bridger g 

Putoriiis   ricMrdsonii,  Bp.     Little  ermine.     Willow  Springs,  Eock 

Creek,  and  South  Pass 3 

Mephitis  me])kitica.    Skunk.     Black's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver 3 

TfavV/ea  flwfr/«njfl,  Waterh.     Missouri  badger.     Pacific  Springs. .  2 

Sciunts  lindsonius,  Pallas.   Eed  squirrel;  chickaree.   Pacific  Creek . .  1 
Sciunis  richardsonii,  Bach,    Eichardson's  squirrel.     Uinta  IMoun- 

.  tains 7 

Fferoniys   alpinuSj  Eichardsou.    Eocky  Mountain   flying   squirrel. 

Uinta  Mountains T 3 


462       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

No.  of 

specimens. 

Tamias  quadrivittatus,  Ricli.     Missouri  striped  squirrel.     North 

Platte,  Pacific  Springs,  Little  Sandy,  Big  Sandy,  Green  River, 

Bitter  Creek,  Sulphur  Springs 7 

Cynomys  ludovicianus.    Prairie  Dog.     Camp  Reynolds .       3 

Cynomys  gximiisonii^  Baird.     Short-tailed  j)rairie  dog.     Big  Sandy, 

Green  River,  and  Fort  Bridger 11 

Thomomys  r2f/esceMS,  Maxim.     Fort  Union  gopher.     Rock  Creek..       1 

Perognathus  fiavus,  Baird.    Pouched  mouse.     Green  River 1 

Hesperomys  sonoriensis,  Leconte.     Sonora  mouse.    Fort    Bridger, 

Uinta  Mountains,  Green  River 7 

Fiber  zihetJiictis,  Cuv.    Muskrat.     Rock  Creek 5 

EretMzon  c^iixanfJius,   Brandt.     Yellow-haired  porcupine.     North 

Platte,  Fort  Bridger,  and  Sulphur  Springs 4 

Lej)ns  sylvaticns,  Bach.     Gray  rabbit.     Fort  Bridger,  Henry's  Fork 

of  Green  River,  Bitter  Creek,  Pass  Creek,  and  Rock  Creek. 15 

Lcpus  artemisiaj  Bach.    Sage  hare.    North  Platte,  Green  River, 

and  Pine  Grove 4 

Lcpus  7iutfaliiy  Bach.    Least  hare.    Green  River 

Lepus  toicnsendii,  Bach.    Jackass  rabbit.    Independence  Rock,  on 

Sweetwater , 

Cervus  macrotis,  Say.    Mule  deer.    Henry's  Fork  of  Green  River 

and  Red  Buttes 3 

Antilocapra  americana,  Ord.    Prong-horn  antelope.    North  Platte 

and  Sweetwater 6 

Ovis  onontcma,  Cuvier.     Big  Horn  mountain  sheep.     Box  Elder 3 

Biso7i  amcricamis.Gmelm.  American  buffalo.  Independence  Rock..       1 

BIRDS. 

No.  1.  Mypotriorclm  colitmharius,  Gr.  Pigeon  hawk.  La  Bonte 
and  Green  River 6 

No.  2.  Falco  polyagrtis,  Cassin.  Prairie  falcon.  Laramie  Peak  and 
Uinta  Mountains , 4 

No.  3.  Tinnuncidus  sparverius,  Yieill.  Sparrow  hawk.  Bitter  Cot- 
tonwood and  Box  Elder 4 

No.  4.  Accipifer  mexieanus,  Swains.  Blue-backed  hawk.  Uinta 
Mountains 1 

No.  5,  Accipiter  fiiscus,  Bonap.  SharxD-shinned  hawk.  Uinta 
Mountains 1 

No.  6.  Buteo  sivainsoni,  Bonap.  Swanson's  hawk.  Sweetwater 
River ! 2 

No.  7.  Buteo  calurus,  Cassin.  Black  red-tailed  hawk.  Uinta  Moun- 
tains   , .       1 

No.  8.  Buteo  onontcmus,  Nutt.  Western  red-tailed  hawk.  Sweet- 
water and  Fort  Bridger 2 

;^'o.  9.  Circus  hudsonius,  Vieill.  Marsh  hawk.  North  Platte  River 
and  Uinta  Mountains 6 

No.  10.  BracJiyotus  cassinii,  Brewer.  Short-eared  owl.  Sweetwater 
River 2 

No.  11.  Anthene  Jiypugcea,  Bonaj).  Prairie  owl.  Camj)  Reynolds 
and  Big  Sandy  River 0 

No.  12.  Picus  harrisii,  Aud.  Harris's  woodpecker.  La  Bonte  Creek 
and  Uinta  Mountains 3 

No.  13.  Picus  gairdneri.  Gairdner's  woodpecker.  La  Bonte  Creek, 
Henry's  Fork,  and  Green  River 3 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       463 

*  No.  of 

specimens. 

No.  14.  Sphyropicus  nucludis^  Baird.      Eed-breasted    woodpecker. 

Strawberry  Creek  and  Uiuta  Mountains 6 

No.  15.  Mdanerpes  erythrocephalus,  Sw.     Eed-lieaded  woodpecker. 

Bitter  Cottonwood  and  La  Bonte  Creek 7 

No.  IG.  Melancrpcs  torqiiatiis,  Bonap.     Lewis's  woodpecker.     Bitter 

Cottonwood  Creek 1 

No.  17.  Gol(q}tes  mexicanus,  ^"ivixins.    Bed-shafted  flicker.    La  Bonte 

Creek  and  Fort  Bridger 4 

No.  18.  CoJaptes   hyhrUhis,   Baird.     Hybrid    woodpecker.      North. 

Platte  and  Green  Elver 6 

No.  19.  Chorddles  lienryi.  Cassin.     Western  night-hawk.     Laramie 

Peak  and  Pacific  Springs • 3 

No.  20.  Ceryle  alcyon,   Boie.     Belted    kingfisher.     La  Bonte  and 

and  North  Platte  Eiver '.  _       3 

No.  21.  Tyranmis  carolincnsis^Bn.ud.  King-bird;  bee-bird.  La  Bonte 

and  North  Platte 2 

No.  22.  Tyrannus    verticaUs,   Say.      iVrkansas    flycatcher.     Camp 

Eeynolds  and  La  Bonte 3 

No.  23.  Sayornis  sayns,  Baird.     Say's  flycatcher.     Camp  Eeynolds 

and  Sweetwater  Eiver 2 

No.  24.  Contopus  richardsonii,  Baird.     Short-legged  pewee.     Bitter 

Cottonwood  Creek 3 

No.  25.  Empidonax    Immmondii,    Baird.      Hammond's    flycatcher. 

Pacific  Springs 1 

No.  20.  Turdtis  midul)oni,liaird.  Silent  thrush.  Uinta  Mountains.  1 
No.  27.  Turdiis  fuscesceus,   Stephens.      Wilson's    thrush.      Green 

Eiver 1 

No.  28.  Turdus  migratorius,  Linn.    Eobin.     Green  Eiver  and  Fort 

Bridger 4 

No.  29.  Salia  arctica,  Swains.  Eocky  Mountain  bluebird.  Sweet- 
water, Fort  Bridger,  Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Elver,  and  Uinta 

Mountains 15 

No.  30.  Begicliis  calendula,  Licht.     Euby-crowned    kinglet.     Little 

Sandy  and  Green  Eiver ' 12 

No.  31.  Anthns    Indoviciamis,   Licht.     Tit-lark.     Henry's    Fork    of 

Green  Eiver  and  Uinta  Mountains 2 

No.  32.  Geothlypis  trichas.  Cab.    Marvland  yellow-throat.    La  Bonte 

Creek " ^ 1 

No.  33.  Geothlypis  macgillivrayi,   Baird.      Macgillivray's    warbler. 

Box  Elder  Creek 1 

No.  34.  Selminthophaga  celata,  Baird.      Orange-crowned  warbler. 

Fort  Bridger.     Little  Sandy  and  €!rreen  Eiver 3 

No.  35.  Dendroica    auduhonii,   Baird.     Audubon's    yellow-rumped 

warbler.     Green  Eiver 2 

No.  36.  Bcndroica  aestlva,  Baird.  Yellow  warbler.  Bitter  Cotton- 
wood, La  Bonte,  Fort  Bridger,  and  Green  Eiver 8 

No.  37.  3Iyiodioctes pusillus,  liouii]).    Green  black-capped  flycatcher. 

Fort  Bridger  and  Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver 7 

No.  38.  Setophaga  ruticilla,  Sw.     Eedstart.     La  Bonte  Creek 2 

No.  39.  Hirundo   lunifrons,  Say.     Clifi'  swallow.     Camp  Eej' nolds 

and  Bitter  Creek 4 

No.  40.  Progue  subis,  Baird.    Piu'ple  martin.     Bitter  Cottonwood 

Creek 2 


464  GEOLOGICAL   SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

No.  of 
specimens. 

No.  41.  Myiadestes  townsendii,  Cab.  Towiisend's  flycatclier.  Green 
Eiver • -  -       3 

No.  42.  Gollyrio  horealis,  Baird.  Great  northern  slirike.  Green 
Kiver  and  Kock  Creek 3 

No.  43.  Gollyrio  excubitoroides,  Baird.  White-rumped  shrike.  La 
Bonte  Creek 2 

No.  41.  Vireosylvia  swainsonii,  Baird.  Western  warbling  flycatcher. 
Gn'en  Eiver 1 

No.  45.  Galeoscoptes  carolinensis,  Cab.    Cat-bird.    La  Bonte  Creek.       2 

No.  46.  Oreoscoptes  montanus,  mountain  mocking-bird.  La  Bonte 
•Creek,  North  Platte,  Pacific  Creek,  Green  Eiver,  Fort  Bridger, 
and  Heiiry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver 10 

No.  47.  Harporliynclms  longicauda,  Baird.  Long-tailed  thrush.  Bitter 
Cottonwood 1 

No.  48.  Salpinctus  ohsoletus,  Cab.    Eock  wren.     Sweetwater  Eiver.      1 

No.  49.  Troglodytes  parTimannii^  Aud.  Parkman's  wren.  Green 
Eiver 2 

No.  50.  Sitta  canadensis^  Linn.  Eed-bellied  nut-hatch.  Green  Eiver, 
Fort  Bridger,  Henry's  Fork,  and  Sulphur  Springs 5 

No.  51.  Fartisseptentrionalis,  Hurris.  Long-tailed  chicadee.  Bitter 
Cottonwood  Creek,  Fort  Bridger,  Green  Eiver,  and  Bitter  Creek.     11 

No.  52.  Parus  montanus^  Gambel.  Mountain  titmouse.  Uinta 
Mountains 2 

No.  53.  PsaUriparus  plumbeus,  Baird.  Lead-colored  tit.  Green 
Eiver 3 

No.  54.  Eremopliila  cornuta,  Boie.  Sky-lark.  North  Platte,  Henry's 
Fork  of  Green  Eiver,  Uinta  Mountains,  Green  Eiver,  Pine  Grove, 
and  Little  Laramie '. 42 

'No.  55.  Pinicola  canadensis,  Cab.   Eine  grosbeak.    Uinta  Mountains.       1 

No.  50.  Ghrysomitris  tristiSjUona]).    Yellow-bird.    Green  Eiver 5 

No.  57.  Gurvirostra  mexicana,  Strick.  Mexican  cross-bill.  Bitter 
Cottonwood,  La  Bonte,  and  Green  Eiver 3 

No.  58.  Gurvirostra  leucoptera,  Wils.  White- winged  cross-bill.  Box 
Elder  Creek -. .* 1 

No.  59.  Aegiot]m§  linaria,  Cab.  Lesser  red  poll.  Camp  Eeynolds, 
Green  Eiver,  Eock  Creek,  Sulphur  Springs,  aud  Laramie  Eiver.     12 

No.  CO.  Leucosticte  tephrocotis,  Sw.  Gray-crowned  finch.  Uinta 
Mountains 1 

No.  01.  Plectroplianes  maccoivnii,  Lawr.  Maccown's  long-spur.  Camp 
Eeynolds 1 

No.  02.  Passerculus  alaudinus,  Bonap.  Lark  sparrow.  Bitter  Cot- 
tonwood Creek,  Strawberry  Creek,  Green  Eiver,  and  Big  Sandy.       0 

No.  03.  Pooecetes  gramineus,  Baird.  Grass  finch.  Bitter  Cotton- 
wood, Pacific  Springs,  Big  Sandy,  Little  Sandy,  Fort  Bridger, 
and  Uinta  Mountains 25 

No.  04.  Ghondestes  grammaca,  Bonap.  Lark  finch.  Bitter  Cotton- 
wood Creek 1 

No.  05.  Zonotricliia  leucophrys,  Sw.  White-crowned  sparrow.  Pacific 
Springs,  Green  Eiver,  and  Fort  Bridger 4 

No.  00.  ZonoiriMagamhelii,Giimbe\.  Gambel's finch.  Fort  Bridger, 
Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver,  Uinta  Mountains,  and  Eock  Creek.     40 

No.  07.  Junco  oregonusj^clat.  Oregon  snow-bird.  Henry's  Fork  of 
Green  Eiver,  Green  Eiver,  and  Eock  Creek 6 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES.  465 

•  •  No.  of 

specimens. 
No.  68.  Poospiza  belli,  Sclat.    Bell's  finch.    Henry's  Fork  of  Green 

Elver,  Green  Eiver,  and  Eock  Creek • 5 

Xo.  69.  Spizella  monticola,  Baird.     Tree  sparrow.    Green   Eiver, 

Henry's  Fork,  and  Eock  Creek 4 

No.  70.  S2)izella  sociaUs,  Bonap.    Chipping  sparrow.    Little  Sandy 

and  Green  Eiver 2 

No.  71.  ^2)(zella  hrewerii,  Cass.    Brewer's  sparrow.    Little  Sandy 

and  Green  Eiver 10 

No.  72.  Mclospha  fallax,  Baird.    Monntain  song  sparrow.    Green 

Eiver  and  Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver 28 

No.  73.  Melospiza  UnconU,  Baird.    Lincoln's  finch.    Head  of  Henry's 

Fork  and  Green  Eiver 6 

No.  74.  Calamospiza  hicolor,  Bonap.     Lark  bnnting.     Camp  Eey- 

nolds  and  Bitter  Cottonwood  Creek !^ .       5 

No.  75.  Pipilo  arcticiis,  Sw.    Arctic  tower.     Fort  Sanders 4 

No.  76.  Pipilo  chlorura,  Baird.    Green-tailed  finch.    Little  Sandy 

and  Green  Eiver 3 

No.  77.  Molothriis  pecoris,  Sw.    Cow-bird.    La  Bonte  Creek 1 

No.  78.  Agelains  phceniceus,  Vieill.    Eed-wiuged  blackbird.    Camp 

Stevenson,  on  Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver 2 

No.   79.   Xantliocexihalus  icteroceplialus.    Yellow-headed  blackbird. 

_  Green  Eiver 1 

No.  SO.  StiimeUa  neglecta.  And.    Western  lark.    Camp  Eeynolds, 

Fort  Fettermau,  Fort  Bridger,  and  Green  Eiver 24 

No.  81  Scolecopliagtis  ciianoceplialus.  Brewer's  blackbird.   Camp  Eey- 
nolds, Fort  Fetterman,  and  Sweetwater 27 

No.  82.  Corvus  carnivorus,  Bartram.    American  raven.    Camp  Eey- 
nolds   ^  _       1 

"No.  80.  Corvus  americanus,±\.ii(l.    Common  crow.    La  Bonte  Creek .       1 
No.  84.  Picicorvus  columbianus.     Clark's  crow.     Pacific  Springs  and 

Pacific  Creek 3 

No.  85.  Pica  Jmdsonica,  Bonap.    Magpie.    Camp  Eeynolds,  North 

Platte  Eiver,  Sweetwater  Eiver,  Green  Eiver,  and  Fort  Bridger.     13 
No.  86.    Cyanura  macrolopJia,  Bakd.     Long-crested  jay.     Green 

Eiver 1 

No.  87.  Cyanocitta   Woodhousei,  Baird.    Woodhouse's  jay.    Green 

Eiver 1 

No.  88.  Perisoreus  canadensis,  Bonap.    Canada  jay.    Henry's  Fork 

and  Green  Eiver 3 

No.  89.    Zenaidura    carolinensis,  Bonap.      Common    dove.      Fort 

Bridger 4 

No.  90.  Tefmo-o&sc«n(s,  Say.     Hnsky  grouse.     Uinta  Mountains . .       6 
No.  91.  Centrocercus  uropJiasiamis,  Sw.     Sage  cock.     Sweetwater, 

Green  Eiver,  and  Plains 

No.  92.  Pcdioccctes  columbianus,  (Ord.)  Elliot.     Sharp-tailed  grouse. 

La  Bonte  Creek • 1 

No.  93.  Bonasa  imbclloides,  Baird.     Gray  mountain  grouse.     Camp 

Jackson,  Uinta  Mountains 3 

No.  94.  Lagojms  leucunis,  Swains.    White-tailed  ptarmigan.    Bur- 

^  tlioud's  Pass,  Eocky  Mountains •     i 

No.  95.  Botaurus   lentiginosus,    Stephens.     Bittern ;   stake    driver.* 

Camp  Leidy,  on  Sweetwater  Eiver 1 

No.  96.  Charadrius  virginicus,  Borck.    Golden  plover.   Camp  Dawes, 

on  Eock  Creek .  3 

30  G 


466       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

No.  of 
specimens. 

No.  97.  Aegialitis  vociferus,  Cassin.    Kill-deer.    Camp  Eeynolds  . .       7 
No.  98.  Becurvirostra   americana,  Gm.    American  avoset.    Camp 

Baird,  on  North  Platte  Eiver 1 

No.  99.  Flialaropus    icilsonii,    Sab.     Wilson's    phalarope.     Camp 

Eeynolds 1 

No.  100.  Fhalaropiis  hyperhoreus,  Temm.    Northern  j)halarope.    Big 

Sandy  Eiver 1 

'No.  101.  GaUinago  wilsonii,  Bonn]).    English  snipe.     Fort  Sanders.       1 
No.  102.  Actodromus  oninutUla,   Cones.     Least  sandpiper.    Camp 

Baird,  on  North  Platte,  and  Little  Sandy 2 

■  No.  103.  Actodromus    hairdii,   Cones.    Baird's    sandpiper.     North 

Platte  and  Little  Sandy : 3 

No.'lOl.  I]reu7ietes2)usiUiis,  Cones.  Semi-palmated  sandpii^er.  North 

Platte  Eiver 1 

No.  105.  Microj^alama  liimantojyus^  Baird.     Stilt   sandpiper.    Fort 

Bridger 1 

No.  106.  Oambetta    onelanoleuca,  Bonap.     Tell-tale  j    stone   snipe. 

Camp  Eeynolds  and  Fort  Fetterman , 14 

No.  107.  Gamhetta  flavipes,  Bonap.    Yellow  legs.    Camp  Eeynolds 

and  Camp  Logan,  near  Church  Bnttes 8 

No.  108.  Bhyacophihis  solitarius,  Bonap.   Solitary  sandpiper.   Camp 

Eeynolds  and  Fort  Fetterman 6 

No.  109.  Tringoides  macularius^  Gray.    Spotted  sandpiper.    Fort 

Fetterman  and  Camp  Gifford,  on  Sweetwater  Eiver 3 

No  110.  Fulica  americana,  Gmelin.    Coot.    Camp  Baird,  on  North 

Platte  Eiver 1 

No.  111.  Bernicla  canadensis,  Boie.    Canada  goose.    Camp  Gifford, 

on  Sweetwater  Eiver 2 

No.  112.  Anas  hoschas,  Linn.    Mallard.    North  Platte  Eiver  and 

Sweetwater •. 7 

No.  113.  Dajila  acuta,  Jenjns.    Sprig-tail  x)in -tail.    Eock  Creek 1 

No.  114.  Nettion  carolinensis,  Baird.    Green-winged  teal.    Green 

Eiver  and  Fort  Sanders 13 

No.   115.  Querquedula     cyanoptera,    Cassin.      Eed-breasted    teal. 

Sweetwater  and  North  Platte 4 

No.  IIG.  Spatula  clypeata,  Boie.    Shoveler.    Sweetwater  and  Fort 

Bridger -. 3 

No.  117.  Mareca  americana,  Stevens.    Bald-pate.    Pass  Creek 1 

No.  118.  Fulix  collaris,  Baird.    Eing- necked  dnck.     Green  Eiver..       2 

No.  lid.  Bnc€2)hala  alheola,  Baiid.    Bntter-ball.    Fort  Sanders 1 

No.  120.  Frismatura  ruhida,  Bonap.    Euddy  dnck.     Pacific  Creek .       1 
No.  121.  Mergiis  americanus,  Cass.    Shelldrake.     Sweetwater  Eiver 

.and  Fort  Bridger. ,. 3 

No.  122.  Loplwdytes  ciicullatus,  Eeich.    Hooded  merganser.    Green 

Eiver 1 

No.  124.  Fodlceps  calif ornicus,  Heerman.    California  grebe.    North 

Platte  Eiver 1 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       467 

II.— REPORT  ON  MOLLUSCA. 

By  S.  E.  Egberts, 
Rcconler  Goncliological  Section^  Academy  Natural  Sciences,  Philadelphia. 

The  following-  list  comprises  the  mollnsca  collected  by  Professor  F.  V. 
Haydeii  while  engaged  in  the  various  geological  surveys  made  under 
direction  of  the  bepartment  of  the  Interior.  An  examination  of  this 
list  will  show  that  most  of  the  species  named  are  common  not  only  to 
the  districts  watered  by  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi  Eivers,  but  also  to 
many  other  sections  of  the  North  and  East,  thus  showing  a  widespread 
distribution  of  nearly  all  the  species  which  are  abundant  in  the  more 
eastern  portions  of  the  United  States.  This  is  the  more  curious,  par- 
ticularly among  the  fluviatile  moUusks  of  the  Upper  Missouri,  for  there 
the  rivers  belong  to  a  different  system  of  drainage. 

Of  the  land  shells  the  species  Hdix^  haydcni,  Binney,  Avhich  was  col- 
lected in  large  numbers  at  Weber  Canon,  Utah,  is  interesting  from  the 
fact  that  it  belongs  to  an  entirely  different  sub-genus  from  any  previously 
known  to  this  country,  it  being  very  closely  allied  to  the  Madeira  genus, 
Tectula,  Lowe. 

Dr.  Hayden  collected  more  than  fifty  specimens  of  different  ages,  all 
of  which  were  somewhat  bleached. 

This  species  was  found  associated  with  Helix  cooperi,  Binney,  many 
specimens  of  the  latter  being  also  obtained. 

At  Tails  City,  Nebraska,  a  small  shell  was  found  near  the  size  of  Helix 
hucculenta,  Gould,  but  with  a  closed  umbilicus.  It  is  probably  a  smaU 
variety  of  H.  alholahris,  Say,  and  has  been  so  labeled  in  the  collection 
of  the'Philadelphia  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  where  the  specimens 
are  deposited. 

Among  the  fresh-water  shells  only  one  sf)ecies  of  the  family  Vivipari- 
da;,  the  Melantho  integra,  Say,  has  been  noticed.  This  was  collected  in 
the  Big  Sioux  Eiver,  Nebraska. 

Pomatiopsis  lap idaria,  ^aj,  helonging  to  the  Amnicolida;,  v^as  found 
at  Fort  Berthold,  in  Nebraska.  This  is  the  most  western  locality  known 
for  the  species. 

In  addition  to  the  number  of  species  belonging  to  the  family  Unionida;, 
common  to  the  Northern  and  Western  States,  there  will  be  noticed  three 
southern  species  which  were  collected  at  Falls  City,  Nebraska.  These 
are  Unio  nigerrinuis,  Lea,  U.  Rutersvillensis,  Lea,  both  belonging  to  the 
Texan  fauna,  and  the  Unio  Mississippiensis)  Conrad,  which  was  described 
from  specimens  obtaiijed  in  Mississippi.  Unio  Topelrensis,  Lea,  a  Kansas 
species,  was  also  found  here,  while  at  Nebraska  City  a  perfect  valve 
of  Unio pressus,  Lea,  was  obtained.  This  species  belongs  to  the  great 
lakes,  sometimes  occurring  as  far  east  as  the  Erie  Canal,  New  York. 

The  fact  of  there  being  no  Melanians  in  the  list  confirms  the  state- 
ment made  by  George  W.  Tryon,  jr.,  in  his  monograph  of  the  Strcpoma- 
tidw  (in  the  Amer.  Jour.  Conch.,  vol.  1,  p.  125,)  that  these  shells  do  not 
occur  west  of  the  Mississippi  Eiver,  except  in  the  rivers  of  the  Pacific 
States.* 

The  list  of  species  is  not  as  complete  as  might  have  been  expected, 
but  future  exi)lorations  will  no  doubt  bring  to  notice  many  additional, 
forms  which  are  to  be  found  in  more  eastern  localities. 


468 


GEOLOGICAL  SUEVEY  OF  THE  TEREITOKIES. 


HELICID^. 

Helix  alternata,  Say. 
albolabris,  Say. 
albolabris,  var.? 
concava,  Say. 
costata,  Mlill. 
cliersina,  Say. 
cooperi,  W.  G.  B. 
elevata,  Say. 
electrina,  Gould, 
fuliginosa,  Binn. 
fallax,  Say. 
haydeni,  W.  G.  B. 
liirsuta,  Say. 
inflecta,  Say. 
indentata,  Say. 
ligera,  Say. 
lineata,  Say. 
minuscula,  Binn. 
minuta,  Say. 
munodon,  Eack. 
multilineata,  Say. 
profunda,  Say. 


LAKD  SHELLS. 

Helicid^ — Continued. 


Helix  solitaria,  Say. 
striatella,  Anth. 
thyroides,  Say. 
tridentata,  Say. 

PUPAD^. 

Pupa  armifera,  Say. 

badia,  Adams. 

blandi,  W.  G.  B. 

modesta,  Say. 

pentodon,  Say. 
Zua  subcylindracea,  Chem. 

SUCCINTD^. 

Succinea  avara,  Say. 

haydeni,  W.  G.  B. 
lineata,  W.  G.  B. 
nuttalliana,  ?  Lea. 
obliqua,  Say. 
vermeta,  Say. 


VIVIPARID^. 
Melantbo  Integra,  Say. 

AJMNICOLID^. 

Amnicola  porata.  Say. 

cincinnatiensis,  Anth. 
l*omatiox)sis  lapidaria,  Say. 

LYMN-<EADJE. 

Lymnea  desidiosa,  Say. 
elodes,  Say. 
haydeni,  Lea. 
humilis.  Lea. 
kirtlandiana,  Lea. 
palustris,  Mlill. 


FEESH- WATER  SHELLS. 

Univalves. 

Ly^tnmadjb: — Continued. 


Lymnea  reflexa,  Say. 
umbrosa,  Say. 


PHYSAD^. 


Physa  heterostropha,  Say. 
Bulinus  hypnorum,  Linn. 


PLANOEBID^. 


Planorbis  bicarinatus,  Say. 
trivolvis.  Say, 
companulatus,  Say. 
parvus,  Say. 
lentus,  Say. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY   OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 


469 


Bivalves. 


IJNIONID^. 

TJnio  anodontoides,  Lea. 
alatus,  Say. 
asiDerrimus,  Say. 
elegans,  Lea. 
gibbosus,  Barnes, 
latecostatus,  Lea. 
Itevissimus,  Lea. 
luteolus,  Lam. 
mississippieusis,  Conrad, 
uigerrimns,  Lea. 
parvus,  Barnes. 
Ijressus,  Lea. 
rectus,  Lam. 
rubigiuosus,  Lea. 


Unionid^ — Continued. 


Uuio  rutersvillensis.  Lea. 
topekseusis,  Lea. 
ventricosus,  Barnes, 
zig-zag,  Lea. 
Margaritaua  complanata,  Say. 
Anodonta  footiana,  Lea. 

ferussaciaua,  Lea. 
undulata,  Say. 

CORBICULAD^. 

Sphaerium  sulcatum.  Lam. 

striatinum,  ?  Lam. 
Pisidium  abditum,  1  Hald. 


Ill— COLEOPTERA. 

A  LIST  OF  COLEOPTERA  COLLECTED  BY  C.  THOMAS,  IN 
EASTERN  COLORADO  AND  NORTHEASTERN  NEW  MEXICO, 
DURING  THE  SURVEY  OF  1869. 

By  Dr.  G.  H.  Horn. 


Cicindela  formosa,  Say. 

obsoleta,  Say. 

pulcbra,  Say. 
•     vulgaris,  Say. 

repa^da,  Dcj. 

puuctulata,  Fabr. 
Nebria  bivittata. 
.Calosoma  luxatum,  Say. 
Carabus  serratus,  Say. 
Pasimachus  elongatus,  Lee. 

validus,  Lee. 
Lebia  viridis.  Say. 
Platyuus  extensicoUis,  Lee. 
Pterostichus  protractus,  Lee. 
Amara  obesa.  Say. 
Cratoguatlius  setosus,  Lee. 
t^hlceuius  sericeus.  Say. 
Notbo]ms  zabroides,  Lee. 
Cratacauthus  dubius,  Lee. 
Harpalus  caligiuosus.  Say. 

peunsylvauicus,  Lee. 

compar,  Lee. 

obesulus. 

amx)utatus.  Say. 
Hydrophilus  triangularis,  Say. 
Necrophorus  hecate. 

margiuatus,  Fabr. 


Eleodes  fusiformis. 
extricata. 
Embapbion  planum. 
Corpbyra  collaris. 
Mordellistena  semula. 
Meloe  sublcevis. 
Epicauta  corvina. 

maculata. 

ferruginea. 
Lytta  spbcericollis. 
nuttallii. 
viridana. 
Nemognatba  lutea. 
Erotylus  Boisduvalii. 
Spbenopborus.     °? 
Baridius.  ? 

Lepyrus  colon. 
Rbynchites  bicolor. 
Prionus  californicus. 
Parandra  ferruginea. 
Crosidius  discordeus. 
Criocepbalus  productus. 
Aseuum  atuem. 
Tetropium  ciunamopterum. 
Moneilema  annulatum. 
Monobammus  scutellaris. 
Acmeops  striglata. 


470 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TEREITOEIES. 


Silplia  ramosa,  Say. 

lappouica,  Herbst. 
Plialacrus  iiencillatus,  Say. 
Carpophilus  pallipes. 
Dermestes  marmoratus,  Say. 
Cantlion  loevis,  Drury. 

praticola,  Lee. 
Phanseus  carnifex,  McLeay. 
Serica  vespertina,  Lee. 
Tostegoptera  lanceolata. 
Polypliylla  10-lineata,  Say. 
Eiiryomia  kernii,  Lee. 
Melaiioi)liilaloEgipes,  Gory. 

driimmondii,  Lac. 
Mouocrepidiiis  auritus,  Germ. 
Pliotiuus  ingricans,  Lac. 
Chaiiliognathus  basalis,  Lee. 
Collops  4-maculatus,  Er. 

tricolor,  Say. 
Trichodes  oruatiis,  Say. 
Hydnoeera  subimca,  Spin. 
Epitrayus  caualiculatus,  Say. 
Peleeyphorus  serratiis,  See. 
sordidus,  Lee. 
Asida  opaca,  Say. 

convexa,  Lee. 
Eusattiis  convexus,  Lee. 
Couiontis  obesa. 
Eleodes  tricosta. 

carbouaria. 

hispilabris. 

obseura. 

suturalis. 

longicollis. 

obsoleta. 


Galeruca  americana. 

externa. 
Diabrotiea  vittata. 

trieineta. 
Dorypliora  10-lineata. 
Graptodera  bimarginata. 
Disouyeba  alteruata. 

collaris. 
Blepharida  rhois. 
Obrysomela  exclamatiouis. 
verrucosa, 
pnnctipnnctata. 
fiavomarginata. 
,   adonidis. 
Chrysochus  anratus. 
Coscinoptera  axillaris. 

franciscana. 
Paehybraehis  atbomus. 
Cryptoeepbalus  viduatus. 
4-gnttatus. 
vitticoUis. 
confluens. 
Hippodamia  Lecoutii. 
o-signata. 
coDA^ergens. 
Coecinella  transversoguttata. 
9-notata. 
mouticola. 
Bracbyacantba  ursina. 
Dendroctomus  teuebrionoides. 
Anisosticta  vittigera. 
Mouaxia  debilis. 
Eapbidopalx^ns  atripennes: 
Typocerus  sumatrifs. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 


471 


IV.— HEMIPTERA. 

A  LIST  OF  HEMIPTEEA  COLLECTED  IN  EASTERN  COLO- 
EADO  AND  NORTHEASTERN  NEW  MEXICO,  BY  C. 
THOMAS,  DURING  THE  EXPEDITION  OF  18G9. 

By  p.  R.  Fhler,  Esq. 


HETEROPTERA. 


COEIMELiENID^. 

Corimeliena  nitiduloides,  Wolff. 

PACHYCORID^. 

Homaemus  bijugis,  Uhl. 

HALYDID^. 

Brochymena  aunulata,  Fab. 

PENTATOMID^. 

Perillus  claudns,  Say. 
exaptus,  Say. 
Neottigiossa  iindata,  Say. 
Euscliistus  pimctipes,  Say. 
Murgautia  histiionica,  Habn. 
Pentatoma  ciistator,  Fab. 

graminicolor,  Ubl. 
Cimex  platycbikis,  Ubl. 

COEEIDJE. 

Piezogaster  alternatus,  Say. 
Merocoris  distinctus,  Dallas. 
Dasycoris  pilicornis,  H.  Scbf. 
Margus  inconspicuus,  Ubl. 
Catorbintba  guttula,  Fab. 
Neides  decurvatiis,  Ubl. 
Alydus  ater,  Dallas. 
Protenor  Belfragei,  Hagl. 
Leptocoris  trivittatiis,  Say. 
Harmostes  reflexulus,  Say. 
Corizus  borealis,  Ubl. 

viridicatus,  Ubl. 

lateralis,  Say. 

LTG^ID^. 

Lygseus  reclivatus,  Say. 

circiimlitus,  Stal. 

admirabilis,  Ubl. 
Nysiiis  californicus,  Stal. 
angustatus,  Ubl. 
Opbtbalmicus  piceus,  Say. 
Pamera  ftillax,  Say. 
Cymbogaster  diftusus,  Ubl. 
Aiapbe  Carolina,  H.  Scbf. 


LAHaiD^. 


Largus  succiuctus,  Fab. 

PHYTOCOEID^. 

Miris  debilis,  Ubl. 

ruficornis,  H.  Sclif. 

rubicundus,  Ubl. 
Calocoris  rapidas,  Say. 
Restbeuia  eremicola,  Ubl. 

confraterua,  Uhl. 
Lopidea  media,  Say. 
Lygus  annexus,  Ubl. 
diffiisns,  Ubl. 
redimitus,  Ubl. 
Pbytocoris,  nov.  sp. 
OncOtylus  militaris,  Ubl. 
Cyllecoris,  nov.  sp. 
Dacota  besperia,  Ubl. 
Oapsus  delicatnlus,  Ubl. 

nov.  sp. 
Stipbrosoma  stygica,  Say. 
Labops  besperius,  Ubl. 
Stictocepbalus  inermis,  Ubl. 
Rbopalotomns  i3acificus,  Ubl. 
Cbaragocbilus  venaticus,  Ubl. 
Tinicepbalus  simplex,  Ubl. 
Pbylus  angustatus,  Ubl. 

ARADID^. 

Aradus  rectus,  Say. 

PHYMATID^. 

Pbymata  erosa.  Fab. 

KEDUVrD^. 

Nabis  inscriptus,  Kirby. 

subcoleoptratus,  Kirby. 
Siuea  midtispinosa,  Geer. 
Herega  spissipes.  Say. 
Diplodus  luridus,  Stal. 

HYDROMETR^. 

Hygrotrecbus  remigis,  Say. 

NEP^. 

Nepa  4-dentata,  Stal. 


472 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 
HOMOPTERA. 


FULGORID^. 


v" 


^  Scolops  sulcipes,  Say. 
y  c>  hesperiiis,  Uhl. 


CIXIID^. 


Cixiiis  stigmatus,  Say. 
Bruchomorpha  ocellata,  Newin. 


CICADA. 


Cicada  dorsata,  Say. 

'^  canicularis,  Harris, 
hesperia,  Uhl. 
synodica,  Say. 


MEIVIBRACED^. 

Ceresa  diceros,  Say. 
Smilia,  nov.  sp. 
Entilia  modesta,  Uhl. 

-">  CERCOPID^." 

Aj)hrophora  permutata,  Uhl. 
o  quadrangularis,  Say. 

I^Ptyelus  lineatuSj  Fab. 

TETTIGONID^. 

Gypouareverta,  Uhl.     ^^■^<^*S..a^ 
i^Proconia  costalis,  Fab. 
Helochara  communis,  Fab. 


v.— CATALOGUE  OF  PLANTS. 

BY  THOMAS  C.  PORTER, 

Lafayette  College,  Easton,  Pennsylvania. 

This  catalogue  embraces  the  plants  collected  in  "Wyoming  Territory, 

>y  Dr.  F.  V.  Hayden,  during  the  geological  survey  of  1870— at  Camp 

Carlin,  from  July  25  to  30,  on  the  route  from  Fort  D.  A.  Eussell,  via 

F^'t  Fetterman,  Sweetwater,  South  Pass,  Wind  Elver  Mountains,'  and 

-^'"  i  Elver,  to  Fort  Bridger,  from  August  1  to  September  13  :  in  the 


in  the  latter 
October.    To 


Ore 

yij^^.a  Mountains,  south  of  "Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver, 

-Ji^it  of  September,  and  on  Henry's  Fork,  in  the  month  of  < 

c'hese  are  added  his  collection  in  the  isTorth  Park,  Colorado  Territory^ 

August,  1868,  and  another,  made  by  Mr.  B.  H.  Smith,  in  the  region 

around  the  city  of  Denver,  during  the  summer  of  1869. 

EAJfUNCULACE^. 

Atragene  alpina,  L.     [A.  Ocliotensis,  Pallas.)— Mountains  near  Denver 

Clematis  ligusticifolia,  Nutt.— Mountains  near  Denver,  Colorado  Ter- 
ritory ;  August  to  September. 

Anemone  miiltijida,  DC— Mountains  near  Denver  5  Uinta  Mountains. 

Anemone  Pennsylvanica,  L. — Fossil  beds  near  Denver. 

Anemone -patens,  L.,  var.    Nuttalliana,  Gray.— Denver. 

Thalictrum  sparsiflorimi,  Turcz. — Mountains  near  Denver:  Uinta 
Mountains.    In  fruit. 

Ranunculus  divaricatus,  Schrank. — Denver. 

Raminciihis  Cymhalaria,  Pursh.— Denver,  Colorado  Territory :  August 
to  September. 

Ranunculus  affinis,  E.  Br. — Near  Denver. 

Ranunculus  sceleratus,  L. — Denver. 

Ranunculus  Pennsylvanicus,  L. — Xear  Denver. 

Ranunculus»re2}ens,  L. — Near  Denver. 

Aquilegia  co&rulea,  Torr.— Uinta  Mountains.    In  firuit. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       473 

TrolUus  laxiis,  Salisb — ^Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 
lu  fruit. 

Delphinium  azureum,  Michx. — Denver ;  Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Ter- 
ritory. 

Delpliinium  elatum,  L. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

PAPAVERACE^. 

Argemone  Mexicana,  L. — Denver;  Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 

FUMARIACE^. 

Corydalis  aurea,  Willd. — Xear  Denver. 

CKUCIFER^. 

Kasttirtium  sinuatum,  Nutt. — Near  Denver. 
KasturUum  ohtufium,  Xntt. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 
Arahis  lyrata,  L. — Near  Denver. 
AraJjis  hirsuta,  IScop. — Near  Denver. 

Strejyfanthus  lincarifoUus,  Gray. — Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 
Cardainine paucisecta,  Bentb. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 
Erysimum  asjjerum,  DC. — Denver. 
Draba  aurea,  Vabl. — Near  Denver. 

JDrala  nivalis,  V^\\l(\. — (D.  rnpestris,  H.  Br.,  var.  ^^  siUculis  glahris,''^ 
Hook.  Fl.  Bor.  Am.,  1,  p.  53.) — Uinta  Mountains. 
Vesicaria  Ludoviciana,  DC. — Near  Denver. 
Physaria  didymocarpa,  Gray. — Near  Denver. 
Zepidium  ruderale,  L. — Gray,  PI.  Wright,  2,  p.  15. — Denver. 
Lepidium  sativum,  L. — Near  Denver.     Probablj'  introduced. 
Thlaspi  Fendleri,  Gray. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 

C  APP  ARID  ACE  JE. 

Cleome  integrifolia,  Torr.  a:^d  Gray. — Denver;  Camp  Carlin,  Wyo- 
ming Territory. 

Polanisia  trachysperma,  Gray. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  Sep- 
tember. 

CARYOPHYLLACE^. 

^Silene  acaulis,  L. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

Lychnis  apetala,  L.,  var.  pauciflora,  DC. — Uinta  Mountains. 

Arenaria  congesta,  Torr.  and  Gray. — North  Park,  Colorado  Territory; 
Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Arenaria  Fendleri,  Gray,  (PI.  Fendler.,  p.  13). — Denver. 

Arenaria  arctica,  Stevenson. — Mountains  near  Denver ;  Uinta  Moun- 
tains. 

Arenaria  Rossi i,  E.  Br. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

Arenaria  verna,  L. '? — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory.  In  fruit 
only,  with  old  capsules  which  have  shed  their  seed. 

Stellaria  borealis,  Bigelow. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

Cerastium  arvense,  L. — Near  Denver. 

Paronychia  sessiliflora,  Nutt. — Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Paronychia  Jamesii,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Near  Denver. 

MALVACEAE. 

Malvastrum  coccineum.  Gray. — Denver;  Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Ter- 
ritory. 

Sidalcea  malvwjlora,  Gray. — North  Park,  Colorado  Territory;  Uiuta 
Mountains. 


474       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Sphceralcea  acerifolia,  INutt.  [Malva  rivularis,  Dougl.) — Wyoming  Ter- 
ritory; August  to  September. 

LINAGES. 

Linum  lierenne^  L. — Nortli  Park,  Colorado  Territory ;  Uinta  Moun- 
tains. 

Linum  Kiiigii,  Watson  ined.  (in  Clarence  King's  Eeport,)  var.  sedoides. — 
Uinta  Mountains,  September  25,  1870.  Very  glabrous,  low,  much 
branched  from  the  base ;  the  shoit,  angled  stems  4  to  G  inches  high ; 
leaves  numerous,  3  to  4  lines  in  length,  pale  green,  linear-oblong,  obtuse, 
thickish  and  crowded,  especially  on  the  younger  stems,  giving  the  plant 
the  aspect  of  a  Sedum.  Stipular  glands  conspicuous,  persistent.  Pani- 
cles contracted,  corymbose;  sepals  broadly  ovate,  glandular-ciliate, 
shorter  than  the  globose  10-valved  capsule.  Styles  5,  distinct.  Cap- 
sules about  1 J  lines  in  diameter,  the  secondary  dissepiments  incomplete 
and  fibrous-i^ilose  on  the  margin.  In  fruit  only,  but  a  floweriug  speci- 
men of  Watson's  plant  has  golden-yellow  obovate  petals,  half  an  inch 
in  length. 

GERANIACE^. 

Geranium  FremontU,  Torr. — Denver;  Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Ter- 
ritory. 

Geranium  Eichardsonii,  Fisch,  and  Meyer. — Wyoming  Territory ;  Au- 
gust to  September.    In  fruit. 

OXALIDACE^. 

Oxalis  stricfa,  L. — Near  Denver. 

VITACE^. 

Yitis  riparia,  Michx. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 
In  fruit. 

RHAMNACEJE. 

CeanotJius  ovalls,  Bigelow. — Near  Denver. 

Ceanotlms  velutinus,  Dougl.,  var.  Icevigatus,  Torr.  and  Gr.,  Fl.  N.  Am., 
1,  p.  686. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

CELASTRACEiE. 

Fachystima  Myrsinitis,  Eaf. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

ACERACE-^. 

Acer  glahrum,  Torr. — Denver ;  Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 
Negimdo  aceroides,  Manch. — Near  Denver. 

LEGUMINOS^.  « 

Zupinus  ornatus,  Dougl. — Near  Denver. 
Lupinus  parviflorus,  Nutt. — Uinta  Mountains. 
Lupinus  pusillus,  Pursh. — Near  Denver. 

Lupinus  decumhens,  Torr. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 
Trifolium  Farryi,  Gray. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 
Fsoralea  floribunda,  Nutt. — Denver. 
Fsoralea  koiceolata,  Pursh. — Near  Denver. 
Fetalostemon  violaceufi,  Michx. — Near  Denver. 

Fetalostemon  candidus,  Michx. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  Sej)- 
tember. 

HosacTcia  FursJiiana,  Benth. — North  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 
Astragalus  Hypoglottis,  L. — Cami)  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERKITOEIES.       475 

Astragalus  adsurgeiis,  ^ntt. — Wyoming  Territory  ;  August  to  Septem- 
ber. 

Astragalus  flexuosiis,  Dougl. — Near  Denver. 

Astragalus  Kentrophyta,  Gray. — Near  Denver. 

Oxytropis  Lamherti,  Pursh. — Near  Denver. 

Oxytropis  dcffexa,  DC. — Wyoming  Territory;  August  to  September. 

Glycyrrliiza  lepklofa,  Nutt. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  River. 

Vicia  Americana,  Mubl. — Near  Denver. 

Lathyrus  2)alustris,  L, — Henry -s  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

Lathyrus  Ihtearis,  Nutt. — Near  Denver. 

Sophora  sericea,  Nutt. — Near  Denver. 

Thermopsis  rhombifoUa,  Nutt. — Near  Denver. 

Thermopsis fahacea,  Hook.,  var.  moniana,  Gray. — Wyoming  Territory; 
August  to  September. 

ROSACEA. 

Prunus  Virglniana,  L. — Near  Denver. 

S2)ira'a  opulifolia,  L. — Near  Denver. 

Spira'a  dumosa,  Nutt. — Turkey  Creek,  Colorado  Territory ;  Wyoming 
Territory  ;  August  to  September. 

Spira'a  ca'S2ntosa,  Nutt. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  River. 

Cercocarpus  parvifolius,  Nutt. — Near  Denvei'. 

Geum  Eossii,  Seriuge,  var.  B.  Torr.  and  Gr. — Uinta  Mountains. 

6eum  triflorum,  Pursb. — Denver;  Nortb  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 

Sibhaldia procumhersj  L. — Uinta  Mountains. 

Ivesia  GOi'doni,  Torr.  and  Gray ;  Gray  in  Proc.  Am.  Acad.,  G,  p.  530. — 
Uinta  Mountains,  September  25,  1870. — Differs  from  tbe  typical  form 
in  baving  a  single  carpel !  Tbe  small  spatulate  petals  appear  wbite, 
but  are  probably  faded. 

Potent  ilia  Norvegica,  L. — Denver  ;  Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Potentilla  fastigiata,  Nutt.— Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  Septem- 
ber. 

Potentilla  nivea,  L. — Denver ;  Uinta  Mountains. 

Potentilla  Pennsylvanica,  L.,  var.  Hippianaj  Torr.  and  Gr. — Denver. 

Potentilla  arguta,  Pursb.— Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 

Potentilla  Anserina,  L. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  River. 

Potentilla fruticosa,h. — Denver;  Nortb  Park  ;  Uinta  Mountains. 

Buhus  strigosus,  Micbx.— Wyoming  Territory ;   August  to  September. 

Eosa  gymnocarpa,  Nutt. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  River.    In  fruit. 

Eosa  hlanda,  Ait. — Denver ;  Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  Septem- 
ber. 

Pyrus  samhucifolia,  Cb.  and  Scbl. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  River.  In 
fi?uit. 

SAXIFRAGACE^. 

Jamesia  Americana,  Torr.  &  Gray. — Denver ;   Nortb  Park,  Colorado      * 
Territory. 

Saxifraga  hronchialis,  L. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

Heucliera  bracteata,  Seriuge. — Fall  River,  Colorado  Territory ;  B.  H. 
Smitb. 

Heucliera  parvifolia,  Nutt. — Fall  River,  Colorado  Territorv;  B.  H. 
Smitb. 

CRASSULACE^. 

Sedum  stenopctahim,  Pursb.— Fall  River,  Colorado  Territory ;  Uinta 
Mountains. 

Sedum  rhodanthum,  Gray. — Uinta  Mountains. 
Sedum  Ehodiola,  DC. — 5lountains  near  Denver. 


476       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

ONAGKACEJE. 

Gaura  parviflora^  Dougl. — Near  Denver. 

Gaura  coccinea^  Nutt. — ISTear  Denver. 

Epilobium  augiistifoUum,  L.    Denver ;  Uinta  Mountains. 

Epilohium paniculatum^  I^utt. — Near  Denver. 

IJj)ilohium  coloratum,  Mubl. — Denver ;  Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to 
September. 

(Enotliera  Mennis^  L. — Denver  j  Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  Sep- 
tember. 

(Enothera  pinnatifida,  l!futt. — Near  Denver. 

(Enothera  coronopifoUa,  Torr.  and  G^ay. — Near  Denver. 

(Enothera  albicauUs,  Nutt. — Denver  5  Cami)  Carliu,  Wyoming  Terri- 
tory. 

(Enothera  coespitosa,  Nutt. — North  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 

(Enothera  serruldtaj  ^utt. — Denver;  Wyoming  Territory;  August  to 
September. 

LOASACE^. 

Mentzella  ornata,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Wyoming  Territory;  August  to 

September. 

Mentzelia  nuda,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Denver ;  Camj)  Carlin,  Wyoming 
Territory. 

UMBELLIFERiE. 

Archangelica  Gmelini,  DC. — Uinta  Mountains. 

Cicuta  maculata,  L. — Wyoming  Territory  ;  August  to  September. 

Garum  Gairdneri,  Graj'.  Proc.  Am.  Acad.,  7,  p.  344.  [Edosmia  Gaird- 
oieri,  Torr.  &  Gr.,  PI.  N.  Am.,  1,  p.  G12.) — Uinta  Mountains;  Wyoming- 
Territory  ;  August  to  September. 

CORNACE^. 

Cornus  stolonifera^  Michx. — Denver ;  Henry's  Pork  of  Green  Eiver. 

CAPRLFOLIACE^. 

Symphoricarpus  occidentalism  E.  Br. — Denver ;  Henry's  Fork  of  Green 
Eiver. 
Lonicera  involucrata,  Banks. — Henry's  Pork  of  Green  Eiver. 

RTJBLiCEJE. 

Galium  horeale^  L. — Denver ;  Uinta  Mountains. 

VALEEIANACE^. 

Valeriana  dioica,  L.,  var.  sylvatica,. B,\chnrds. — Denver. 
Valeriana  edulisj  Nutt. — Uinta  Mountains. 

COMPOSITE. 

Liatris  punctata,  Hook. — North  Park,  Colorado  Territory ;  Wyoming- 
Territory. 

Briclcellia  grandiflora,  Nutt. — Near  Denver. 

Machccranthcra  tanaceiifolia,  Nees. — Denver. 

Aster  falcatus,  Lindh— North.  Park,  Colorado  Territory;  1868. 

Aster  ericoides,  L. — Near  Denver. 

Aster  Icevis,  L. — Wyoming  Territory  ;  August  to  September. 

Aster  adscendens,  Lindl.,  var.  ciliatifolius,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Camp  Car- 
lin, Wyoming  Territory ;  Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

Aster  multiflorus,  Ait. — North  Fork,  Colorado  Territory;  Henry's  Pork 
of  Green  Eiver. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       477 

Aster  Fendleri,  Gray. — Uinta  Mouutains,  Wyoming  Territory. 
Aster  glaucus,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Terri- 
tory. 

Aster  salsKginosus,  Kichards. — Uinta  Mountains. 

Aster  glacialis,  Nutt. — Uinta  Mountains. 

Aster  angustus,  Torr.  and  Gray. — rUinta  Mouutains. 

Erigeron  compositum^  Pursli. — Near  Denver. 

Erigeron  divergens,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Denver. 

Erigeron  glaheUnm,  Nutt. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

Erigeron  Canadcnse,  L, — Den\'er. 

SoJidago  Yirga-aurea,  L.,  var.  muUiradiata,  Torr.  and  Gray. 

Solidago  rigida,  L. — Denver;  Wyoming  Territory. 

Solidago  memoraJis,  Ait.,  var. — Denver. 

Solidago  Canadensis,  L.,  var.  Scabra,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Camp  Carlin ; 
Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

Solidago  gigantea,  Ait. — Near  Denver.  * 

Gutierrezia  EutJiamiw.  Torr.  and  Gray. — Near  Denver. 

Linosyris  graveolens,  Torr.  and  Gray. — North  Parlv,  Colorado  Terri- 
tory ;  Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Linosyris  viscidijiora.  Hook. — Denver  5  North  Park,  Colorado  Territory ; 
Wyoming  Territory  ;  August  to  September. 

Linosyris  lanccolata,  Torr.  and  Gray. — North  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 

Aplopappus  spinulosus,'DC. — Denver;  North  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 

Aplopappus  Parryi,  Gray. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

Grindeliasqnarrosa,  Dnnal. — Denver;  North  Park,  Colorado  Territory ; 
Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Chrysopsis  villosa,  Nutt. — Denver ;  Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Chrysopfsis  Mspida,  Hook. — Near  Denver. 

Euplirosyne  xanthiifolia,  Gray.     {Cyclacha^na  xantJiii folia,  Fres. ;  Torr. 
&  Gray,  Fl.  N.  Am.,  2.  p.  286.)— Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Ambrosia  trifida,  L. — Wyoming  Territory,  August  to  September. 

Rndbeclia  ladniata,  L. — Near  Denver. 

EudbecJcia  kirta,  L. — Denver ;  Camj)  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Lepacliys  columnaris,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to 
September. 

Helianthus  petiolaris,  Nutt. — Denver ;   Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Ter- 
ritory. 

Heliantlms  rigidus,  Desf. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 

Seliantlms  strmnosus,  L.  var. — Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Helianthus  Icetifloriis,  Pers. — Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Helianthella  uniflora,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Near  Denver. 

Thelesperma  fiilifolium.  Gray. — Near  Denver. 

Gaillardia  aristata,  Pursh. — Denver ;  North  Park,  Colorado  Territory ; 
Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 

Villanova  chrysantliemoides.  Gray. — Denver. 

Chaenactis  achilleafolia,  Hook  and  Arn. — Denver. 

Baliia  oppositifoUa,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Cami)  Carlin,  Wyoming  Terri- 
tory. 

Helenium  autumnale,  L. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 

Achillea  Millefolium,  L. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 

Artemisia  canadensis,  Mich:s.. — Denver;  Wyoming  Territory ;  August 
to  September. 

Artemisia  tridentata,  Nutt. — Denver;  Wyoming  Territory;  August  to 
September. 

Artemisia  cana,  Pursh. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

Artemisia  trifida,  Nutt. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 


478       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

Artemisia  Ludoviciana,  Nutt,  var.  gna^lialocles^  Torr.  and  Gray. — Hen- 
ry's Fork  of  Green  Eiver ;  Wyoming  Territory  ;  August  to  September. 

Artemisia  Bicliardsoniana,  Bess. — Uinta  Mountains. 

Artemisia  frigida,  Willd. — Denver ;  North  Park,  Colorado  Territory ; 
Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 

Gnaphalium  Sprengelii,  Hook  and  Arn. — Denver. 

Antenndria  dioica,  Gaertn. — Denver ;  Uinta  Mountains. 

Antennaria  al^nna,  Gaertn. — Denver ;  Uinta  Mountains. 

Antennaria  margaritacea,  E.  Br. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

Senecio  liigens,  Eichards.— Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 

Senecio  cermms,  Gray. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

kSenecio  longilohus,  Benth. — Denver  j  Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to 
September. 

Senecio  rapifolius^  Nutt. — Wyoming  Territory;  August  to  September. 

Senecio  aureus,  \.  var. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

Tetradymia  inermis,  Nutt. — Nortli  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 

Tetradymia  spinosa,  Hook  and  Arn. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

Arnica  mollis,  Hook. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

Cirsium  undnlatum,  Spreng. — Near  Denver. 

Cirsium  Brummondii,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Near  Denver. 

Cirsium  edule,  Nutt. — Near  Denver. 

Steplianomeria  runcinata,  Nutt. — Denver. 

Lygodesmia  juncea,  Don. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 

Troximon  giaucum,  Nutt. — North  Park,  Colorado  Territory;  Uinta 
Mountains. 

Macrorliynchus  troximoides,  Nutt. — Fall  Eiver,  Colorado  Territory. 

Mulgedium  pulcliellum,  Nutt. — Denver;  Wyoming  Territory ;  August 
to  September. 

C  AMP  ANUL  ACE^ . 

Campanula  rotundifolia,  L.^ — Denver ;  North  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 
Campamda  Langsdorffiana,  Fischer. — North  Park,  Colorado  Territory*. 
Specularia  perfoliata,  A.  DC. — Near  Denver. 

EEICACEiE. 

Vaccinium  Myrtillus,  L. — Wj-oming  Territory;  August  to  September. 
Arctostaphylos  Uva-ursi,  Spreng. — Denver ;  Uinta  Mountains. 
Pterospora  Andromedea,  Nutt. — North  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 

PL  ANT  AGIN  ACE^ . 

Plantago  Patagonica,  Jacq.,  var.  gnaphaUoides,  Gray. — Near  Denver. 
Plantago  eriojjoda,  Torr. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 

PEIMULACE^. 

Dodecatheon  Meadia,  L. — Uinta  Mountains.    In  fruit. 
Androsace  filiformis,  Eetz. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 
Androsace  septentrionalis,  L. — Denver ;  Uinta  Mountains. 
(jrlaux  maritima,  L. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 

OEOBANCHACE^. 

Apliyllon  fasciculatum,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Denver. 

SCROPHUL  AEI ACE^ . 

Petitstcmonglaher,  Pursh. — Wyoming  Territory;  August  to  September. 
Pcntstcmon  ccerulcus,  Nutt. — Near  Denver. 
Pcntstemon  acuminatus,  Dougl. — Near  Denver, 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        479 

Pentstemon  Mmilis,  Xutt. — Denver ;  Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to 
September. 

Pentstemon  confertus,  Dougl.,  var.  ccerideo-irurpureus,  Gray. — Mountains 
near  Denver ;  North  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 

Mimulus  JamesH,  Torr. — Near  Denver. 

Mimulus  luteus,  L.,  Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 

IlysantJies  gratioloides,  Benth. — North  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 

Veronica  Americana,  Schw. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Kiver. 

Veronica  serpyUifoUa,  L. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

CastiUeia  integra,  Gray. — Near  Denver. 

Castilleia  pallida,  Nutt. — Denver;  Uinta  Mountains. 

Orthocarpus  luteus,  Nutt. — Denver;  Uinta  Mountains. 

Pedicularis  hraeteosa,  Benth. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

Fedicidaris  Greenlandiea,  Eetz. — Uinta  Mountains. 

VERBENACEJE. 

Verbena  hraeteosa,  Michx. — Denver;  Wyoming  Territory. 
Verbena  stricta,  Vent. — Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 

LABIAT2E. 

Mentha  Canadensis,  L. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 
Hedeoma  Brummondii,  Benth. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  Sep- 
tember. 

Monarda  fistulosa,  L. — ^Near  Denver. 

Monarda  aristata,  Nutt. — Near  Denver. 

Scutellaria  resinosa,  Torr. — Near  Denver. 

Scutellaria  galericulata,  L. — Near  Denver. 

Stachys  2)alnstris,  L.,  var.  aspera,  Gray. — Denver. 

Staehys  palustris,  L.,  var.  cordata,  Gray. — Wyoming  Territory. 

boreaginaceyIj;. 

Onosmodium  CarjoUnianum,  DC. — Denver. 

Mertensia  alpina,  Don. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

Mertensia  panieulata,  Don. — Mountains  ;jear  Denver. 

Mertensia  Sihirica,  Don. — Mountains  near  Denver,  Uinta  Mountains. 

Litliospermum  pilosum,  Nutt. — Denver. 

Lithospermum  hirtum,  Lehm. — Denver. 

Echinospermum  BedowsM,  Lehm. — Denver,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Echinospermum  florihundum,  Lehm. — Denver. 

Eritrichium  crassiscpalum,  Torr.  and  Gray. — Denver. 

Eritricliiuni  Jamesii,  Torr. — Near  Denver. 

Eritrichiwn  glomeratum,  DC,  {Myosotis  glomerata.  Hook.  Fl.  Bor. 
Am.  2.  p.  82.  t.  1G2,)  var.,  Mspidissimum,  Torr.  in  Emory's  Eep.  Bound. 
Surv.  2.  p.  140.  (fide  Gray.) — Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory,  July  30, 
1870,  F.  V.  Hayden. — Stem  8  to  10  inches  high.  Eacemes  mostly  bifid 
or  trifid,  3  to  4  inches  long,  much  surpassing  the  leaves.  Flowers  small 
and  somewhat  scattered,  rather  shorter  than  the  acute,  lance-ovate 
bracts.  Limb  of  the  corolla  2  lines  in  diameter,  its  narrow  tube  about 
as  long.    Nutlets  4,  reticulate-rugose  on  the  back. 

Eritrichium  virgatum,  sp.  nov.  Sesquipedale,  hispidissimum ;  caule 
simplici  tereti  erecto ;  foliis  radicalibus  oblongo-spathulatis,  caulinis 
linearibus;  cymis  plurimis  in  axillis  foliorum  conglomeratis  peduncula- 
tis  superne  subsessilibus  confertisque ;  calycis  5-partiti  segmentis  lance- 
olatis  tubum  corollse  aequantibus ;  nuculis  4-ovatis  dorso  infra  partem 
mediam  convexo  supra  lateribus  depresso  laevibus  nitidis. — Near  Den- 
ver, Colorado  Territory,  1869,  B.  H.  Smith.    The  stout  virgate  spike 


480       GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 

made  up  of  numerous  glomerate  cymes,  crowded  in  the  axils  of  the 
linear  cauliDC  leaves,  which  much  exceed  them  in  length.  Limb  of  the 
corolla  4  lines  in  diameter,  its  lobes  rounded.  Nutlets  smooth  and 
shining,  the  lower  half  of  the  back  convex,  the  upper  depressed  on  the 
sides,  leaving  a  central  vertical  ridge.  According  to  Dr.  Gray  this  plant 
is  the  same  as  Parry's  288,  and  Hall  and  Harbour's  438  (in  part.)  It 
has  passed  for  a  form  of  E.  glomeratum,  DC,  but  seems  more  nearly 
allied  in  its  fruit  and  habit  of  growth  to  JE.  leucoj^haeum,  A.  DC.  {Myoso- 
tis  leucoj>hcea,  Dougl.,  in  Hook.  Fl.  Bor.  Am.  2.  p.  82.  t.  163,)  and  I  have 
ventured  to  give  it  a  name. 

HYDROPHYLLACE^. 

Hydrophylluin  Virginicum,  L. — Denver. 
Fhacelia  circinata,  Jacq.— Denver. 
Fhacelia  sericea,  Gray. — Denver. 
Mlisia  amhigiia,  Nutt. — Denver. 

POLEMONIACE^. 

Folemonium  confertum,  Gray. — Gray's  Peak,  Colorado  Territory. 
Collomia  linearis,  Nutt. — Uinta  Mountains. 
.  Gilia  congesta,  Hook. — Denver ;  Wyoming  Territory. 
Gilia  pinnatifida,  Nutt. — Mountains  near  Denver. 
Qilia  aggregata,  Spreng. — Denver.    With  white  and  red  flowers. 
Gilia  2nmgens,  Benth. — Near  Denver. 

SOLANACE^. 

Solanum  rostratum,  Pursh. — Denver. 

Phy sails  Fennsylvanica,  L.,  var.?— Wyoming  Territory;  August  to  Sep- 
tember. 

GENTIANACE^. 

(7ewfiam  apws,  Griseb.— Mountains  near  Denver;  North  Park,  Col- 
orado Territory ;  Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Gentiana  Parr?/i,  Eugelm. — Mountains  near  Denver;  North  Park,  Col- 
orado Territory. 

Gentiana  detonsa,  Griseb. — Near  Denver. 

Gentiana  frigida,  Haenke,  var.  algida,  Griseb.— Gray's  Peak,  Col- 
orado Territory ;  Uinta  Mountains. 

Gentiana  acuta,  Michx.— Near  Denver ;  Uinta  Mountains. 

Frasera  speciosa,  Dougl. — Uinta  Mountains. 

APOCYNACE^. 

Apocynum  androscemifolium,  L. — Denver. 

ASCLEPIADACE^. 

Asclejpias  speciosa,  Torr. — Near  Denver. 

Asclepias  verticillata,  L.— Wyoming  Territory.    The  dwarf  variety. 

NYCTAGINACE^. 

Oxybaplms  angnstifolius,  Sweet. — Denver. 

Oxybaphus  nyctagineus,  Sweet. — Denver. 

Abronia  fragrans,  Nutt. — Denver,  Wyoming  Territory. 

CHENOPODIACE^. 

Cycloloma  platyphyllum,  Moq. — Denver. 

Teloxys  cormita,  Torr.  in  Whipple's,  Eeport,  Pacific  Kailroad  Survey, 
4.  p.  129. — Mountains  near  Denver. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       481 

« 
Blifum  cajrifaUim,  L. — Denver. 

Blitum  mayitimnm,  aSTutt. — Wyoming  Territory ;  Angust  to  September. 
Obio)ie  argcntea,  Moq. — Wyoming  Territory;  Angust  to  September. 
Salicornia  Virglnica,  L. — Big  Sandy,  Wyoming  Territory;  Septembers. 
Whole  plant  of  a  bright-red  color. 

AMAEAlNTACEiE. 

Frceliclua  Floridami,  Moq. — Denver. 

MontcUa  tamariscina,  Gray. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  Spp- 
tember. 

POLYGONACE^. 

FoJyfjonum  Bistorfa,  L. — Near  Denver ;  Uinta  Mountains. 

Fohjgonum  aviculare,  L.,  var.  erectiim,  Eoth. — Denver;  North  Park, 
Colorado  Territory. 

FoJygonum  tenue,  Michx.,  var. — Denver. 

Folyfjonum  ramosissinnim,  Michx. — Wyoming  Territory. 

Fohjyonum  dumctornm,  L. — Wyoming  Territory. 

Rumcx  maritimum^  L. — Wyoming  Territory  ;  August  to  September. 

Oxyria  digyna.,  E.  Br. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Friogonum  umbellatum,  Torr. — Denver;  Wyoming  Territory. 

Eriogonum  nmbeUatum,  Torr.,  var.  monocephaluin,  Torr  and  G-ray,  Rev. 
Erigon.,  p.  IGO. 

Eriogonum  alafum,  Torr,,  var.  glahriusciilum,  Torr.,  Eev.  Erigon,  p. 
154. — Denver;  North  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 

Eriogonum  microthecum,  Nutt.,  var.  effus^tm.,  Torr.  and  Gray,  1.  c.,  p. 
172, — Denver;  North  Park,  Colorado  Territory ;  Wyoming  Territory, 

Eriogonum  hrevicaule,  Nutt. — Wyoming  Territory;  August  to  Sep- 
tember ;  with  yellow  flowers. 

Eriogonum  cmnuum,  Nutt. — Denver. 

Erigonum  cernimm,  Nutt. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  Septem- 
ber. • 

EL^AGNACE^. 

Blieplicrdia  Canadensis,  Nutt. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 
Sliej)hcrdia  argcntea,  Nutt. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver,  Wyoming- 
Territory. 

EUPHOEBIAGE^. 

Euphorhia  petaloidea,  Engelm. — Denver. 

Eupliorhia  marginata,  ,Pursh. — Denver. 

Euphorbia  montana,  Engelm. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

Croton  muricatum^  Nutt. — Near  Denver. 

BETULACE2E. 

Betula  papyraccaj  Ait.,  var.  pumila,  Eegel,  in  DC.  Prod, — Henry's 
Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

Alnus  serrulata,  Ait.,  var.  rugosa,  Eegel. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green 
Eiver. 

SALICAOE^. 

iSalix  cordata,  Muhl. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September.' 

Salix  longifolia,  Muhl. — Denver;  Wyoming  Territory. 

Salix  lucida,  Muhl,  var.  angustifolia,  Anders. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green 
Eiver. 

Popiilus  Canadensis,  Desf.,  var.  angustifolia,  Westmael  in  DC.  Prod^ 
(P.  angustifolia,  Torr.) — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 
31  G 


482  GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF   THE    TERRITORIES. 

CONIFERS. 

Upliedra  antisyiMlitica,  Berland. — Wyoming  Territory;  August  to  Sep. 
tember, 

Juniperus  comm^inis,  L. — Near  Denver. 

Juniperiis  occidentalism  Hook. — Wyoming  Territory  ;  August  to  Sep- 
tember. 

Finns  Jlexilis,  James. — Wyoming  Territory. 

IRIDACE^. 

Iris  tenax,  Dougl. — Denver ;  Wyoming  Territory.    In  fruit. 

LILIACE^. 

Veratrum  viride,  Ait. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Zygadenus  glaucus,  Nutt. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Smilacina  sfellata,  Desf. — Denver ;  Uinta  Mountains. 

Allium  stellatu7n,  Nutt. — Denver. 

Allium  cernnum,  Eotli. — Denver. 

Allium  acuminatum^  Hook  ? — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 
Tiie  sepaLs  have  a  longer  acumination  than  in  Hooker's  figure  (Fl.  BoV. 
Am.,  t.  19G),  and  the  inner  ones  are  not  serrulate. 

Allium  Schoenoprasum,  li. — Wyoming  Territory;  August  to  Septem- 
ber. 

Yncca  angustifolia,  Pursli. — Near  Denver. 

Calocliortus  venustus,  Benth. — Near  Denver. 

JUNOACE^. 

Tjuzula  spicata^  Desv. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 

LuzuIoj parvifiora^  Desv.,  var.  melanocarpa.  Grey. — Uinta  Mountains. 

Juiicus  Balticus,  Detliard. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Juncus  tenuis^  Willd. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  'River. 

Juncus  longistylis,  Torr.  {J.  Mcnziesii,  E..  Br.) — Denver.  . 

Juncus  nodos^is,  L.,  var.  megacephalus,  Torr. — Denver. 

Juncus  Mertensianus,  Bong. ;  Ei\^(^jn.  Eev.,  p.  479. — Uinta  Mountains. 

COMMELYNAOE^li; . 

Tradescantid  Virginica^  L. — Denver. 

CYPERACEJS. 

Meocliaris palustris,  B.  Br. — Denver. 

lScir2)US  pungens^  Vahl. — Denver. 

Scirpus  maritimus^  L. — Wyoming  Territory  ;  August  to  September. 

Bcirpus  atrovirens,  Mulil. — Near  Denver. 

Car  ex  straminea,  Sclik. — Denver. 

Garex /estiva,  Dew. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Carex  Uaydeniana,  Olney,  sp.  uov.  Spica  ovata  vel  subrotundata 
eapitata  fusco-ferrugineae  spiculis  sub-6  basi  raasculis  densifloris;  brac- 
teis  squamaeformis  ouspidatis;  perigyniis  ovatis  longe  attenuato-rostra- 
tis,  ore  oblique  secto,  membranaceis  compressis  alatis ;  margine  duplo- 
serrjitis  basi  leviter  nervatis,  flavidis  superne  vel  demum  omnius  fuscis 
apertis  squama  ovata  acuta  margine  hyalina  longioribus ;  aclienio 
stramineo  lenticulari-elliptico.  Hah.,  California,  Bolander,  5074 ;  Uinta 
Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory,  F.  V.  Hayden,  September,  1870. — The 
Carex  Uaydeni  of  Dewey  being  clearly  C.  aperta,  Boott.,  this  is  named  in 
honor  of  the  zealous  explorer  in  the  realms  of  natural  history  whose 
name  it  bears.  Low,  4  to  0  inches  high,  caespitose;  roots  fibrous;  leaves 
fiat,  imrrow,  shorter  than  the  culms.     Allied  to  C.  festiva,  Dew. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.        483 

Carex  BonpJandii^  Kuutli.,  var.  minor ^  C»^i«iy5  Eiiiim.  PI.  Hall  and  Har- 
bour, p.  77. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyominc^  Territoiy. 

Carex  atrata,  L. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 
Carex  riglcla,  Good. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 
Carex  utriculata,  Boott. — Denver. 

GRAMINE^. 

Alopecurus pratensis^  L.,  var.  alpina,  Walil. — Near  Denver. 

Fhlciim  aliyinum,  L. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Elver. 

Agrostis  2)crcnna}is,  Tuckerm. — Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver. 

Muhlenbergia  glomerata,  Trin. — ^Wyoming  Territory,  August  to  Sep- 
tember. 

CaJamagrostis  Langsdorffii,  Trin. — Wyoming  Territory. 

Calamagrostis  longifoUa,  Hook. — Wyoming  Territory. 

Calamagrostis  sylvatica,  D.  C. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

Spartina  cyiiosuroidcs,  Willd. — Wyoming  Territory. 

Boutclcea  oUgosfachya,  Torr. — Near  Denver. 

Koeleria  crista  fa,  Pers. — Near  Denver. 

Eatonia  ohtusata,  Gray. — Near  Denver. 

Brizopyrum  spicatum,  Hook  and  Arn.,  var.  Strictum,  Thurber,  Enum., 
PI.  Hall  and  Harbour,  p.  78. — Wyoming  Territory;  August  to  September. 

Poa  serotina,  Ebrb. — Uinta  jMountams,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Poa  arctica,  E.  Br. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Poa  Andina,  Trin. — Uinta  Mountains,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Festuca  ovina,  L.,  var. — Near  Denver. 

Bronius  ciUatus,  L. — Near  Denver. 

Bromus  Tcalmii,  Gray. — North  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 

Triticum  rcpcns,  L. — Mountains  near  Denver. 

Elymus  canadensis,  L. — Denver,  Wyoming  Territory;  August  to  Sep- 
tember. 

Mordeum  juhatum,  L. — Denver;  Camp  Carlin,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Trisetum  suhspicatum,  Beauv.,  var.  molle,  Gr. — Uinta  Mountains. 

Aira  caeSpitosa,  L. — Uinta  Mountains. 

Andropogon  argenteus,  Ell. — Wyoming  Territorj^,  August  to  September. 

EQUISETACE^. 

Eqiiisetum  arvense,  L. — Denver,  Wyoming  Territory. 

Eqimetwn  hyemale,  L. — Wyoming  Territory ;  August  to  September. 

FILICES. 

PeUaea  atropurpurea.  Link. — Nortb  Park,  Colorado  Territory. 
Aspidium  Filix-mas,  Swartz. — Wyoming  Territory;    AngTist  to  Sep- 
tember. 

Woodsia  ohtusa,  Torr. — ^Wyoming  Territory  j    August  to  September. 


484 


GEOLOGICAL    SUKVEY    OF    THE    TERRITOEIES. 


YL_CATALOaUE  OF  PLANTS. 

A  LIST  OF  PLANTS  COLLECTED  BY  C.  THOMAS,  IN  EASTERN 
COLORADO  AND  NORTHEASTERN  NEW  MEXICO,  DURING 
THE  SURVEY  OF  1809. 


By  Dr.  C.  C.  Paery. 


Atragene  alpina,  L. 
Clematis  Donglassii,  Hook. 

ligusticifolia,  Nutt. 
Pulsatilla  Nnttalliaua,  Gray. 
Anemone  multifida  D.  C. 

Peunsylvauica,  L. 
Thalictrmn  Fendleii,  Engelm. 

alpimim,  L. 
Eanunculus  cynibalaiia,  Pursh. 
lepens.  Hook, 
affinis,  R.  B. 
Escliseholtzii,  Schlecht. 
Calfha  leptosepala,  D.  C. 
Aquilcgia  coerulea,  Torr. 
Delphinium  elatum,  L. 
Acouitum  nasntuiu,  Fisch.  • 
Berberis  aqnifolium,  Pnr.sh. 
B.  Feudleii,  Gray. 
Corydalis  aurea,  Willd. 
Argemone  Mexicana,  L. 
Cardamiue  cordifolia,  Gray. 
Erysimum  asperum,  D.  C. 
Draba  aurea,  Vabl. 

D.  strei)tocarpa,  Gray. 
Camelina  sativa,  L. 
Smeionskia  calycina,  C.  A.  Meyer. 
Thlaspi  cocbleariforme,  D.  C. 
Physaria  didymocarpa,  Gray. 
Vesicaria  montana,  Gray. 

ludoviciaua,  D.  C. 
Stauleya  integrifolia,  James. 
Lepidiam  alyssoides,  Gray. 
Barbarea  vulgaris,  L. 
Sisymbrium  caneseens,  Nutt. 
Cleome  integrifolia,  Torr  and  Gray 
Yiola  canadensis,  L. 
Nuttalli,  Pursh. 
Muhlenbergii,  Torr. 
lonidum  lineare,  Torr, 
Hypericum  Scouleri,  Hook. 
Silene  Menzerii,  Hook. 

acaulis,  L. 
Paronychia  pulvinata.  Gray. 

Jamesii,  Torr. 
Arenarm  arctica,  Stev. 

Fendleri,  Gray, 
tenella,  Gray. 


Dryas  octopetala,  L. 
Fragraria  Virgiuiana,  L. 

vesca,  L. 
Amelanchier  canadensis,  Torr.  and 

Gray. 
Prunus  virgiuiana,  L. 
Epilobium  alpinum,  L. 
latifolium,  L. 
angustifolium,  L. 
l)alustre,  L. 
Gayophytuijiracemosum,  Torr.  and 

Gray. 
GEnothera  serrulata,  Nutt. 

pinnatifolia,  Nutt. 
biennis,  L. 
marginata,  Nutt. 
GEnothera  coronopifolia,  Torr.  and 

Gray. 
Gaura  coccinea,  Nutt. 

parviflora,  Dougl. 
Mentzelia  nuda,  Torr.  and  Gray. 

multiflora,  Nutt. 
Opunta  arborescens,  Engel. 
Saxifraga  punctata,  L.    • 

serpillifolia,  Pursh. 
bronchialis,  L. 
flagellaris,  Willd. 
nivalis,  L. 
Heuchera  hispida,  Pursh. 
parvitblia,  Nutt. 
Halli,  Gray. 
Jamesia  americana,  Torr.  and  Gray. 
Eibes  cereum,  Dougl. 
aureum,  Pursh. 
lacustre,  Poir. 
hirtellum,  Michx. 
Sedum  rhodanthum,  Gra5\ 
rhodiola,  L. 
stenopetalum,  Pursh. 
Sanicula  canadensis,  L. 
Conioselinum  Fischeri,  Wimm. 
Musenium  divaricatum,  Nutt. 
Thaspium  moutanum,  Gray. 

trachypleurium.  Gray. 
Osmorhiza  brevistylis,  D.  C. 
Adoxa  Moschatellina,  L. 
Linnnea  borealis,  Grouov. 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 


48-5 


Linnsea  Franldiuii,  Hook. 
Cerastinm  vul.uatnm,  L. 
Claytoiiia  uu'garrliiza,  Parry. 
Taliiuuu  pyy,iiiircuui,  Grny. 
Malva.struin  coccineuui,  Gray. 
Sidalea  Candida,  Gray. 

malviTjtlora,  Gray. 
Liuiim  perenue,  L. 

rigidum,  Pursh. 
Geranium  Ivicbardsouii,  F.  and  M. 

Fremontii,  Torr. 
Ceanothus  ovatus,  Desf. 
Fendleri,  Gray, 
velutiuus,  Doug'l. 
PacLystima  Myrsiuites,  Eaf. 
Acer  glabruu,  Torr. 
Ptlea  trifoliata,  L. 
Ebiis  toxicodendron,  L. 

aroiuatica,  Ait. 
Latliyrns  ornatns,  Xutt. 
Ervum  birsutnm,  L. 
Tliermopsis  montana,  Xutt. 
Petalostemon  violacens,  IMich'x. 
candidum,  Mich's. 
Sopliora  sericea,  Pursb. 
Glycyrrbiza  Lepidota,  Nntt. 
Trifolium  b)ngipes,  Nntt. 
Parryi,  Gray, 
dasypbyllum,  Torr.    . 
nanuni,  Torr. 
Lupinus  ceespitosus,  Nutt. 
pusilhis,  Parsb.    ' 
ornatus,  Dougi. 
Dcilea  laxiflora,  Pursb. 
anrea,  Nntt. 
formosa,  Torr. 
Amorpba  nana,  Xutt. 
Astragalus  Drumniondii,  Hook. 
Parryi,  Gray, 
cffispitosus,  Gray, 
multiliorns,  Gray, 
strictus,  Nutt. 
bisulcatns,  Gray, 
bypoglottis,  L. 
Oxytropis  specosa,  Dougl. 
niulticeps,  uSTutt. 
Laiuberti,  Pursb. 
Psoralea  floribuuda,  Nutt. 
'bmceolata,  Pursb. 
esculenta,  Pursb. 
Spiraea  opulifolia,  L. 

dumosa,  Jsntt. 
Sibbaklia  procumbens,  L. 
Cbamierbodes  erecta,  Burr. 
Cercocarpus  parvifolius,  Xutt. 
Eubus  deliciosus,  James. 


Symphoricarpus  occidentalis,  R.Bi". 
Lonicera  iiivohicrata.  Banks. 
Sambucus  pubons,  IMicbx. 
Gitlium  boreale,  L. 
Valeriana  dioica,  L. 
Fedia  Ion  gillora,  Torr.  and  Gray. 
Liatris  punctata,  Hook. 
Aster  salsugiuosus,  IJicbards. 
Erigeron  pbiladelpbicum,  L. 
granditlorum,  Hook, 
niacantbrum,  Xutt. 
compositum,  Pursb. 
Solidago  yirga  aurca,  L. 
Diplopappus  ericoides. 
Aplopappus  armerioides,  Torr.  and. 

Gray. 
Aplopappus  Fremonti,   Torr.  and 

Gray. 
Aplopai^pus  Parryi,  Gray. 

Kuttalliana,  Gray. 
Cbrysopsis  villosa,  Nutt. 
Lepaebis    columnaris,    Torr.    and 

Gray. 
Gaillardia  aristata,  Pursb. 
Heliantbella   uniflora,    Torr.    and 

Gray. 
Heliautbus  pumilus,  Nutt. 

petiolaris,  Nutt. 
Actinella    grauditiora,    Torr.   and 

Gray. " 
Actinella  scaposa,  Nutt. 

acaulis,  Nutt. 
Hymenopappus  tenuifolius,  Pursb. 
Macberantbera  canescens.  Gray. 
Griudelia  squarosa,  Duval. 
Townsendia  grauditiora,  Nutt. 
serricea.  Hook. 
Feudleri,  Gray. 
Liuosjris    graveoleus,    Torr.    and 

Gray. 
Linosyris   yiscidiflora,    Torr.    and 

Gray. 
Pectis  angustifolia,  Torr. 
Artemesia  scopulorum.  Gray, 
tridentata,  Nutt. 
borealis.  Pall, 
frigida,  Willd. 
filiiblia,  Torr. 
Antennaria  dioica,  E.  Br. 

Carpatbica,  D.  C. 
Eudbeckia  laciniata,  L. 
Zinnia  grauditiora,  L. 
Ximenesia  encelioides,,  Cav. 
Melampodium  cinereum,  D.  0. 
Acbillea  milleliiblium,  L. 
Babia  absintbitblia,  Bentb. 


486 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES. 


Eiibus  strig'osus,  L. 

Nutkaniis,  Mociuo. 
Eosa  blanda,  Ait. 
Gcum  rivale,  L. 

triflorum,  Pursh. 
Eossii,  Seringe. 
Crateg'us  rivularis,  Hook. 
Poteutilla  diversifolia,  Lelim. 
Xorvegica,  L. 
tissa,  Kutt. 
fruticosa,  L. 

"Vaccinium  111,311111118,  L. 
Arctostapliylos  uva-ursi,  Spreng*. 
Kalmia  glauea,  L. 
Pyrola  minor,  L. 
seciinda,  L. 
chlorantlia,  Svv"artz. 
mi i flora,  L. 
Plantago  Patagoiiica,  Lam. 
Primula  aiigustifolia,  Torr. 

Parryi,  Gray. 
Andi-osace.  iiliformis,  Retz. 

septentrioiialis,  L. 
cLaaiajjasme,  L. 
Dodecatbeoii  meadia,  L. 
Lysmacliia  ciliata,  L. 
Apliyllon  fascicuiatum,  Torr.  and 

Gray. 
PentstemoD  glaber,  Pursb. 

aciimiuatus,  Dougl. 
glaiicus,  Grabara. 
piibesceiis,  wSoland. 
bumilis,  Nutt. 
Seropbularia  nodosa,  L. 
Mimukis  Jamesii,  Torr. 
Syntbris  plaatagiuea,  Beutb. 
Veronica  alpina,  L. 
Castilleja  pallida,  Kuntb. 

ses.silillora,  Pursb. 
iDiegra,  Gray. 
Ortbocarpus  luteus,  Nutt. 
PedicLdaris  racemosa,  Bentb. 

Groeulandica,  Eetz. 
Parryi,  Gray. 
Scutellaria  resiuosa,  Torr. 
galericulata,  L. 
Monarda  aristata,  IsTutt. 
Dracocepbalum  parvillorum,  jSTutt. 
Teucrium  cubense,  L. 
Verbena  anbletia,  L. 
Ecliinospermum  floribundum,  Lebm. 
Eritricbium  glomeratimi,  D.  C. 
crassisepalum,  Torr. 
arctioides,  D.  C 
Litbospermum  pilosum,  Nutt. 


Arnica  aiigustifolia,  Vabl. 
Senecio  iutegerrimus,  Niitt. 
aureus,  L.,  (variety.) 
triangularis,  Hook, 
eremopbyllus,  Eicbard. 
Cirsium  acaule,  All. 
Mulgedium  pulcbrum,  [J^utt. 
Troxiinon  glaucum,  Nutt. 
Lygodesmia  juncea,  Don. 
Campanula  Langsdorfiana,Fiscber. 

C.  unitlora,  L. 
Campylocera  leptocarpa,  Nutt. 
Eriogonum  alatum,  Torr. 

umbellatum,  Torr. 
ilavum,  Nutt. 
brevicaule,  isutt. 
Coiuaudra  pallida,  D.  C. 
Arceutbobium       campylopodum, 

Engel. 
Eupbgrbia  maroinata,  Pursb. 

montana,  Engel. 
Croton  muricatum,  iSTutt. 
Tragia  ramosa,  Torr. 
Quercus  Douglasii.  D.  C. 
Corylus  rostrata.  Ait. 
Betula  giandulosa,  Micbx. 
Salix  glauea,  L. 
Populus  angustifolia. 
Pinus  pouderosa,  Dougl. 
contorta,  Dougl. 
flexilis,  James, 
aristata,  Engel. 
ediilis,  Engel. 
Abies  Menziesii,  Liudl. 

Engelraauii,  Parry, 
grandis,  Lindl. 
Platautbera  byperborea,  Lindl. 
Calypso  borealis,  Salisb. 
Spirantbus  cornua,  Ricbartl. 
Goodyera  Menziesii,  Lindl. 
Iris  tenax,  Dougl. 
Sisyrincbium  Bermudiana. 
Streptopus  amplexilblius,  D.  C. 
Smilacina  stellata,  Desi. 

racemosa,  Desf. 
Lilium  Pbilidelpbiciim,  L. 
Erytbronium    graudiflorum, 

Pursb. 
Allium  cernuum,  Eotb.     • 
Leucocrinium  montanuai,  Nutt. 
Calocbortus  venustus,  Bentb. 
Lloydia  serotina,  Eeicb. 
Yucca  baccata,  Torr. 

angustifolia,  Piirsb. 
Zygadeiius  glaucus,  Nutt. 
Juncus  tenuis,  L. 


GEOLOGICAL    SURVEY    OF    THE    TERRITORIES. 


487 


Litliospcrmnm  loujiiflorum,  Spraag, 
Mertensia  alpina,  Don. 

Sibirica,  Don. 
Polemouium  Cirrulonin,  L. 

pulclielluin,  Bunge. 
contertiiin,  Gray, 
riilox  Douglassii,  Hook. 

Hoodii,  llicluirdson. 
Coloniia  linearis,  Nutt. 
Gilia  i>innatifoIin,  jSTutt, 
aggregatii,  Sprang, 
spicata,  Nutt. 
ctMigesta,  Hook, 
longiiiora,  Beutli. 
Evolvuhis  argeutens,  Pursh. 
Ipomoa  leptopliylla,  Torr. 
Solanum  tritlorum,  iSTutt. 
rostratum,  Don. 
Physalis  lobata,  Torr. 
Pliacelia  Popei,  Torr  and  Gray, 
circinata,  Jacq. 
sericea,  Gray. 
Hydropliyllum  virginiciim,  L. 
Xama  dichotoma,  Chois. 
Ellisia  nyctelea,  L. 
Gentiaua  acuta,  Michx:. 
Parryi,  Gray, 
affluis,  Griesb. 
Frasera  speciosa,  Dougl. 
Asclepias  tuberosa,  L. 

verticiilata,  L. 
speciosa,  Torr. 
Apocynum  cauabinum,  L. 
Abrouia  fragraus,  Nutt. 
Oxybaphus  nyctagineus,  S street. 
Alliouia  inearnata,  L. 
Polygonum  bistorta,  L. 

viviparum,  L. 
teuue,  Michx. 
Oxyria  digyua,  R.  Br. 
Pumex  venosus,  Pursh. 


Juncus  ]\Iertensianus,  C.A.Mcyer. 

Parryi,  Engel. 
Luzula  spicata,  D.  0. 

parvillora,  D,  C. 
Cyperus  Schweiutzii,  Torr. 
Scivpus  pungcns,  Vahl. 
Garex  scoparia,  iSelk. 

atrata,  L. 
Mublenbergia  gracilis,  H.  B.  K. 
graciliura,  Torr. 
aspericaulis,  Nees. 
Sporobolus  raiuuloides,  H.  B,  K. 
Sporobolus  asperitbiiiis,  Xees  and 

Meyer. 
Panicuni  capillare,  L. 
Spartina  cynosuroides,  Willd. 
Phleura  alpinum,  L. 
Aristida  purpurea,  Nutt. 
Koeleria  aristata,  Pers. 
Trisetum  subspicatum,  Beauv. 
Brizopyruni  spicatuin.  Hook. 
Vilfa  tricholepis,  Torr. 
Muiiroa  squarrosa,  Torr. 
Buchloe  dactyloides,  Engel. 
JBouteloua  oligastacliya,  Nutt. 

B.  curtipendnla,  Gray. 
Festuca  tenella,  Willd. 

F.  ovina,  L. 
Poa  alpina,  L. 
Sitanion  elymoides,  Ref. 
Hordeum  jubatum,  li. 
Triticum  caninum,  L. 
T.  Phleoides,  H.  B.  K.    * 
Sclerochloa  Californica,  Munro. 
Setaria,  caudata. 
Eragrostis  poieoides,  Beaur. 
Olielanthes  Feudleri,  Hook. 
NothocliUienji  Fendleri,  Kunze. 
Woodsia  obtusa,  Torr. 
Asplenium  septeutionale,  L. 
Cystopteris  fragilis,  Beruli. 


Note. — The  foregoing  list  of  i)lants  is  inserted  for  the  purpose  of 
furnishing  some  data  to  botanists  in  ascertaining  the  general  distribu- 
tion of  the  species  therein  named.  My  duties  in  other  departments  did 
not  allow  me  time  to  make  notes  in  regard  to  special  localities,  eleva- 
tions, &c. 

C.  THOMAS. 


^PI^EI^DIX:. 


METEOROLOGY,    &  c. 

By  3Ir.  J.  W.  BEA31AN. 

Quarter3iaster"s  Depot,  Fort  D.  A.  Eusseljl, 

Xoveiuhcr  1,  1870. 

Sir:  I  liave  the  honor  herewith  to  preseut  the  meteorological  uotes 
taken  during-  the  month  of  July,  August,  September,  and  October, 
while  connected  with  the  geological  survey  of  Wyoming  Territory  under 
your  charge.  These  notes  have  been  taken  in  connection  with  other 
duties,  not  in  a  professional,  but  rather  in  an  amateur  way.  This  will,  I 
trust,  account  for  many  apparent  imperfections  and  omissions.  The  instru- 
ments placed  at  my  disposal  were  an  aneroid  barometer  with  accompany- 
ing Fahrenheit  thermometer;  a  Fahrenheit  thermometer  manufactured 
by  C.  A.  Siefert,  Boston,  Massachusetts  ;  two  Fahrenheit  thermometers 
manufactured  by  J.  Kendall  «&  Co.,  New  Lebanon,  New  York  ;  also,  one 
odometer  for  the  measurement  of  the  road.  There  has  been  a  barometric 
observation  taken  at  every  camp  and  many  points  of  importance  on  the 
survey.  As  will  be  seen  by  an  inspection  of  the  tables,  the  observed 
readings  at  the  same  place  often  vary  several  tenths  of  an  inch.  This 
is  owing  to  a  change  in  density  of  the  atmosphere  each  hour,  and  with 
every  wiut>and  rain  ;  hence  the  heights  are  but  approximately  indicated. 
There  has  ])een  no  allowance  made  for  a  change  in  temperature,  as  it  is 
but  slight.  There  has  been  no  allowance  made  for  the  wind,  as  I  have 
had  no  means  of  determining  its  force.  I  have  made  no  allowance  for 
moisture,  as  I  have  had  no  hygrometer.  The  rule  which  has  been  fol- 
lowed in  making  the  estimates  of  elevation  is  one  given  by  J.  H.  Bell- 
ville,  of  the  lioyal  Observatory.  Greenwich.  Eitle. — "  As  the  sum  of  the 
readings  of  the  barometer  is  to  their  ditjLereuce,  so  is  55,000  (or  twice  the 
assumed  height  of  the  atmosphere  in  feet)  to  the  elevation  required." 

This  rule  is  founded  on  the  supposition  that  the  height  of  the  atmos- 
phere is  27,500  feet,  with  the  barometer  at  30  inches  and  the  thermome- 
ter at  55°  Fahrenheit.  The  temperature  has  been  noted  at  the  time  of 
taking  each  reading ;  so  that  if  there  could  be  a  more  accurate  estimate 
made  by  allowing  for  a  change,  it  might  be  made.  The  aneroid  is  one 
purchased  in  Philadelphia  of  McAllister  &  Bro.,  728  Chestnut  street. 
The  divided  circle  is  only  two  inches  in  diameter.  Its  small  size  recom- 
mends it  to  those  desiring-  a  very  convenient  portable  instrument;  but 
on  the  other  hand  it  is  too  small  for  the  most  accurate  work.  The  tem- 
perature during  the  time  occupied  in  the  held  has  ranged  from  lOo^, 
Quartermaster's  Department,  Fort  D.  A.  Eussell,  July  28,  2.30  o'clock 
]).  m.,  down  to  8°,  Big  Pond  Stage  Station,  Bitter  Creek,  3.30  o'clock  a. 
ui.,  October  17.  We  have  experienced  few  storms  of  rain  or  snow.  The 
general  direction  of  the  wind  has  been  from  northwest  or  southwest. 
On  the  evening  of  September  21,  at  Camp  Elliott,  there  was  a  most  gor- 


GEOLOGICAL  SURVEY  OF  THE  TERRITORIES.       480 

jiGoiis  display  of  the  nurora  borealis.  It  was  first  noticed  about  half 
])ast  eight  o'clock  in  the  evening,  when  the  northeast  quarter  of  the 
iicaveus  was  one  glow  of  deep  crimson  llaine.  There  Avas  very  little 
shooting-  upward  of  narrow  bands  of  light,  but  rather  a  gradual  change 
of  color.  Later  in  the  night  the  northwest  quarter  became  suifuscd  in 
The  same  manner. 

The  odometer  has  worked  admirably,  showing  as  the  distance  traveled 
by  the  train  888.100  miles.  This  does  not  include  the  trips  made  by 
yourself  to  tlie  head-waters  of  the  Chugwater  Creek,  Laramie  Peak, 
Box  Elder  Canon,  Uinta  Mountains,  the  sources  of  Bear  Biver,  the 
source  of  Henry's  Fork  of  Green  Eiver,  and  Brovvn's  Hole,  which  brings 
uj)  the  estimate  to  1,400  miles,  making  a  daily  average  of  about  18 
miles. 

In  conclusion,  let  me  here  add  that  my  work  in  this  department  has 
been  attended  with  an  increasing  interest  as  the  months  have  gone  by, 
and  my  only  regret  is  that  it  is  not  more  thoroughly  done. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be  your  verv  obedient  servant, 

J.  W.  BEAMAK 

Dr.  F.  Y.  Hayden. 


490 


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GENERAL  INDEX 


PAET  I. 

Page. 

Index  to  Geological  Keport  of  Pkofessok  F.  V.  Hayden 10-188 

Alkali 187 

American  Desert,  Great 103 

Autclope  Station 110 

Analyses 14,171,181,187 

of  coal 181 

Aspen  Station 149 

Barrel  Springs 73 

Bud  Lauds 104, 137 

Bear  River,  trii)  to  liead  of 44 

westward  to,  Chap.  IX 133 

to  Salt  Lake  Vallcj^,  Chap.  XII 147 

City,  list  of  strata  near 150 

Beavers 135 

Benton  Station 135 

Big  Pond  Station 71 

Bitter  Creek  Station ' 140 

Valley 160 

Black  Bntto 71,141 

Hills,  (Laramie  Mountains) 1'2,  21 

Black's  Fork 41 

Blue  River,  Little 100 

Bluffs  of  Niobrara  Grouj) 90 

Box  Elder  Canon 24, 162 

Bridger  Group 58,  73, 166 

Pass 73,75 

Butte 55 

Brown's  Hole 64 

BuUofthe  Woods,  (lode) 68 

Carboniferous  rocks,  Missouri  River,  divisions  of 86 

Cariso  Lode 36, 171 

Carter's  Lake 43, 48 

Station 147 

Carbon  Station 133 

Chej-enne Ill 

to  Fort  Fetterman,  Chap.  I 11 

Pass 80 

Cherokee  Trail 126 

Church  Buttes 41, 144 

Chalk  Bluffs,  Blackbird  Hill,  Nebraska,  (cut) 88 

Chugwater 13, 16 

Chain  de  Roche  Creek 91 

Cloven  Peak 32 

Coal 74,101,133,136,139,141,149,154,166 

analyses  of 181 

considerations  affecting  economic  value  of 185 

measures,  upper 85 

Coals  of  the  Rocky  Mountains 179 

Coalville 157, 167 

Coi^per 138 

Coojjer's  Creek 79, 123 

Columbus,  Nebraska 103 

Como  Station 131 

Cote^iu  des  Prairies,  (cut) 175 

Cottonwood  Creek 18 


504  INDEX. 

Page. 
Cox's  Peak 53 

Cretaceous  rocks  of  Northwest,  general  section  of 87 

No.  1,  of  Little  Blue  Kiver,  Nebraska,  (cut) 101 

Creston  Station 139 

Dakota  Group 88,90,100 

Dale  Creek 117 

Dawes's  Peak 53 

Deer  Creek 25 

Devil's  Gate 31 

Dial  Rock 119 

Douglas  County,  Nebraska 100 

Drift  deposits 174 

Duck  Lake 73 

Dynamics  of  geology,  examples  of 125 

East  End  mines 178 

Echo  City 157 

Canon 155 

Creek 51 

Elevation  near  South  Pass 36 

Elk  Mountain 77, 135, 164 

Elkhorn  River 102 

Evanston,  coal  mines  at 154 

Fort  Bridger '. 55 

and  Uinta  Mountains ' 41 

from,  to  Uinta  Mountains,  &c..  Chap.  V 54 

D.  A.  RusseU 11 

Fettermau  from,  to  South  Pass,  Chaj).  II 24 

Halleck 78 

Mitchell 110 

Pierre  Group 91 

Sunders 129 

StambaTigh 36 

Steele,  list  of  exposed  strata  near 136 

Forests  of  pine  near  Laramie  Plains 128 

Fossil  plants 89, 94, 143 

Fox  Hills  Group 165 

Fremont,  Nebraska 102 

Fremont's  Peak 37 

Geological  Report  of  Prof.  F.  V.  Hayden 11-188 

Gilbert's  Peak 53, 57 

Glacial  action 99 

Granite  Canon 113, 115 

Gregory  Lode,  Colorado 177 

Green  River  Group 58, 70, 142 

Station  to  Cheyenne,  Chap.  VI 70 

Beds ; 40, 60 

Oil  Lode 68 

Hayden's  Cathedral 43 

Hay-Stack  Butte 70 

Henry's  Fork 56 

Horse  Creek 13 

Horse-Shoe  Creek 19 

Independence  Rock 30 

Insects,  (fossil) 144 

Iron  ore 14, 22 

Jackson's  Canon 28 

La  Bonte  Creek , 20 

La  Clede  Station 75 

Lake  Bellamy... 58 

La  Prele  Creek 22 

Laramie  Plains,  (Chap.  X,  121) 79. 121 

River 78,121,124,163 


INDEX.  505 

Page. 

Laramie  Rauge  (Black  Hills) 112 

Peak 17,113 

Letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Interior  by  Prof.  F.  V.  Hayden 3 

Liguite  beds 16,22,59,74 

Group,  Great 93 

Lincoln,  Nebraska 101 

Leidv's,  Doctor,  description  of  fossil  mammals 105 

Lodge  Pole  Creek 11,111 

Logan's  Peak 53 

Lone  Star  Lode '. 68 

Long's  Peak 118 

Loup  Fork 103 

Mammals,  fossil 104, 145 

Marsh's,  Prof.,  description  of  Siredona 131 

Mauvaises  Terres 104 

Medicine  Bow  Butte 153 

River 121 

Mineral  Springs 152 

Miner's  Delight  (lode) 36,178 

Glory  (lode) 68 

Mines,  observations  on,  Chap.  XIV 177 

Missouri  Valley,  geology  of 85 

general  view  of  the  geology  of,  Chap.  VII 85 

Monument  Creek  Group 161 

Morgan  City 158 

Muddy  Creek 26,48 

Needles,  the 153 

Newberrj-,  Dr. — extract  from  report  on  fossil  plants 89, 94, 143 

Niobrara  River 104 

North  Park 123 

Oil  Springs  of  Bear  River 152 

Omaha  City 98 

to  Cheyenne,  Chapter  VIII 98 

Oyster  Ridge 149 

Pacific  Springs 39 

Pass  Creek 76, 137 

Petrified  fish  bed 143 

Petroleum  coal 144 

Piny  Butte 28 

Photograph  Ridge 58 

Plants,  fossil 89,94,143,164 

Platte  River,  area  drained  by 122 

Valley 102 

Point  of  Rocks 141,166 

Rawlings's  Springs 135 

Red  Creek 65 

Canon 66 

Buttes : 27 

Review,  general,  of  geology  from  Omaha  to  Salt  Lake,  Chap.  XIII 161 

Ridges  of  upheaval,  Big  Thompson  Creek  (cut) 162 

Jefl'erson  Fork  (cut) 163 

Rock  Creek , 79,122 

Rocky  Mountains,  over  the  first  range  of.  Chap.  IX 112 

Round  Table,  The v 15 

Sage  Creek 76 

Salt  Lake,  Great,  and  bordering  Plains 172 

Group 169 

Valley 160 

Springs 101 

Wells  Station 71, 141 

Sand  Hills 103,109 

Sandy,  Big  and  Little 40 

Scott's  Bluff 110 


506  INDEX. 

Page. 

Seminole  Mountains 29, 40 

Slieeps-liciicl  Mountain 122 

Shells,  fresli-water  and  land,  accumulations  of 72 

Sherman  Station,  granite  rocks  near,  (cut) 117 

Shoshoues  (Indians) 37 

Sienite  Station 115 

Silver  Creek  Valley IGl 

Smith's  Fork 41 

Soda,  analyses  of 187 

Soath  Pass ----- 39 

from,  to  Fort  Bridger,  Chap.  Ill 35 

Spruce  Eid-Jfe 42,46 

St.  Mary's  Station 34, 135 

Sulphur- Creek 149 

Springs 138 

Sweetwater  Group 29 

Hills 32 

Eiver - 121 

Table  Eock 39,71,140 

Terraces,  (cut) 17(5 

Tertiary  series  from  Bridger  to  Green  River 73 

of  Nebraska,  general  section  of - 93 

Three  Crossings 33 

Triassic  Sandstones,  (cut; 119 

Turtles,  fossil 145 

Union  Pacific  Eailroad,  elevations  along 112 

Uinta  Mountains,  trip  to 44 

Vermillion  Creek G3 

Virginia  Dale 11(5 

Warm  Spring,  analj'sis  of 171 

Wasatch  Canon 159 

Group 148,109 

Washakie   Group 73 

Weber  Eiver £)l,133,168 

WiUow   Springs - 29 

Wind  Eiver  Mountains 35 

Wyoming  Territory,  description  of  east  part 114 

Yellow  Creek  Station 154 

Young  America  Mines - 178 

Canatlian  Miues 179 

PAET  II. 

AccoMP^vKYiNG  Eeports,  «&c 190-501 

Agriculture,  Eeport  on,  by  Professor  C.  Thomas 192 

Analyses 321 

Ancient  lakes,  by  Dr.  J.  S.  Newberry 329 

Arkansas  district 213 

Eiver 214 

valley  of  Upper 194,214 

Artesian  Avells 264 

Beaver  Eiver  Valley 246 

Birds,  (fossil) 265 

(jrrus  Haydeni 265 

Cache  Valley 233 

Caloptenus  spretus,  remarks  on 281 

Canadian  section 211 

Carnero  Creek 199 

Catalogue  of  mammals  and  birds,  by  Mr.  J.  Stevenson 461 

niollusca,  by  Mr.  S.  E.  Eoberts 467 

coleoptera,  by  Dr.  G.  H.  Horn 469 


INDEX.  507 

• 

Page. 

Catalogue  of  liemiptera,  bv  P.  R.  LTiler,  esq 471 

plants,  by  Mr.  T.  C.  Porter..' 472 

by  Dr.  C.  C.  Parry 484 

Cedar  Valley 243 

Cimarron  River,  Little 213 

Climate  of  Kansas -^ 453 

New  Mexico ."■ 208 

Utah 247 

Coals,  Ix^rtiary,  by  Mr.  J.  T.  Hodge 318 

Coal,  analysis  of 321 

localities 322 

Baker's  mine 325 

Briggs's  mine 325 

Carbon 326 

Evanston 328 

Golden  City 322 

Hallville 326 

Lieden's  mine 323 

Marshall's  mine 324 

Ralston  Peak 323 

Rock  Springs 327 

Utah 323 

Van  Dyke 327 

Wilson's  mine 325 

Wyoming  Territory 326 

Coleoptera,  catalogue  of,  by  Dr.  G.  H.  Horn 469 

Costillo  River 200 

Culebra  River 200 

District,  Rio  Grande 197 

Arkansas 213 

South  Platte 217 

North  Platte 217 

Wind  River 232 

Green  River : - 233 

Salt  Lake 237 

Divisions,  boundaries  of 195 

eastern 196 

western 233 

Eastern  section,  (east  of  Black  Hills) 226 

Elevations,  list  of 205,490 

Fishes,  (fossil,)  by  Dr.  J.  Leidy 368 

Asineoj)s 369 

Clupea 369 

C  j-prinodon 369 

Mylocyprinus 369 

Oncobatis 370 

Selachii 369 

Zygobates 370 

Fishes  and  reptiles,  (see  Reptiles.) 

Fossil  (see  Reptiles.) 

Fossils,  general  remarks  on 287 

list  of,  by  Professor  F.  B.  Meek 295 

Fountaine  Qui  Bouille  River 216 

Gallinas  River , 207 

Garita  Creek 199 

Garland,  Fort 200 

Grasshopper,  Hateful 281 

Green  River  District 233 

Hansee  Spring  Valley 238 

Hardscrabble  Creek 216 

Hemiptera,  catalogue  of,  by  P.  R.  Uhler,  esq 471 

lleteroiitera,  list  of 471 

Homan's  Park 193 


508  INDEX. 

Page. 

Homoptera,  list  of 472 

Hot  Springs 199 

Indians 263 

Introduction  to  Agricultural  Report 192 

Jordon  Valley * 240 

Juab  Valley 243 

Kansas  Valley 244 

Kansas,  resources  of,  by  E.  S.  Elliott,  esq 442 

Land  grants 261 

Laramie  Plains 220 

Letter  of  Professor  C.  Thomas 191 

Malade  Valley 238 

Mammalia,  (fossil,)  by  Dr.  J.  Leidy 340 

Aelurodon 344 

Agriocboerus 349 

Ampliicyou 341 

Ancbippus 362 

Ancbitherium 362 

Bison 344 

Camelops 349 

Canis 341 

Castor 363 

Cervus 352 

Cosoryx 351 

Delpbinus 365 

Dicotyles 352 

Dinictis 343 

Drepanodon 343 

Elepbas 359 

Elotberium 353 

Equus 359 

Eumys 364 

Hipparion 360 

Homocamelus 350 

Hysenodou 342 

Hyopsodus 354 

Hyopotamus 355 

Hypobippus 362 

Hyracodon 356 

Hyracbyus 367 

Hystrix 364 

Ictops 364 

Iscbyromys 363 

Leptarctus 344 

Leptaucbenia 348 

Leptomeryx 351 

Leptocboerus 354 

Leptictis 364 

Lopbiodon 357 

Lopbiotberium 358 

Mastodon 358 

Megacerops 352 

Megalomeryx 351 

Merycodus 350 

Merycbyus 347 

Merycocbcerus 347 

Merycbippus 361 

Microsus 354 

Mylodon 365 

Nonobyus 354 

Notbarctus 344 

Omomys 364 

Orcodon 345 

Palffiocastor 363 


INDEX.  509 

Pago. 

Mammalia,  Palseolagus 363 

Palfeosyops 355 

Parahippus 362 

Patriofelis 344 

Perchcorus 353 

Platygonua 353 

Pcebrotherium ; 350 

Procamelus 350 

Protomeryx 350 

Protohippus 360 

Pseudrelurua 343 

Rbiuoceroa 356 

Titanotlierium 354 

Mammals  and  Birds,  catalogue  of,  by  Mr.  Stevenson 461 

Mollusca,  catalogue  of,  by  Mr.  S.  R.  Roberts 467 

Meteorology,  by  Mr.  J.  W.  Beaman 488 

MoroVaUey 194,213 

NorthPark 219 

North  Platte  District 217 

Ocate  Creek                            .. .......... ...............     .  213 

Orthoptera,  list  of,  by  Prof.  C.  Thomas '..'..'.'.!  1. !]'..'. !!.  265 

New  species 266 

Acrolophitus  hirtipes 278 

Anabrus  Stevensonii 266 

Anabrus  minutus 267 

Boopedon  nubilum 272 

Boopedou  flavo-faciatum 272 

Brachypeplus  maguus 271 

Ephippity tha  gracilipes 268 

Oedipoda  corallipes 274 

Oedipoda  carlingiana 275 

Oedipoda  cincta 275 

Oedipoda  neglecta 276 

Oedipoda  trifasciata 274 

Opomola  neo-mexicaua 269 

Pezotettix  picta 271 

Stauronotus  Elliotti 277 

Stenobothrus  brumens 280 

Stenobothrus  Obionus.  .*. 279 

Stenobothrus  quadri-maculatus 280 

Thamnotrizon  trilineatus 268 

Thamnotrizon  purpnrascens 268 

Tomonotus  pseudo-nietanus 279 

Paleontological  report,  preliminary,  by  Prof.  F.  B.  Meek  • 287 

Pastoral  Lands  and  Stock-raising 248 

Pecos  Valley 207 

Peiiasco  Valley 204 

Plains,  The 2.57 

Plants,  (Fossil,)  Cretaceous 378 

Report  on,  by  L.  Lesquereux 370 

Tertiary 381 

New  species,  Lygodium  neuropteroides 384 

Catalogue  of,  by  Dr.  C.  C.  Parry 484 

by  T.  C.Porter 472 

New  species,  Carex  Haydeniana 482 

Eritrichium  virgatum 479 

Productions  of  Utah 247 

New  Mexico 209 

Pueblo 215 

Puerco  of  the  West 208 

Purgatory  River 216 

Eayada  Creek 213 

Reports,  special 285 

Report,  Agricultural,  by  Prof.  C.  Thomas 190 

Paleontological,  by  Prof.  F.  B.  Meek 287 


510  INDEX. 

Page. 

Report   ou  Tertiary  Coal,  by  J.  T.  Hodge,  esq 318 

ou  Ancient  Lakes,  by  J.  S.  Newberry,  LL.D 329 

on  Vertebrate  Fossils,  by  Prof.  J.  Leidy 340 

on  Fossil  Plants,  by  Mr.  L.  Lesquereux 370 

ou  Fossil  Reptiles  and  Fishes,  by  Prof.  E.  D.  Cope 385 

on  Fishes  of  the  Tertiary  Shales,  by  Prof.  E.  D.  Cope 425 

on  Reptiles  and  Fishes,  by  Prof.  E.  D.  Cope 432 

on  Material  Eesources  of  Kansas,  by  Mr.  E.  S.  Elliott ...  442 

Reptiles  and  lishes,  by  Prof.  E.  D.  Cope 432 

List 432 

New  species: 

Albnernellns  percobromus 440 

Catostomus  discobolus ■ 435 

Ceratichthys  squamilentus 442 

Coliscus  parietalis 437 

Cyprinella  billiugsiaua '. .  439 

Gila  nacrea 441 

Hybopsis  egregius 429 

Hybopsis  missurieusis 437 

Hybopsis  scylla 438 

Pty  chostomus  bucco 437 

Minomus  bardus . 436 

Minomus  delphinus 435 

Moniona  jugalis 439 

Photogeuis  piptolei^is 433 

Salmo  stomias 433 

Sarcidium  scopiferum 440 

Reptiles  and  fishes,  (fossil,)  by  Professor  E.  D.  Cope Ill 

Apsopelix  sauriforniis 424 

Asineops  squamifrons 426 

Asiueops  virideusis 426 

Clidastes  intermedius 412 

Clidastes  ciueriaruiu 413 

Clupea  humilis 429 

Clupea  pusilla 429 

Elasmosaurus  platyurus 393, 424 

Erisuiatopterus  rickseckeri 428 

Erismatopterus  levatus 428 

Ichthyodectes  ctenodon 421 

Liodon  dyspelor 410 

Liodon  ictericus f 406 

Liodou  mudgei 405 

Liodon  proriger 401 

Mosasaurus  missurieusis 401 

Osteoglossum  encanstum 430 

Polycotylus  latepinnis 388 

Saurodou  leauus 421 

Saurocephalus  audax , 418 

Saurocephalus  lauciformis 415 

Saurocephalus  phlebotomus 416 

Saurocephalus  proguathus 417 

Saurocephalus  thaumas 418 

Reptiles,  (fossil,)  by  Dr.  J.  Leidy 365 

Baena -. 367 

Baptemys 367 

Crocodilus 368 

Emys 366 

Saniva 368 

Stylemys 366 

Trionyx 367 

Resources  of  Kansas,  by  R.  S.  Elliott 442 

Rincon,  the 198 

Rio  do  Santa  F6 206 

RioGallisteo 206 

Rio  Gila 208 

Rio  Grande  District 197 

River 200,206 

Valley 204,206 


INDEX.  511 

Page. 

Rio  Mimbres '. 208 

Itio  Sau  Juau 208 

Rio  Virgiu 246 

Rash  Valley 244 

Sahwatch  Basin 198 

Creek 199 

Salt  Lake  Basiu 237 

District 237 

Valley 239 

Sau  Luis  Valley 197 

productions  of 202 

San  Peto  Valley. 244 

Sevier  River  Basin 244 

Shells,  land,  list  of 468 

fresh- water,  list  of 463 

(fossil,)  new  species,  by  Professor  F.  B.  Meek — 

Anisomyon  centrale 312 

Area  (?)  parallela 303 

ArcopagoUa  mactroides 309 

By  thiuolla  gregaria 317 

Cardium  kansasense 307 

pauperculum 306 

saliuens 306 

Corbicnla  crassatelliformis 315 

(?)  fracta 314 

(?)  nucalis 304 

snbtrigoualis 305 

Crassatelliua  oblonga 301 

Edmondia  aspenwallensis 299 

Goniobasis  chrysallis 316 

nodulifera 316 

luoceranius  altus 302 

\                Leptosolen  conradi 311 

Mactra  (?)  cauonensis  ..^ 308 

Pachymya  (?)  trnncata 301 

Tapes  ■wyomingensis 310 

Tellina  subscitula 310 

Yoldia  microdouta 304 

Turbo  niudgeanus 313 

Turritella  kansasensis 312 

Unio  leanus 313 

Unio  uebrasceusis 303 

Unio  washakiensis 314 

Texas  cattle 255 

Tiutic  Valley 242 

Trenchera  Creek 200 

Tuerto  Creek 206 

Utah  Lake  Valley 241 

Vertebrate  Fossils,  report  on,  by  Professor  Leidy , 340 

Vermijo  Creek 213 

Weber  Valley 239 

Western  Division 233 

New  Mexico 208 

Wind  River  District 232 

Valley 194 

Wheat 201 

Whipple's,  Lieutenant,  estimate  of  arable  land 204 


